Life Kit - When Is Snoring A Sign Of A Serious Health Issue?

Episode Date: October 26, 2019

When is snoring just annoying or the sign of a bigger health issue? Life Kit's Allison Aubrey and Maddie Sofia, host of NPR's new daily science podcast, "Short Wave" get answers from a doctor, as well as some tips to achieve a snoreless sleep. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hey there, LifeKit listeners. I'm Alison Aubrey, a host of some of LifeKit's health episodes, including ones about sleep. I have a special guest with me today, Maddie Sofaio, the host of NPR's new daily science podcast, Shortwave. Heyo. So I hear you have a problem that you need some help with. Yeah, I'm a little concerned about some things and I wanted to talk to you about it. Okay, tell me more. So my partner, Natalie, you know her.

Yeah. She's been snoring. Okay. Tell me more. So my partner, Natalie, you know her. Yeah. She's been snoring. Okay. And not in like the normal way. More like there's something inside her and it's trying to come out. More like. Yes. Indeed. You've been reporting on this. So can you help me out, please? Okay. There's actually a way to distinguish kind of normal snoring. Snoring that isn't a sign of anything bad, right? Except annoying you. From the kind of snoring that isn't a sign of anything bad, right, except annoying you, from the kind of snoring that is a risk factor for something that's really bad, obstructive sleep apnea. So here's what I want you to do. I want you to go home and I want you

to tape her tonight. Now, after you make that recording, bring it back to me, and we're going to listen to it. She is going to love this. Okay, I can do that. Today, a short bonus episode with NPR's Shortwave. When is snoring normal, and when is it something more than that? And we'll find out which one Natalie's got going on. We'll call a doctor to figure all that out. Okay, Maddie, you're supposed to go home and record Natalie's snoring. How did it go? What happened? Well, yeah, I mean, I did my homework. I can just tell you that she was not jazzed that I'm talking about her snoring problem in such a public venue. Oh, and I wonder why. Snoring just isn't something that people talk about. And it's something that

I have zero control over. It just happens. And it's, you know, not super ladylike. You know, I completely get that. I mean, snoring is not sexy. It can be embarrassing because it is something you can't control. As Natalie says. You don't know you're doing it until you get that kick in the middle of the night from your partner. Am I the first person who's told you that you snore? No, I had heard rumors previously. All right, well, you go to sleep and then I'm going to come in here and stand over your body with a microphone and record you snoring. That is incredibly creepy. Well, spoiler alert, Natalie did snore last night.

Surprise, surprise. Well, she's not alone. About 40% of adults in the U.S. snore. It's more common among men than women. But as we just heard, plenty of women saw those logs. My little Natalie destroying gender roles in her sleep. So let's bring in someone who hears this all the time. Eric Voigt. He is an ear, nose and throat doctor at New York University. Yes, more people listening. She loves it. She's gonna love it.

Hi there, Dr. Voigt. Hi there. How's everyone doing there? Awesome. Thank you so much for agreeing to do this. I have some tape of her snoring. Are you ready to hear it? Absolutely. So this is like her JV snoring. Dr. Voigt, this isn't the big stuff. But then it gets intense.

Yep. So it starts getting louder. Okay. So that was like a big inhalation. Did you hear that? Mm-hmm. So she starts out fairly low-key and rhythmic, and then you get that kind of snortle. Yeah, so, you know, that's a subtle sign that there could be an element of obstructive sleep apnea there. So the rhythmic sort of light snoring is not dangerous, but you may notice periods of silence.

And if the person looks as if they are trying to breathe in, but there's no airflow, then they're holding their breath, and that's what apnea is. And at some point, the brain will be triggered to wake you to the point where you have to open your airway, take a breath, or reposition. Normal would be considered if you have less than five of those obstructions per hour. That's still considered normal. Per hour?

Yeah. Oh, yeah. She's normal, I guess. So just to get some juxtaposition here, let's compare Natalie's snoring to this recording that we have where it's a clear case of sleep apnea. Here it is. It's getting louder and louder, and then there's this long pause where it's really troubling. Yeah, this person is holding their breath. And then what happens is as you're breath-holding, your oxygen level is dropping. You also retain something called carbon dioxide.

And those two things, when they get to a certain number, your brain will say, Hey, you're choking. Take a breath. It almost sounds like it's not a human being there. Yeah. We have to keep this recording away from my own spouse because I have been known to snore a bit as well. You treat snoring and you snore. Wow. And I truly try to control the

variables. I exercise regularly. I try to eat healthily. I try to keep my weight down. But, you know, with the combination of allergies and other things, it's common. It's really common. So what makes sleep apnea so dangerous? So first off, you're not well rested. So in the acute picture, you have daytime fatigue, you can get into traffic accidents, and you're not at your best. There are also the long-term health consequences. So you can have heart disease, hypertension, arrhythmias, and so it's important to address it if it's there and treat it. So let's talk about some of the things that can help reduce or stop snoring. Sure.

You don't want a large meal anywhere near bedtime. You should eat about four hours before laying down because when your stomach's full of food, it takes up space. It can result in some reflux, which would make your throat swell. So don't eat in your bedtime. Avoidance of alcohol and sedatives. These are the variables that are under our control. However, there are things that are not under our control, which would be our underlying anatomy. So if a person has a really bad deviated septum, if they have a small jaw, but those things can be addressed and remedied with a doctor's help.

Let's talk about the role of the partner. I mean, the partner is the person who can raise the red flag and say, hey, there might be a problem here. Absolutely. People, even with severe obstructive sleep apnea, do not often awaken to consciousness. So they are unaware that they're choking through the night. I've had many patients where the bed partner is the one that's dragging the sleep apnea sufferer into my office for an evaluation. So say you were single, like perhaps you started a podcast about your partner sleeping and then they broke up with you afterwards. What if I'm

a single person? How do I know if I have sleep apnea? Yeah, that's a great question. So there are some signs and symptoms that people may have. Awakening as if you haven't slept. So in the morning, you're fatigued and tired. Some people wake, awaken with a headache in the morning. There are also signs and symptoms of depression that can be associated with this. Weight gain. These are all signs that there may be sleep disordered breathing or obstructive sleep apnea. Well, thank you so much, Dr. Voigt. I am wishing you some beautiful, silent sleep tonight. I can't wait to tell Natalie that she's normal. Thank you so much for having me on the show.

And I hope this helps a lot of people, a lot of listeners out there. I'm Allison Aubrey with NPR's Life Kit. And I'm Maddie Safaya with NPR's new daily science podcast, Shortwave. Check us out just about 10 minutes every weekday. Subscribe now wherever you find your podcasts.