Snoring is a common issue that affects many people, but it can also be a symptom of a more serious condition known as sleep apnea. Understanding the relationship between snoring and sleep apnea is crucial for proper diagnosis and treatment.
Open airway, Tongue relaxed (falling slightly back).
Partially blocked airway. Constricted airway causes vibration.
Fully blocked airway (life threatening).
Snoring is the noise produced by vibrations of the soft tissues in the throat while breathing during sleep. It is typically associated with the relaxation of the muscles in the throat, causing the airway to narrow and creating the sound of snoring.
Snoring can be a sign of obstructive sleep apnea, a sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing or shallow breaths during sleep. This interruption in breathing can lead to reduced oxygen levels in the blood and disrupt the sleep cycle.
Some common symptoms of sleep apnea include loud and frequent snoring, gasping or choking during sleep, daytime fatigue, morning headaches, and difficulty concentrating. If left untreated, sleep apnea can have serious health consequences.
Several factors can contribute to snoring, including being overweight, consuming alcohol before bedtime, sleeping on your back, and nasal congestion. Addressing these factors can help reduce snoring and improve overall sleep quality.
In obstructive sleep apnea, the airway becomes partially or completely blocked during sleep, leading to breathing pauses and disruptions in sleep patterns. The narrowing of the airway can be caused by factors such as obesity, enlarged tonsils, or a deviated septum.
Nasal congestion, allergies, or a deviated septum can contribute to snoring by obstructing the airflow through the nasal passages. Keeping the nasal passages clear and open can help reduce snoring and improve breathing during sleep.
Sleeping on your side instead of your back can help prevent the relaxation of throat muscles and reduce snoring. Elevating the head of the bed slightly can also help improve airflow and reduce snoring.
Nasal strips, saline nasal sprays, or nasal dilators can help keep the nasal passages open and reduce congestion, which in turn can decrease snoring. These simple remedies can be effective in improving breathing during sleep.
Making lifestyle changes such as maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding alcohol before bedtime, staying hydrated, and establishing a regular sleep routine can all contribute to reducing snoring and promoting better sleep quality.
If you or your bed partner suspect that snoring may be related to sleep apnea, it is important to consult a healthcare provider for a proper diagnosis. A doctor can recommend further evaluation and appropriate treatment options.
Treatments for sleep apnea may include lifestyle modifications, such as weight loss and positional therapy, as well as the use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices. Surgical interventions may be recommended in severe cases.
CPAP therapy involves using a machine that delivers a continuous flow of air through a mask worn over the nose or mouth during sleep. This air pressure helps keep the airway open and can effectively treat obstructive sleep apnea.
Dental sleep medicine offers oral appliances that can help position the jaw and tongue to keep the airway open during sleep, reducing snoring and improving breathing. These custom-fit devices are a non-invasive option for managing snoring.
Oral appliances can be a practical solution for individuals with mild to moderate sleep apnea or those who cannot tolerate CPAP therapy. These devices are comfortable to wear and can be an effective long-term treatment for reducing snoring.
Sleep studies, also known as polysomnograms, are diagnostic tests used to monitor various parameters during sleep, including breathing patterns, heart rate, and oxygen levels. These studies help healthcare providers diagnose sleep disorders like sleep apnea and tailor treatment plans accordingly.
A: Snoring is typically caused by a narrowed airway, which can be a result of various factors such as relaxed throat muscles, bulky throat tissue, or obstructed nasal passages.
A: While snoring is a common symptom of sleep apnea, not everyone who snores has sleep apnea. Snoring can also be caused by other factors such as allergies, nasal congestion, or sleeping position.
A: Snoring is characterized by loud snoring followed by pauses in breathing. Causes can include obesity, blocked nasal passages, alcohol consumption, or anatomical factors like a large uvula or soft palate.
A: To help stop snoring, you can try lifestyle changes such as losing weight, avoiding alcohol before bed, sleeping on your side, or using nasal strips to open up your airways.
A: Yes, various treatments are available for snoring ranging from lifestyle changes to medical interventions such as oral appliance therapy, CPAP machines, or surgical procedures to correct anatomical issues.
A: Persistent snoring in children should be evaluated by a doctor as it could be a sign of a sleep disorder or other underlying health issues that need to be addressed.
A: Alcohol and sedatives can relax the throat muscles leading to increased likelihood of snoring as the airway becomes more restricted. It is advisable to avoid alcohol before bedtime to help reduce snoring.
YOU CAN ALSO CALL US DIRECTLY AT (682) 888-1680
Dr. Akkad is enthusiastic and eager to serve his patients, not simply sell them a dental appliance to alleviate sleep apnea. I would wholeheartedly recommend his services to anyone suffering… read more from sleep apnea.
Everyone was kind and efficient. The doctor takes his time and made the whole process comfortable.
Very caring and professional.
Dr. Akkad is an exceptional care provider! I’ve worked w/him for several years now, combatting my sleep apnea symptoms and he’s always been friendly, responsive, and enthusiastic! Always feel confident… read more that he has my best interests at heart and he always ensures I have all the support I need! I give him my highest recommendation!
Very professional place. Dr. Akkad answered all of my questions.
Dr Akkad and Lilly worked with me, understood my situation and it was all resolved. Great doing business with them. Thank you!
Always have a great experience! Dr. Akkad and his staff are obviously very knowledgeable but are also very caring and are willing to go the extra mile. And Dr. Akkad… read more is always upbeat and happy…a pleasure to be around. Thank you all!
Love Doctor Akkad very personable
Dr. Akkad and his staff are joyful, pleasant, and efficient. Dr. Akkad is personable and takes time to be sure he fully understands what you want. I’ve been… read more going to Dr. Akkad for about 5 years and I have been pleased with his work.
Office staff is great. Dr Akkad is very personable. Highly recommend
Dr. Akkad is the best when it comes to anything sleep disorder related! I would highly recommend him!
Great attention to detail. Friendly service. Explanations are thorough and predictive of potential issues.
Sleep and Snoring Solutions
We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability.
To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.
This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.
Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML, adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.
If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements, alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website. In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels; descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups), and others. Additionally, the background process scans all the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology. To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers).
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs. There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to