Your partner's snoring could be impacting your health

Sleep significantly influences the brain’s regulation of stress and emotional responses. When sleep is interrupted, this delicate balance can become disrupted, often leading to increased irritability and a diminished ability to manage stress effectively.

Meg Warren, 29, personally encountered these challenges due to her former partner’s persistent snoring, which frequently disturbed her rest. She recalls, “Without fail, after a snoring-induced wake up I would feel on incredibly high alert.” In an attempt to ease the situation, Meg, who works as a charity media officer, would gently nudge him through the night, encouraging him to shift from sleeping on his back to his side. Despite these efforts, she often awoke feeling “groggy and dazed, sometimes so much so that it would feel like a hangover.” The ongoing snoring placed strain on their relationship, with Meg noting, “I always said if we lived together we’d have to have a spare bedroom for the nights of truly unbearable snoring.”

Simon explains that disrupted sleep caused by a partner’s snoring can provoke irritability and lead to arguments. Moreover, if couples resort to sleeping in separate rooms to cope, this change can negatively affect intimacy. Addressing snoring, he and Johal emphasize the importance of distinguishing between simple snoring and sleep apnoea, a more serious condition. Simon warns, “What you don’t want to do is simply make someone quieter at night while potentially missing an underlying sleep-related breathing disorder.”

Sleep apnoea is characterized by repeated pauses in breathing during the night, often accompanied by choking sensations, frequent awakenings, and morning headaches. If sleep apnoea is diagnosed, treatment options could include using a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine or, in certain cases, surgery. For those dealing with regular snoring, lifestyle adjustments such as weight loss, quitting smoking, cutting down on alcohol before bedtime, and altering sleeping positions may provide relief. It is advisable for partners to consult a GP who can offer further guidance or refer them to specialists. Possible treatments include addressing nasal obstructions or allergies and using custom mouthguards designed to keep airways open by repositioning the lower jaw. Johal highlights that many couples tolerate snoring “for too long,” negatively impacting their relationships and wellbeing, but reassures, “The key thing is that there is help out there, it’s just tapping into it.

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