Sleeping With a Snorer Isn’t Just Annoying, It Can Actually Be Bad for Your Health
Have you ever slept next to a snorer? It’s the worst. I’m not talking about someone who breathes heavily while they sleep. No, I’m talking about the ones who sound like they have a lawnmower stuck down their throat! It’s SO LOUD. How they don’t wake themselves up with their noise is a mystery. If you have any experience with this, then you know how hard it can be to get a good night’s sleep. But, as it turns out, sleeping next to a snorer does more than disrupt your own zzzz’s. It can actually have a negative effect on your health!
According to a new study, sleeping next to a snorer can raise your blood pressure. So you don’t sleep well AND it’s bad for your health. RUDE.
Image: Giphy
A team of scientists at Imperial College London carried out the study. They analyzed how noise could effect your sleep. What they found was interesting and annoying. The study revealed that sleeping next to a snoring partner raised the blood pressure of the non-snoring sleeper. Researchers monitored 140 volunteers who lived near four different European airports. They found that snoring was just as disruptive to someone’s sleep as the sound of a low-flying plane or a large truck backing up in a nearby street.
It isn’t the type of noise that’s the problem. It’s the loudness. And snoring can be VERY loud. The louder the noise, the more a person’s blood pressure rose, at a rate of about 0.66 mm Hg for every five decibel increase.
Dr. Lars Jurup is one of the lead authors on the study. He says, “We know that noise from air traffic can be a source of irritation, but our research shows that it can also be damaging for people’s health. This is particularly significant in the light of plans to expand international airports.”
Dr. Jurup continued, “Our studies show night-time aircraft noise can affect blood pressure instantly and increase the risk of hypertension.”
High blood pressure puts people at risk for stroke, heart disease, kidney disease, and dementia. So the results of this study are alarming.
We all know how important sleep is, and how hard it can be to get enough. Parents struggle with sleep loss so much, and if they finally get into bed and their partner is cutting logs like a chainsaw, that’s a problem! A pillow over the face seems extreme, but maybe the snorer can move to the couch?
(Image: iStock / Wavebreakmedia)
