The Sexism of Sleep Apnea | Caroline Coombs

The English novelist, Anthony Burgess wrote: “Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone.”¹ Snoring is certainly no laughing matter. It is a common, irritating problem occurring in 45% of the general population.² In the subpopulation of 30 to 35 year olds, a disproportionate 20% of men snore compared to only 5% of women.³ There is no scientific explanation for the prevalence of male snorers; however, legend has it that primitive men defended their women at night by making terrifying noises to frighten away beasts of prey.³ In modern mainstream western society, we are not threatened by lurking wild beasts while we sleep and in such a society where many women live alone and are well equipped to manage their own security needs, the protective snoring of the male is unnecessary. If anything, snoring is now perceived as an obnoxious human habit. Snoring is not just annoying and bothersome, forcing many a bedmate to seek respite on the couch, but is a medical condition associated with the upper respiratory system.

When air does not flow clearly through the passages of the respiratory system, vibrations occur causing the snoring sound. As the snorer falls into a deep sleep, the muscles of the tongue, throat and roof of the mouth relax causing the throat tissues to sag, thus narrowing the airway. These tissues flutter and vibrate as the person inhales and the narrower the airway becomes, the louder the snore.⁴ Sound levels of up to 80 decibels (about as loud as the engine of a bus when heard from the rear) have been recorded from habitual snorers.³ Serious health problems can develop when the partial obstruction of the airway that causes snoring progresses into total obstruction of the airway, a condition known as apnea. During apnea, after a few seconds of unsuccessful attempts at respiration, a loud snort occurs that partially awakens the sleeper, thus forcing open the airways. Kicking and flailing of the arms and legs in a body spasm may accompany this resuscitative snort. This coping mechanism serves not only to resume normal breathing in the snorer but also to drive any bedfellow to alternate sleeping quarters!³ Repetitive arousals of this sort, from deeper sleep to a lighter sleep, can lead to sleep deprivation causing lethargy, irritability, and fatigue during the day. Other signs of sleep apnea may include morning headaches, dry mouth, and sexual impotence. Further, the reduced oxygenation of the blood can lead to abnormally high blood pressure in the vessels connecting the lung and heart. Disruptions of the normal rhythm of the heartbeat may also result.³

Available treatments for snoring range from the taping of a marble to the snorer’s back, to laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP). LAUP involves laser-assisted removal of excess tissue from the soft palate and uvula. The newly enlarged airway reduces the tissue vibrations that cause snoring.⁴ Another surgical treatment involves the trimming and tightening of throat tissues. Non-surgical treatments include specially contoured therapeutic pillows and anti-snoring mouthpieces. One woman claims that the Snoremate brand anti-snoring mouthpiece alleviated her husband’s snoring and revitalized their sex life. She proclaims, “Face it, after listening to my husband snoring all night, the last thing I feel like is having sex. For starters, I am absolutely exhausted from lack of sleep and find my husband most unattractive after what he has put me through. [SnoreMate] worked from day one and I am so thankful that both of us are now getting a full nights sleep. When we wake up in the morning we are like newlyweds and our marriage has been rejuvenated.”⁵

Some of the currently available therapies can prove costly and ineffectual. Some simple, somewhat effective alternatives include sleeping on one’s side, instead of the back, tilting the entire bed with the head raised four inches off the floor, abstaining from alcohol for at least four hours before retiring, avoiding tranquilizers, sleeping pills, and antihistamines before bedtime, and drinking coffee or cola before bedtime so one’s companion can get to sleep first.³

Laboratory research is also helping to provide some ammunition in the battle against snoring. Except for bulldogs, snoring is an exclusively human phenomenon. Utilizing this fact, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are studying the effects of the chemical serotonin on bulldogs to see if this hypothesized aid can really eradicate snoring. So far, lab tests show that serotonin seems to help keep the bulldogs' throats open during sleep, thus reducing the tendency to snore.⁶ These results, however, are not necessarily typical of what may occur in human clinical trials.

Until serotonin or some other chemical therapy proves effective in humans and becomes readily available, it seems that snorers must rely either on expensive surgeries or quick fixes. A word for the partners of snorers: Patience is a virtue. On December 3, 1983 a Dallas woman took a pistol from under her bedcovers and fired five shots at her snoring husband. Although snoring has recently become valid grounds for divorce, it is not yet legal justification for murder.³

References

http://chatna.com/author/burgess.htm
http://www.entnet.org/snoring.html
Red book, Fairbanks, David N.F. and Shiro Fujita eds, Snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Raven Press: New York, 1994.
http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/Mosby_factsheets/snoring.html
http://www.snoremate.com/
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9703/19/nfm/snoring/


	click here for author biography The English novelist, Anthony Burgess wrote: “Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone.”¹ Snoring is certainly no laughing matter. It is a common, irritating problem occurring in 45% of the general population.² In the subpopulation of 30 to 35 year olds, a disproportionate 20% of men snore compared to only 5% of women.³ There is no scientific explanation for the prevalence of male snorers; however, legend has it that primitive men defended their women at night by making terrifying noises to frighten away beasts of prey.³ In modern mainstream western society, we are not threatened by lurking wild beasts while we sleep and in such a society where many women live alone and are well equipped to manage their own security needs, the protective snoring of the male is unnecessary. If anything, snoring is now perceived as an obnoxious human habit. Snoring is not just annoying and bothersome, forcing many a bedmate to seek respite on the couch, but is a medical condition associated with the upper respiratory system. When air does not flow clearly through the passages of the respiratory system, vibrations occur causing the snoring sound. As the snorer falls into a deep sleep, the muscles of the tongue, throat and roof of the mouth relax causing the throat tissues to sag, thus narrowing the airway. These tissues flutter and vibrate as the person inhales and the narrower the airway becomes, the louder the snore.⁴ Sound levels of up to 80 decibels (about as loud as the engine of a bus when heard from the rear) have been recorded from habitual snorers.³ Serious health problems can develop when the partial obstruction of the airway that causes snoring progresses into total obstruction of the airway, a condition known as apnea. During apnea, after a few seconds of unsuccessful attempts at respiration, a loud snort occurs that partially awakens the sleeper, thus forcing open the airways. Kicking and flailing of the arms and legs in a body spasm may accompany this resuscitative snort. This coping mechanism serves not only to resume normal breathing in the snorer but also to drive any bedfellow to alternate sleeping quarters!³ Repetitive arousals of this sort, from deeper sleep to a lighter sleep, can lead to sleep deprivation causing lethargy, irritability, and fatigue during the day. Other signs of sleep apnea may include morning headaches, dry mouth, and sexual impotence. Further, the reduced oxygenation of the blood can lead to abnormally high blood pressure in the vessels connecting the lung and heart. Disruptions of the normal rhythm of the heartbeat may also result.³ Available treatments for snoring range from the taping of a marble to the snorer’s back, to laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP). LAUP involves laser-assisted removal of excess tissue from the soft palate and uvula. The newly enlarged airway reduces the tissue vibrations that cause snoring.⁴ Another surgical treatment involves the trimming and tightening of throat tissues. Non-surgical treatments include specially contoured therapeutic pillows and anti-snoring mouthpieces. One woman claims that the Snoremate brand anti-snoring mouthpiece alleviated her husband’s snoring and revitalized their sex life. She proclaims, “Face it, after listening to my husband snoring all night, the last thing I feel like is having sex. For starters, I am absolutely exhausted from lack of sleep and find my husband most unattractive after what he has put me through. [SnoreMate] worked from day one and I am so thankful that both of us are now getting a full nights sleep. When we wake up in the morning we are like newlyweds and our marriage has been rejuvenated.”⁵ Some of the currently available therapies can prove costly and ineffectual. Some simple, somewhat effective alternatives include sleeping on one’s side, instead of the back, tilting the entire bed with the head raised four inches off the floor, abstaining from alcohol for at least four hours before retiring, avoiding tranquilizers, sleeping pills, and antihistamines before bedtime, and drinking coffee or cola before bedtime so one’s companion can get to sleep first.³ Laboratory research is also helping to provide some ammunition in the battle against snoring. Except for bulldogs, snoring is an exclusively human phenomenon. Utilizing this fact, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are studying the effects of the chemical serotonin on bulldogs to see if this hypothesized aid can really eradicate snoring. So far, lab tests show that serotonin seems to help keep the bulldogs' throats open during sleep, thus reducing the tendency to snore.⁶ These results, however, are not necessarily typical of what may occur in human clinical trials. Until serotonin or some other chemical therapy proves effective in humans and becomes readily available, it seems that snorers must rely either on expensive surgeries or quick fixes. A word for the partners of snorers: Patience is a virtue. On December 3, 1983 a Dallas woman took a pistol from under her bedcovers and fired five shots at her snoring husband. Although snoring has recently become valid grounds for divorce, it is not yet legal justification for murder.³ References http://chatna.com/author/burgess.htm http://www.entnet.org/snoring.html Red book, Fairbanks, David N.F. and Shiro Fujita eds, Snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Raven Press: New York, 1994. http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/Mosby_factsheets/snoring.html http://www.snoremate.com/ http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9703/19/nfm/snoring/