Sleep apnoea

Snoring may be viewed as a minor or major irritation to the sufferer and those around them, but it could be the sign of a serious problem. During sleep the body’s muscles relax. In most parts of the body this will help you to sleep well. However, the muscles that help to hold open the throat relax too, leading to a partial collapse and narrowing of the area. In normal people this makes it harder to breathe, but it usually doesn’t matter. However, when the narrowing is more than usual, the airway behind the tongue collapses much more. This causes snoring and when the collapse is complete, it causes apnoea (without breath) and you stop breathing. The body senses that your breathing is blocked and you wake up. After a few deep breaths you will fall back to sleep. This often becomes a continuous cycle and although you don’t remember, it can happen hundreds of times each night.

The most common sufferers are middle-aged, overweight men with large necks, usually with a size 17 inch collar or more. Extra fat in the neck squashes the throat from outside – particularly when the throat muscles become relaxed during sleep. At least three men in every thousand have severe sleep apnoea. 4%* of men and 2%* of women have mild sleep apnoea.

The only effective treatment currently used for sleep apnoea is called ‘continuous positive airway pressure’ (CPAP). Air is delivered by a mask that fits over the nose and connects to a small pump. As the air blows through the nose, the throat is held open and breathing returns to normal.Although the vast majority of people find a CPAP machine is effective, the device can be awkward to wear and certainly doesn’t do anything for your appearance.