Dr Samuel Munyi Nyagah, an ENT surgeon and a sleep specialist at The Sleep Diagnostics and Treatment Centre told The Nairobian that snoring during sleep is a disorder.
The doctor explained that that snoring is the hoarse sound that comes from either nose or mouth, which comes as a result of narrowing of the airway or the pharynx or when breathing is partially obstructed.
The condition of snoring is commonly referred to as apnea.
“Anyone who snores should undergo a medical examination, as such may be a disease. In some, they snore, until they stop breathing, for like ten seconds,” said Dr Nyagah.
Though most patients who snore suffer apnea, other causes of snoring include cancers of the throat, due to tumors that block airways.
Snoring also comes with age- older people tend to snore more, as compared to young ones.
“Old people tend to snore more, because as someone ages, the muscle in the throats reduces, in that when one sleeps. The muscle tone goes lower, collapses and one starts to snore,” he explained.
Snoring is also triggered by obesity, alcohol that suppresses the muscular tone, and seductive medicines.
Apart from snoring being a disorder, it causes insomnia.
At the clinic, patients with sleeping problems are admitted and their sleep patterns monitored, by use of decibels.
Other sleep disorders monitored in the lab are restless leg movement, sleep talking, teeth grinding through a Polysomnography machine
A polysomnography monitors stages of sleep and cycles and identifies when sleep patterns are disrupted.
Patients with apnea are advised to use Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine, which delivers sufficient air pressure, which keeps the upper airway passages open, preventing snoring and sleep apnea.
A sleep endoscopy can also be done to determine if a patient needs surgery.
