“You kept me awake all night long again”. If your partner or whoever sleeps in your room warns you about how much you snore, swallow your pride and take the scolding in a constructive way. After all, he or she will be doing you a favour since snoring on a regular basis could be a sign of some underlying conditions that you should be aware of. Among these, chronic sinusitis stands out as one of the most common causes of snoring, due to different reasons. If you want to find out why, keep on reading!
As you may already have experienced, the blockage or swelling of the nasal passages, which is one of the main symptoms of a sinus infection, causes breathing difficulties, as the nasal airflow is reduced. When your nose is stuffed up, the inhalation process doesn’t run smoothly, and that provokes the creation of a vacuum in the throat, which can trigger snoring.
In addition, keep in mind that when we suffer from nasal congestion, we tend to sleep with our mouth wide open. And what’s wrong with that? You may be guessing. Well, if you happen to mainly breathe through your mouth during nighttime, that action may put extra pressure on the uvula, the dangling fleshy part located in the back of the mouth, and also on the soft palate, thereby increasing vibration in the area. That vibration is exactly what produces the disturbing sound notoriously known as snore.
According to different studies, about 90 million people suffer from chronic snoring in America. Obviously, there are multiple factors, such as drinking alcohol, smoking, being overweight or taking sedatives to help you sleep, that can also take the blame for sleep-related problems.
If you want to prevent sleep loss, partner resentment and even sleeping in a separate room, you’ll have to figure out what’s troubling you (and your relatives!) at bedtime. Treating sinusitis, especially by clearing a clogged nose, can help you confront the problem and ‘break up’ the long-lasting ‘relationship’ between sinusitis and snoring.