Drinking alcohol before bed can cause the muscles in the throat to relax and fall, while the upper airway closes, obstructing air flow, causing snoring.
Snoring is a sound produced during sleep due to the vibration of soft tissues in the throat when air flows through. The sound ranges from very soft, barely audible to loud enough to disturb others.
Master, Doctor Nguyen Van Ngan, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Tam Anh General Hospital, Hanoi, said that this is a fairly common condition, occurring in about 57% of men and 40% of women. Snoring can be harmless but can also be a warning sign of many health problems that need treatment, including obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. The louder the snoring, the greater the degree of airway narrowing.
Alcohol has a negative impact on snoring and sleep apnea. According to Dr. Ngan, in addition to contributing to an increase in body mass index - one of the risk factors for snoring, drinking alcohol makes breathing slower, shallower, and reduces the ability to breathe. Toxic substances from alcohol disrupt and inhibit the activity of the central nervous system, causing the muscles in the throat to relax compared to normal. The tissues and muscles around the throat are completely relaxed, and will sag, making the already narrow airways even narrower, obstructing the flow of air in and out of the throat. This can cause vibration of the soft tissues when air passes through, leading to snoring.
A retrospective study based on 21 scientific reports from 1985-2015 by the University of Nottingham (UK) published in the US Medical Library shows that drinking alcohol can increase the risk of sleep apnea by up to 25%. This habit also increases a person's apnea index (a measure of the number of breaths per hour of sleep), reducing blood oxygen levels. In addition, the process of metabolizing ethanol can disrupt the regulation of biological rhythms, increase physiological arousal, disrupt the sleep cycle, and reduce sleep quality.
Drinking alcohol reduces breathing ability, obstructs air flow in and out of the throat, causing snoring. Photo: Freepik
Snoring is not only annoying but also has serious health effects such as fatigue, headaches, loss of concentration, reduced work performance, daytime sleepiness, and risk of accidents while driving or working. If snoring is related to sleep apnea, the patient is at high risk of depression, diabetes, high blood pressure, chest pain, arrhythmia, heart failure, ... even sudden death during the night.
Doctor Ngan advises that to improve snoring, patients should stop drinking alcohol or avoid drinking alcohol at least 3 hours before going to bed; choose to sleep on one side or use a high pillow, avoid eating too much and close to bedtime, get enough sleep, exercise to maintain a reasonable weight, and drink plenty of water are also effective remedies.
If snoring is severe, such as loud snoring or accompanied by gasping or choking sounds; sleep is frequently interrupted; lack of concentration, headaches in the morning, the patient should see a doctor to check for sleep apnea. In fact, up to 75% of people who snore have this syndrome, but only a small percentage are detected and treated.
According to Dr. Ngan, a polysomnography or sleep polygraphy machine and a continuous positive airway pressure (auto CPAP) machine are advanced tools that help accurately diagnose the cause of snoring and effectively treat snoring at home. In cases of snoring caused by nasopharyngeal diseases, patients need to be treated with medication or surgery to achieve effectiveness and improve snoring symptoms.
Trinh Mai
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