Marital Problem Like Snoring

Is snoring "really" the issue? - marital problem like snoring

Forty-five percent of the world's population snores. Snoring affects men (most frequently), women, little children, and infants. A 2005 National Sleep Foundation survey revealed that a total of 31% of couples have been changing their sleeping habits to break away from their noisy partners. Although snoring could be a frivolous ground for divorce, some couples resort to this as an excuse to an existing marital problem. Marital problem like snoring aggravates an already stressed out relationship. On the other hand, as much as it affects a relationship, a marital problem like snoring puts both partners at risk to more serious health problems.

The snorer may already have sleep apnea (a condition wherein breathing is paused for about 10 seconds or more) and aggravate to hypertension, high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, or stroke. The non-snoring partner, meanwhile, becomes deprived of a sound sleep. Aside from the physical risks that snoring instigates, being deprived of sleep results in irritability for both partners. In the said 2005 survey, 38% admitted that their partner's sleeping disorder is causing them problems in their relationships, 27% said their intimacy was affected by the lack of sleep, and 34% of the women reportedly needed to sleep eight hours or more.

Although the ideal for couples is to sleep together, prolonged lack of sleep has pushed couples to sleep apart. This doesn't mean anything like separation. Sleep means having sufficient rest to attain proper bodily functions and if this is not achieved through sleeping with your partner, the better solution is to sleep separately and get along well during the hours when a couple is awake. As long as each one is still conscious that intimacy is not confined to being together "all the time".

The Sleep Disorder Center at the Rush University Medical Center conducted a study on 10 couples with one partner being diagnosed with sleep apnea. The snoring partner was given a non-invasive continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment at home for two weeks. The results were promising. The treatment prevented the upper airway from collapsing eliminating the snoring sound and the lungs to function properly. This increased the quality life of the wife from 1.2 to 7 percent.

At times, marital problem like snoring is only masking out a bigger issue like mediocrity in sex or being emotionally-alienated to one another. So if marital problem like snoring seems to be the issue, it may well be time to dig in deeper.