Snoring is not a disease but could be a manifestation of an underlying condition. It is a trigger. During the day, the muscles of the neck keep the airway wide and help air pass through the nose and throat smoothly. Meanwhile, during sleep, neck muscles loosen and collapse into this airway, narrowing it and causing airflow turbulence. The suction current created by the rapid airflow vibrates and stretches the uvula and soft palate. Due to the negative pressure pulling the tongue back and blocking the airway, this force causes snoring and sleep apnea.
In the event of any obstruction to nasal airflow, we tend to open our mouths and breathe, which further pulls the tongue back and aggravates snoring. Mouth breathing also dehydrates the tongue, which results in increased blood supply to tongue and progressive tongue enlargement, increasing the chance of sleep apnea.
Obesity is acknowledged as a significant OSA risk factor. It's unclear exactly how obesity and OSA are related, but there are certainly other factors involved. Body fat distribution, neck soft tissue mass, parapharyngeal and lingual adipose deposition, and BMI are all relevant factors. Any weight gain is not always entirely made up of fat, and it may be more crucial to have more soft tissue mass around the airway.
This will lead to an excessive amount of stress on the chest and heart and the release of stress hormones in the body. The stress hormones manifest themselves in various ways, such as
1. Poor sugar level control in Diabetic patients
2. Raised blood pressure in previously non hypertensive patients
3. Coronary heart disease and stroke
4. Hypoxemic injuries for vital organs - Sudden drop in oxygen supply will lead to hypoxia and initiate free radical reaction in the blood vessels of vital organs like heart and liver
5. Metabolic syndrome- A higher risk of heart disease is associated with this ailment, which includes high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels, excessive blood sugar, and an enlarged waist circumference.
6. Fatigue - Due to inadequate oxygen supply and altered sleep pattern, you may feel fatigued and increased daytime sleepiness
7. Depression - due to inadequate oxygen supply to brain
