November 22, 2006: Researchers in Georgia, USA, took 100 overweight children, aged 7 to 11, and put them on various exercise regimens. After about three months of vigorous after-school physical activity, the number of children who tested positive for sleep-disordered breathing, including snoring, was cut in half. In children who exercised the longest, the number was reduced by 80 percent. Interestingly, the children did not necessarily lose weight -- the improvement seemed related to fitness, more muscle and less fat. 

October 19, 2006: Some stats from north of the 49th parallel, courtesy of a survey of married Canadians by Ipsos Reid: 63% say that "at times, their partner's snoring keeps them awake." More than a third say they'd rather share their bed with a good sleeper than a good lover, and may sleep in a separate room, with obvious negative impact on the intimacy of the marriage.

September 18, 2006: Life is unfair for apneics, isn't it? Those with obstructive sleep apnea are known to be more likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction.  But if you take Viagra, it'll only make your apnea worse, according to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. So your partner has a choice...more sex or more snoring.

September 1, 2006: Mayo Clinic researchers have proposed a new category of sleep apnea they call "complex" -- referring to patients who appear to have obstructive sleep apnea, but unlike typical OSA sufferers, do not respond to CPAP, but soon show symptoms of central sleep apnea. About 15% of apnea sufferers treated at Mayo over the course of one month fell into this category.

August 15, 2006. Young women with asthma are twice as likely to have symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea as those without asthma, according to a study published in the August volume of Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. The survey found that about 21 percent of 30-something women with asthma experienced habitual snoring, the primary symptom of apnea.

August 12, 2006.  A woman in Britain has been jailed for two years for stabbing her husband and pouring bleach down his throat to stop him snoring. The report does not say if this cured his snoring.  What sort of journalism is that?

June 22, 2006.  Add another downside to sleep apnea: erectile dysfunction (ED). Researchers at Cornell have found that of 30 men with the breathing disorder sleep apnea, 24 (80 percent) also had symptoms of ED. The authors speculate that the erections men naturally have during deep REM sleep help preserve normal erectile function. Men with sleep apnea, however, have continuous sleep interruptions and spend less time in the REM stages.

June 1, 2006.  If you assume that those who suffer from sleep apnea are 10% less productive than non-apneic workers, the loss of productivity (adding in a few other equally broad-brush assumptions) could cost the US almost $90 billion a year, says a Philadelphia physician.  His survey of 5600 patients found that over 48% had trouble concentrating at work and got tired easily.  It was also noted that these patients had difficulties in problem solving and performing complex tasks. Regardless of the validity of the $90b estimate, it is clear that even mild sleep apnea can impair your ability to perform well on the job and should be treated.

 May 23, 2006.  Older men who are heavy snorers are more likely to be unhappy with their sex lives, according to a survey reported at the American Thoracic Society International Conference.  These men -- median age 64 -- were not significantly different from non-snorers in problems relating to sexual drive or erectile function, leading one to wonder whether heavy snoring is affecting the spouse and that this, in turn, affects a good sexual relationship. 

April 13, 2006.  A survey of 6800 Swedish women shows they are pretty much like men... they snore more as they get older, heavier and drink and smoke more. 8% of the women reported being habitual snorers. That percentage peaked at 14% among women in their 50s.

April 1, 2006: The Australian Consumers Association has reviewed manufacturer's claims for the effectiveness of their anti-snoring products and concludes that for the most part, the evidence is pretty weak that they can consistently cure snoring.  They looked as pillows, strips, aromatherapy and nasal devices.  We are not too surprised: it's clear that no single remedy is widely effective -- there are too many reasons that people snore. That's why we suggest users try a range of remedies to find one that works for them.  And we agree with the ACA that "lifestyle changes seem to be the most successful and safest treatment."

March 24, 2006: Infants who snore have lower scores on tests designed to show mental development, according to a study this month in Pediatrics.  None of the infants showed signs of sleep apnea, so the researchers conclude that snoring by itself is a problem (which may wake the child up, disrupting sleep). The study suggests that children who snore are more likely to live in a home where one or more of the parents smoke.

March 7, 2006: Looking for an ultra high-tech solution to snoring? The Institute for Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC) has applied for a patent for a snoring cure involving injectable neuromuscular stimulators.  The theory is simple: you snore when your soft palate relaxes during sleep. If you could maintain muscle tone at night, you may not snore.  So, the patent describes a somewhat alarming method to make your muscles near your soft palate contract whenever you snore.  The treatment will involve injecting small coils into the roof of your mouth.  Then near your bed will be a larger coil connected to electricity (a battery?) and a microphone.  When you snore, the microphone will trigger the coil to pulse, in turn charging the muscle coils, making the muscles contract.  Pretty clever, eh? To our knowledge this solution is not currently available.

February 28, 2006: Restore Medical (a sponsor of this web site) has bolstered its claims for the Pillar procedure as a remedy for both snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.  A new study found that 88 percent of patients undergoing the procedure had reductions in their snoring, and nearly two-thirds also reported feeling less sleepy during the day.  About a third saw reduced sleep apnea. The company hopes that these results will encourage insurance companies to cover the procedure, which typically costs $1,500-2,000 as an outpatient procedure.

February 27, 2006: NBC's Today show has a special report on sleep disorders this week.  Some of the segments are available online.  Check out the informative animation on the causes of snoring. 

February 21, 2006: A University of Edinburgh study of 100 women who were at least six months pregnant and 100 non-pregnant women showed that women in the last trimester of pregnancy are more than twice as likely to snore as their non-pregnant counterparts (41% versus 17%). More seriously, 14% of the pregnant women also developed sleep apnea, which can raise blood pressure and lead to preeclampsia. The increased snoring, as you'd guess, is related to weight gain and narrowing of the airways. Within three months of delivery, the pregnant women became non-snorers again.

Latest statistics: Any thinking adult has a healthy skeptism of statistics, but we need them nonetheless to make sense of our world.  Our snoring statistics page collects research as well as the data points commonly used by the experts and would-be experts.



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