I went to New Orleans for hurricane relief work and had the opportunity to share a room with my friend Mike. We were both boys and he slept in his own bed and I slept in mine. We kept up this routine for almost a month. I never realized how loud my snoring was until he pushed me which was so loud I couldn’t sleep. Every morning I would scold myself for the exhausting, repetitive sound effects emanating from the depths of my throat. I hadn’t realized the decimal-busting snoring concert every night. It got so bad that he started sleeping in the other workers’ room, on the floor! At first I thought it was funny and now it’s starting to scare me. I am overweight and have not been doing the things I know I should be doing and the research in this article has pushed me to the brink of inactivity. I’ve added yet another item to the long list of reasons why it’s important to be at a healthy weight rather than obese.

This reason is not snoring, it is SLEEP APNEA. The snoring is a cry for help from his body. This scream is from your body that is choking for air. It is a respiratory disorder, a physical abnormality that is a major problem for millions of people. Too often, snoring is passed off as nothing more than an irritation or annoyance. Most people are unaware that they are harming their health by not receiving treatment for snoring or sleep apnea. These problems are life-threatening and can cause death if left untreated. Snoring can be a symptom of sleep apnea. Snoring is defined as noisy breathing through the mouth and nose during sleep. Snoring is the vibration of the respiratory structures and the resulting sound, due to obstructed air movement during breathing while sleeping. Snoring is known to cause sleep deprivation and side effects: daytime sleepiness, irritability, lack of concentration, lack of interest in sex. Snoring is a common condition that can affect everyone at any age, although it occurs more frequently in men and in people who are overweight.

Of course, not everyone who snores has sleep apnea, and not everyone who has sleep apnea snores, but snoring is a common symptom of sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is defined as the cessation of breathing during sleep. Sleep apnea is a common disorder that can be very serious. Sleep apnea is also associated with poorer survival in medical conditions, in addition to heart and circulation. Sleep apnea is more likely to occur in men than women and in people who are overweight or obese. Sleep apnea is diagnosed with an overnight test called a polysomnogram.

I could fill this entire page with medical terms and phrases that explain sleep apnea, but I’ll refrain. To put the explanation in simpler terms, you stop breathing while you sleep. Your body doesn’t like this. As a result of not getting enough air, you wake up. You don’t wake up enough to realize you’re awake. Even though you are not fully awake, your REM sleep has been disturbed and you are not getting the benefit of being asleep! A dramatic portrayal of not getting REM sleep can be seen in the classic episode called Night Terrors of the Star Trek Next Generation series. (Episode #417) You may hate the show, but the science of REM deprivation is not fiction.

So… being overweight makes you stop breathing while you sleep, which makes it so that you can’t get a good night’s sleep. I won’t even begin to list all the problems you can have from walking around exhausted all your life. What I would like to list the remedies for sleep apnea.

o Laser-assisted surgery uvulopalatoplasty or LAUP, a modification of the uvulopalatopharyngoplasty or UPPP procedure.

o Wearing a device while sleeping. Patients primarily use a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine for sleep apnea treatment at home. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the upper airways narrow as the muscles naturally relax during sleep. This reduces oxygen in the blood and causes awakening from sleep. The CPAP machine stops this phenomenon by delivering a stream of compressed air through a nose or full face mask and hose, splinting the airways (keeping them open under air pressure) so that unobstructed breathing is possible, reducing and / or preventing apnea.

or Lose weight.

Surgery? I do not think.

I’ve seen someone try to sleep on CPAP and it’s almost comical. You wear a mask over your face with a hose that blows compressed air into your nose. As I write this, I must laugh out loud at the memory of Darth Vader’s appearance going to bed. Granted, the machine may save your life, but I think it’s easier to lose weight. If you lose weight, your whole body sleeps better.

There you go! Another reason to lose weight. What will you need for you to choose thin? The journey must begin, you know you must begin. I wish you luck on your journey.