Snoring is associated with an increase in high blood pressure and possibly nighttime lack of oxygen that may increase the chance of heart attack. It also may cause estrangement from your roommate. People can have hundreds of obstructions nightly. Disturbed nights can lead to daytime sleepiness, morning headache, lethargy, weight gain, and difficulty concentrating. These problems can occur in people who appear to breathe normally when awake.
Medical management includes careful examination and a sleep study.
Sleeping sideways can be encouraged by a tennis ball in a sock pinned to your pajamas between your shoulder blades. You can put bricks under the head-end bed legs. You can help your roommate by letting the non-snorer go to sleep first. Continuous insufflation of air, sometimes under pressure from a face mask,is the treatment of choice for sleep apnea. In a few patients, surgery or outpatient laser surgery may be helpful in enlarging the airway through the nose and throat.