Hypoxia and Medicine

Spouse snoring - who sleeps where?

My husband snores and I have chronic insomnia. He falls asleep in 5 minutes and I am still up at 3 a.m. The snoring can feel like a slap in the face to my insomnia, so I move to the couch. However, I have medical conditions where are made worse by being on the couch and he tell me to wake him and make his sleep on the couch. I say this is unfair - he didn't snore on purpose, he gets up really early for his commute and I don't work, it seems to make sense for me to the be one to move. We go round and round because my medical conditions gets worse, but my guilt skyrockets in making this exhausted person move out the bed for something he can't control. (Yes, he's seen doctors, he's fine medically.) Any ideas? We don't have space for two bedrooms and I cannot sleep apart from him after 20+ years together. (The snoring is recent and I think related to his overwork and exhaustion.) I sleep with both earplugs and earmuffs over them. He HAS been tested by doctors and is fine and does not have sleep apnea. Breathe right did not help, nor did snore spray, afrin, sleeping with a fan blowing on him, or anything else. He just snores. :-(

Public Comments

1. Get earplugs.
2. Go see a doctor about sleep apnea. He snores for a reason. they will run a test on him if he has it he'll get a breathing machine and at night he will sleep much better. You on the other hand need to talk to the doc. about insomnia but maybe once he starts sleeping better so will you. Diet might have an influence on your lack of sleep. My husband has sleep apnea.
3. Breathe Right strips - their a life saver!!
4. Your husband needs to be tested in an actual sleep clinic for sleep apnea which is a very serious condition. This condition is not diagnosed by a general physical check up, but rather by special tests in a controlled environment. Please request these tests, it could save his life one day. Continuous Positive Air Pressure (CPAP) therapy could help/cure his snoring. I was married to a man whose snoring could wake the dead. I tried wearing earplugs and it didn't help because he made the whole bed shake with his snoring. I had no choice but to move to another bedroom well away from "ours" and keep the door shut. This doesn't mean that you can't do some sack time together every night. If you can't sleep on the couch for medical reasons then he should. It isn't fair, and it isn't romantic, but it is pragmatic. Sometimes that is the best you can do.
5. I had the same problem which was fixed with a c-pap machine after a sleep study. We also use a fan to add white noise in instances where he accidentally takes off the mask. I also sleep at the opposite end of the bed. It has made all the difference. No more problems.
6. Snoring is one of those things that can be a problem for you and the people around you. If you want to stop snoring, it is important to consider the cause and severity of your snoring. Identifying the cause can help you choose the right cure. It makes sense to try some simple non-invasive treatments first to see if they'll reduce or prevent your snoring. Here are some of those non-invasive tips to stop the snoring: • sleep on your side - there's a higher chance of snoring if you lie on your back, and sleeping on your stomach will kill your neck. • keep a regular sleep schedule - and make sure you get enough sleep, many people snore only when they are overly tired • elevate your head when sleeping - you can increase the angle of your bed by raising the head of the bed or use pillows to raise your upper body, don't just raise your head that'll put more pressure on your air way and have the opposite effect. • avoid alcohol and tranquillizers - they basically cause the muscles of your jaw and throat to relax, increasing your changes of snoring. • Treat your allergies - if your nose is stuffy it may force you to breathe through your mouth when sleeping. If your nose is stuffed I recommend using a neti pot, the are incredibly effective, natural and pretty cheap to. • buy a mouth guard - mouth guards will keep your jaw muscles from relaxing too much, and prevent snoring. It may not be too attractive to your significant other but it'll help you both get some sleep! :) • Lose weight - when you're heavier the extra weight puts pressure on your airway, causing snoring. • if you smoke try to stop - smoking damages your respiratory system, which doesn't help in the snoring department Excessive snoring may also mean you have a more serious problem like sleep apnea. If you wake up with a headache, are extremely tired during the day, don't feel refreshed when you wake up, have trouble concentrating or a very low attention span, or wake up during the night choking and gasping for breath you should probably see a doctor. Mild snoring that isn't related to sleep apnea responds well to home remedies. Finding a cure for your snoring problem can result in an improved quality of life for you and your loved ones. An effective and pretty simple solution is doing throat exercises, here's a website with interesting information on the snoring exercises: http://www.thestopsnoringexerciseprogram.com/?hop=4safetynow
7. If you don't have space for two bedrooms, then buy a sleeper sofa or a recliner that is comfortable enough for you to sleep in with your medical condition. There is no room for guilt for either one of you, and no reason to go around and around with this every single night, only room to plan for a solution. BOTH of you deserve to have a decent night's sleep. And are you sure he really got tested for sleep apnea? To do that he'd have had to go to a sleep clinic. If he recently gained weight, or had something alcoholic to drink, that would exacerbate the snoring.
8. As snoring is the result of soft tissues vibrating in your mouth and throat, and often snorers are mouth breathers, try some sort of anti snoring device in the short term tosee if it fixes you up. They are pretty cheap and either keep your airway clear or prevent you from breathing through you mouth. Hope this helps. Mouth breathing is often a learned behavior which can be reversed.