If your partner snores loudly they could be damaging your health

Does your partners snoring drive you mad? (Photo: Shutterstock)Does your partners snoring drive you mad? (Photo: Shutterstock)
Does your partners snoring drive you mad? (Photo: Shutterstock)

Does your partner keep you awake with their loud snoring? According to a new study, it could actually be having a huge effect on your health.

This is everything you need to know about how your partner's snoring could be affecting you beyond just keeping you up at night.

What did the study find?

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The study, called ‘Snoring: a source of noise pollution and sleep apnea predictor’, said that snoring is a “potential source of noise pollution in the bedroom that can degrade the quality of sleep in bed partners”. The research states that noise exposure is a known risk factor for adverse health effects.

The study also said that those sharing a bed with a loud snorer can have “exposure to unhealthy sound levels”.

In regards to noise pollution, the study explained, “Noise pollution in excess of 53 dB(A) has been associated with adverse cardiovascular events in exposed populations.”

A total of 14 per cent of the participants in the study were revealed to have a snoring intensity of over 53 db(A), with 66 per cent making over 45 db(A).

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“Current evidence suggests that accumulated nocturnal exposure to snoring can thus contribute to the development and/or progression of cardiovascular disease in both the snorer and bed partner,” the study reported.

Raised blood pressure

The study then goes on to explain that cardiovascular stress is related to things like “sustained elevations in blood pressure during sleep”.

According to the NHS, high blood pressure puts extra strain on your blood vessels, heart and other organs like your brain, kidneys and even your eyes.

Persistent high blood pressure can increase the risk of a number of health conditions, including:

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Heart diseaseHeart attacksStrokesHeart failureKidney disease

In the 2020 statistics released by the British Heart Foundation, high blood pressure is revealed to be the leading risk factor for heart and circulatory disease in the UK.

“In the UK, it’s estimated that six to eight million people are living with undiagnosed or uncontrolled high blood pressure,” the report states.

The report also says that around 50 per cent of heart attacks and strokes are associated with high blood pressure.

The study

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The study was conducted by Mudiaga Sowho, Francis Sgambati, Michelle Guzman, Hartmut Schneider and Alan Schwartz for the Sleep Research Society.

Snorers were recruited from areas surrounding the study sites, including Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Doctors Community Hospital in Lanham.

The study featured 164 self reported snorers from a list of over 600 interested participants. Those interested in the study with “witnessed apneas, gasping/choking and severe obesity” were excluded from the study.

Those included in the study underwent a general medical examination and an in-laboratory polysomnography, which is a sleep study used to diagnose sleep disorders by recording brainwaves, blood oxygen levels, heart rate, breathing and eye and leg movements during sleep.

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