Here’s How Your Partner’s OSA Affects Your Sleep
Are you dealing with a partner whose snoring is constantly waking you up? Partner-affected sleep is a common issue, and it can also be a very frustrating one. Night after night, your partner’s loud snoring disturbs your otherwise peaceful slumber, leaving you tired and groggy in the morning, reaching for the strongest coffee you can find. Learning how to navigate this issue can be difficult since your partner isn’t aware they are snoring so loudly. If you’re ready to put an end to your partner’s snoring and get some rest, we are here to help. Keep reading to learn more about what to do if you’re dealing with partner-affected sleep and how to talk to your partner about OSA and OSA treatment.
Does Your Partner Have OSA?
If your partner is snoring loudly night after night, chances are, they are suffering from OSA, also known as Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by episodes of a complete airway collapse or a partial collapse with an associated decrease in oxygen saturation or arousal from sleep. Other symptoms include loud, disruptive snoring, witnessed apneas during sleep, and excessive daytime sleepiness. This disturbance results in fragmented, nonrestorative sleep. OSA has significant implications for cardiovascular health, mental illness, quality of life, and driving safety.
There are two other types of sleep apnea, which include:
- Central Sleep Apnea: When central sleep apnea (CSA) is present, the brain does not send the proper signals to the muscles responsible for breathing.
- Mixed Sleep Apnea: Mixed, or complex, sleep apnea involves a combination of both central and obstructive sleep apnea.
Signs and Symptoms of OSA
As you are well aware by now, loud snoring is one of the hallmark symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea. Breathing through the mouth while sleeping is not the body’s natural way of breathing—the reason your partner is doing this is because they have an obstruction blocking their airways.
The difficult part about having OSA is that most people are not aware that they are suffering from it. Snoring is often written off as an annoying habit that carries a stigma. However, your partner can’t help it. They most likely have an obstruction that requires medical treatment to overcome.
Some of the other symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea include:
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
- The “need” for coffee, energy drinks, or naps throughout the day
- Pauses in breathing while sleeping
- Gasping while sleeping
- Difficulty with focus, concentration, and memory retention
- Mood issues, such as increased irritability
- Waking up frequently throughout the night to urinate
- Frequent headaches, especially in the morning
- Dry mouth upon waking up
- Sexual health issues, such as erectile dysfunction and low sex drive
Are You Waking Up Due to Your Partner’s Snoring?
If you are waking up throughout the night due to your partner’s snoring, you are not alone. This is a common issue for many people whose bed partners are suffering from OSA. It can be frustrating, leaving you wondering if you should sleep in different rooms or beds to get some sound sleep. This can lead to difficulties in a marriage, as resentment can grow and frustration builds.
Statistics Surrounding Partner OSA Issues
As compared to spouses from the general population, spouses of patients with heavy snoring and OSA are three times more likely to report:
- Insomnia symptoms, including difficulty initiating and maintaining sleep and unrefreshing sleep,
- Twice as likely to report fatigue and daytime sleepiness even after controlling for age, body mass index (BMI), number of children younger than 18 y, work time, own snoring, and use of sleep medications.
- Among 37 partners of patients suspected of having OSA, 55% reported that patients’ snoring disturbed their sleep every night or almost every night.
- Baseline assessments from 46 partners of patients with OSA in a crossover trial of CPAP versus placebo found significant numbers who reported moderate to severe sleep disturbance because of snoring (69%), apneas (54%), and restlessness (55%), and 66% who were “poor” sleepers (i.e., Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score > 5)
- Qualitative data reveal that partners are distressed by witnessing patients’ apneas and feel a need to monitor the patient’s breathing during the night to ensure he/she continues to breathe
- Studies utilizing PSG to assess sleep among partners of patients with untreated OSA also have found significant sleep disturbances
- In an early study, 10 wives of husbands undergoing PSG for suspected OSA underwent concurrent PSG in the same bed as their husbands
- Wives had a median PSG-assessed sleep efficiency of 74% and an arousal index of 21, with up to 32% having an arousal within 1 to 3 sec of a snore by the patient
Tips for Dealing with a Snoring Partner
Even though having a snoring partner can be frustrating and difficult to deal with, there are many things you can do if you are waking up frequently throughout the night due to your partner’s snoring. They include trying new bed adjustments, trying sleep aids, having open and loving conversations surrounding the issue, and encouraging your partner to take part in a sleep assessment so that you both can experience better sleep at night.
Bed Adjustments
In some cases of mild obstructive sleep apnea, simple bed adjustments can make a big difference. Some of the adjustments you can make to your bed include:
- Extra pillows to keep your partner’s head elevated
- Using body pillows to encourage side sleeping
- Investing in a mattress or bed that is slightly elevated
- Sleeping on the back is when snoring is the worst, so ask your partner to turn on their side if their snoring awakens you and they are on their back
Try Sleep Aids
If you are not yet prepared to speak with your partner about their obstructive sleep apnea or it is a sensitive topic for them, you can solve your more immediate need for noise control by trying sleep aids. Some of the ways you can mask the sound of your partner’s snoring include:
- Trying earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones at night
- Using a white noise machine
- Go to bed earlier than your partner so that you are able to fall asleep easily
- Ask your partner to hold off on going to bed until they can tell that you are deeply asleep
- Consider sleeping in a different room than your partner, especially on nights when you are particularly tired or need a great night’s sleep for the next day
Open, Loving Communication
Having a partner who suffers from obstructive sleep apnea can be frustrating, difficult, and hard to live with. It can lead you to become irritable, upset with them, resentful, and generally unhappy in your relationship. If you want to talk to your partner about their loud snoring and how it is affecting you, it is important to keep the communication open and loving.
Here are some tips for talking to your partner about their OSA issues:
- Remember that your partner cannot help it. They likely have a medical issue and are not aware of the pain and suffering they are causing you while it is happening.
- Do not record your partner snoring to “prove” it to them or to show them how loud they are. This can come off as invasive and can make your partner defensive which can lead to them being unresponsive to resolving the issue.
- Instead, come to your partner expressing concern for their health as well as yours, and offer to work together as a team to overcome this issue.
Encourage a Sleep Assessment
As part of the open, loving communication you have with your partner regarding this issue, the ultimate goal should be to explore treatment options for obstructive sleep apnea so that you both can get the restful, restorative sleep your bodies need.
The first step to obstructive sleep apnea treatment is to speak with your doctor about getting a sleep assessment. This will be able to help diagnose sleep apnea and explore the root cause of the obstruction. After this diagnosis, you can explore treatment options and start working toward healthier lives.
The Dangers of Sleep Apnea
Don’t just shrug off your partner’s snoring. Sleep apnea is a dangerous condition that can lead to many health issues. Some of these include:
- Drowsy driving and an increased likelihood of an automobile accident
- Excessive stress
- Cardiovascular issues, such as heart attack, high blood pressure, and stroke
- Erectile dysfunction and sexual health issues
- Weight gain and obesity
- Depression and anxiety
- An increased risk of developing dementia
Sleep Apnea Treatment Options
While you are on this journey of speaking to your partner about getting treatment for sleep apnea, they may be resistant. One of the reasons is because many people do not want to experience sleeping with a CPAP machine, and for good reason.
- CPAP machines are loud and do not offer much of a sound difference for bed partners
- They are difficult to maintain
- They are difficult to travel with
- CPAP machines are notoriously bulky and uncomfortable
- They have been involved in many dangerous recalls
- CPAP machines do not treat the root cause of OSA; the snoring will begin again when not being used
Luckily, there is a way to treat sleep apnea without the need for a CPAP machine.
Unlike virtually every other nonsurgical treatment for OSA, which requires nightly lifetime intervention, studies show that patients undergoing treatment with Vivos doctors have an average treatment time of about 12 months.
The Vivos Method employs a multidisciplinary treatment plan that uses noninvasive, cost-effective oral appliance technology prescribed by trained dentists and medical professionals to treat dentofacial abnormalities and/or mild, moderate, and severe OSA and snoring.
Sleep Apnea Treatment with Gorman Health and Wellness
Gorman Health and Wellness is proud to be one of the few providers in our area who can prescribe the revolutionary Vivos Method for obstructive sleep apnea.
Dr. Gorman is a part of the breathing wellness movement, which aims to increase awareness and improve treatment for sleep-related airway conditions like sleep apnea. He has partnered with organizations focused on collaborating with dentists to apply the sciences of Craniofacial Epigenetics (the study of cranial modifications caused by gene expression as opposed to genetic code alteration) and Pneumopedics® (the practical application of oral appliance therapy and non-surgical airway remodeling) in the management of sleep apnea.
Together, the application of these sciences allows for underlying causes of airway obstruction to be treated in 98% of cases, resulting in a high success rate among sleep apnea patients. For every sleep apnea case at our practice, Dr. Gorman will gather patient data and determine the patient’s specific needs based on home sleep test results, dental impressions, CT scans, and images. Our state-of-the-art technology, paired with Dr. Gorman’s experience with sleep disorders, allows him to find the most effective treatment plan for each individual’s particular case, yielding improved daytime and nighttime breathing for the patient.
“I have been helping people suffering from Sleep Apnea with a non-invasive, clinically approved treatment method. This method has allowed my patients to sleep with far fewer events per hour allowing them to get rid of their CPAP and BiPAP machines. Imagine not having to use one of those machines, getting back a much greater quality of life along with the benefits of being able to breathe better.” – Dr. Gorman.
For more information on Dr. Gorman, improving your partner’s sleep apnea, and getting your sleep on track, visit us at MGormanDental.com!