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Could Snoring Help Burn Calories?

As counter-intuitive as it may seem, snoring may actually have a positive effect on a person’s well being. Studies show that people who snore burn more calories than their less noisy counterparts. Obesity is a major factor in the development of respiratory disturbances in sleep patterns. It is not clear whether weight gains interferes with breathing , or rather changes in breathing adversely affect the metabolism, resulting in increments of weight and complicating the treatment of these frequently co-occurring conditions.

At the University of California in San Francisco, Dr. Eric J. Kezirian and his team studied 212 adults with symptoms of respiratory disorders associated with sleep. Participants underwent physical examinations, their medical history was taken into account and their sleep was monitored using a polysomnograph. The participants resting energy expenditure (REE) was also tracked using a device called an indirect calorimeter; the calorimeter measures oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production, which can be used to determine resting energy expenditure in calories per day.

It was calculated that among the participants, the average REE is 1766 calories per day. In people with more severe breathing disorders who ranked higher on the scale of sleep apnea or shallow breathing burned 1999 calories, while people without such problems averaged 1626 calories.

Although this may be some what good news, snoring is still an unhealthy habit. Habitual snorers can be at risk for serious health problems associated with heart dieses and diabetes.

An estimated 30 million Americans snore. Figures show that smokers are almost twice as much likely as non-smokers to snore because their airways get inflamed and blocked. Other factors which can make snoring worse include being overweight, drinking alcohol, consuming sleeping pills and sleeping on your back. Research also shows that people who sleep with pets such as dogs tend to have a higher risk of snoring.

Try following behavior changes to help treat the problem:

– Lose weight

– Avoid drinking alcohol before bed,

– Establish regular sleeping patterns,

– Sleep on your side rather than on your back – if it’s hard for you to adjust, try the “tennis ball trick” (attach a tennis or similar sized ball to the back of your pajama top)

– Keep your bedroom air moist

– Quit smoking

– Elevate the head of your bed up four inches to ease breathing

If you know any remedies or have suggestions on how to help ease snoring , please share in the comments below

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Important:
The Sleep Blog does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Instead, this website provides general information for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of a qualified health care provider if you have questions or concerns regarding any medical condition or treatment.

Flying Across Time Zones? Learn how to Conquer Jet Lag

Do you travel often? Have you ever wondered why a long flight can make you feel terrible? This condition generally occurs when traveling in the west-east direction and is known as “jet lag.”

West-East

The severity of jet lag is affected by the direction of travel. There seems to be evidence that for most people traveling west to east is more disruptive because they are flying against time zones and therefore are losing time. The greater the number of time zones crossed, the more difficult it is for your body to cope with changes.

Causes of Symptoms

Jet Lag is believed to be caused by disorders of homeostasis – the body’s ability to maintain constant internal parameters (including body temperature, blood pH, osmotic pressure, blood pressure, volume of body fluids, etc.). In short, our body can not keep up with adapting to the rapidly changing times of day, on which our physiology depends (metabolism, sleep-wake cycles, etc.). When we travel westward, we have trouble getting to sleep because the body is not ready to release sleep hormones – cortisol and melatonin.

Symptoms of jet lag

Sleep disturbance
Impaired concentration
Extreme fatigue
Lack of appetite and digestive problems
Disorientation
Drowsiness
Headaches

Tips for surviving the journey

After a few days in a new time zone, our bodies adjust, resolving the symptoms. You can use the following techniques to help reset you body’s clock:

Start varying your schedule before you travel
Get plenty of rest before leaving and while you are traveling
Eliminate consumption of alcohol and caffeine before and during your travel
Eat light meals
Exercise
A helpful way to minimize jet lag is to adapt to the local time and eat accordingly.
Also, exposure to sunlight during the day can be helpful.

The Role of Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders (CRSD)

A person’s circadian rhythm is an internal biological clock that regulates many physiological systems according to an approximate 24 hour cycle. The key feature of a circadian rhythm disorder is an occasional or continuous disruption in sleep patterns. It is often mistaken for Insomnia, especially if the symptoms persist over a longer period of time; however unlike Insomnia patients, people with CRSD usually get required amount of sleep.

Some of the most common circadian rhythm disorders include:

Advanced Sleep Pattern Syndrome (ASPS) – Is characterized by early sleeping and waking. People with this disorder feel very sleeping in the early evening hours (6pm-9pm) and wake up early in the morning (3am-6am). Middle-aged adults and the elderly are more likely to suffer from ASPS.

Treatment: Simply delaying sleep time, at a rate of 1 to 3 hours until desired sleep period is achieved should take care of the problem. In more complicated cases Phototherapy (controlled exposure to intense light) may be required.

Delayed Sleep Pattern Syndrome (DSPS) – Contrary to ASPS, people with DSPS have difficulty in initiating sleep and tend to wake up later. It’s most common among adolescents and young adults. People who suffer from this disorder are often perceived as lazy and unmotivated as they do not perform well in the early morning hours. These individuals are most alert and productive late at night.

Treatment: Maintaining regular hours for sleeping and getting up, using an alarm clock or wake up call service. Similar to ADSP treatment adjusting sleep time until desired sleep period is achieved (ideally 11:00pm- 7am) and bright light therapy may be useful.

Jet Lag– Crossing between two or more time zones can create a conflict between person’s circadian rhythm timing and that of a new time zone. Symptoms, including fatigue and insomnia, are only temporary and usually disappear completely within a week.

Shift Work Disorder– People who work irregular hours (e.g. Truck drivers) or work at night are at bigger risk to suffer from shift work disorder which is often characterized by complaints of insomnia or excessive sleepiness.

Treatment: Some patients find medication to be helpful, antidepressants, which are used in treatment of various sleep disorders are known to positively affect and sometimes readjust circadian rhythm.

Agnieszka