In the quiet of the night, you can sometimes hear the buzzsaw of snoring nearby. While it's an exaggeration to say the windows shake in their frames and the walls quiver in sympathy with the echoing vibrations, it can be a serious distraction to sleep. Perhaps it will come as a surprise to learn up to half the adult population snores at some time during their lives. For the most part, the "guilty" ones are unaware of the noise they create. So what exactly causes it? Put simply, there's an obstruction to your breathing as you sleep. This produces a vibration of the soft tissue in your throat. Except, as with all things medical, it's a little more complicated than that. Many people have enlarged tonsils or adenoids that narrow the back of the throat and make snoring more likely. The same will happen if you have long-term blockages of your nose and sinus through a build-up of catarrh. Now add in the possibility of something slightly wrong with your anatomy to obstruct the airways and vibrations are triggered. This is even more common if you are overweight. The relaxing effect of alcohol on the throat muscles also triggers snoring. Finally, we admit that men are more prone to snoring than women, regardless of the amount of beer drunk.

Untreated, it can drive up blood pressure and increase the risk of strokes and heart attacks. As a symptom of sleep apnea, snoring can indicate serious health risks. It causes insomnia in those around you, putting pressure on relationships. Everyone may end up finding the quality of the lives affected for the worse. In the first instance, the one who snores should make lifestyle changes. Losing weight and drinking less alcohol are top of the list. Sleeping on your back should be avoided. It encourages your tongue to slip back into the throat and limit the passage of air. If possible, sleep on your side. Obstruction of the nasal passages may be eased by using decongestants for two or three days. Finally and somewhat ironically, do not use sleeping pills. They relax your muscles and make snoring more likely. Worse, if you do have sleep apnea, using sleeping pills may make it more difficult for you to wake and start breathing again. If self-help does not work, there are several options from devices to keep the airways open, through using air pressure and implants, to surgery. Because there are some risks to traditional surgery, technology now offers both laser and radio-frequency ablation to remove a part of the soft tissue of the palate that vibrates.

For your partner and any other adults who share your home, Ambien represents a good short-term solution to insomnia while you are having treatment. To keep everyone fit and healthy, a good night's sleep is essential. Otherwise, there will be real family problems and relationships may be damaged or broken. The bargain is quickly and easily struck. You will use the devices or have the surgery to stop the snoring and, in return, they will use Ambien until the snoring stops. Once peace is restored to the night, everyone can sleep through, wake refreshed and rebuild the quality of life.