Flawed design

Sorry men - but the fact is you snore more than women. It's not your fault per se - it's a design flaw.

I am not suggesting that women don't snore at all, but I don't think I am too far out of line to say that it is men who do tend to be the high achievers in this activity.

In trying to find some hard evidence to back my bold statement, I found a great statement:

More researchers have coincided that up to 80% of men snore at some time, double the number compared to women, and about 40% of them snore every night.

For those who have already picked up the rather questionable sentence construction and grammar usage, well done. Then I hope that the bold quoting of statistics has your heckles raised as mine were too. Yes - I think that the entry in the Softpedia website, may require a very healthy dose of scepticism, which is such a pity as the 'stats' are just the sort of hard-hitting justification I need for my book.

(The fact that the word 'research' in the paragraph preceding the stats leads to an online selling system really did cement my despair)

I then found a video called 'Street Doctors' and thought this might provide more credible information. Turns out Street Doctors did have a doctor.... but as for any sort of in-depth answers to the snoring battle of the sexes..... you make up your mind.

(You may also have noticed one of the compelling social issues that Street Doctors tackles is 'Is Sperm Nutritious?'. This may give away their commitment to dealing with the hard hitting medical issues of the day)

I did finally find a believable medical explanation for the higher incidence of men snoring that made sense, after repeated reading. Well, I'm sure it would have made a little more sense if I had some 'Anatomy 101' in my academic repetoire.

This entry is written by a doctor - Dr Steven Y. Park MC - on his eponymous website. Dr Park's 'mission' is to help treat breathing problems to give people a better quality of life. He seems legit - decent website, reassuring photo, and an easy to understand video of himself talking about medical procedures for snoring.

I wouldn't attempt to summarise his explanation for the increase in snoring for men, and encourage my readers to click here to see the detail. What did catch my eye though, was another explanation for why women are 'lighter' sleepers than men. Not only do we have to contend with hormonal interference in our ability to sleep but a smaller space behind our tongue means that we are prone to being aroused from deep sleep because of interference in our breathing.

So men are more susceptible to snoring due to a design feature and women are more susceptible to lighter sleeping due a design feature - both features working against the other and resulting in disturbed sleep for all.

And so we face another challenge when hopping in to bed with each other each night, and it's one we really don't have any control over - unless someone has found that warranty document to take back to the manufacturer.

Plug me in

My husband and I went away last weekend to stay with friends at Tin Can Bay. Sleeping away from home can cause some distress, not always knowing what sleeping options will be available for those of us challenged by bed sharing.

The option last weekend was two single beds in a room together. As I may have said, I would actually like to be able to share a bed with my husband and often wonder if it's possible. Could our self imposed nocturnal segregation become an abberation of our misguided, early forties? Well..... it seems not.

The first night was ear plugs in immediately! My husband can fall asleep quickly and - depending on his sleeping position and how tired he is - can begin snoring pretty quickly. I don't hold this against him as I know he would prefer not to snore - it's not something he chooses to do.

Truth be told, in the last few years I have begun to snore a little too. And it mortifies me.

Since my 'light sleeping' began I have searched far and wide to source the best ear plugs this troubled sleeper can get her hands on. Ear plug nirvana was found at  snorestore. An online aladin's cave of ear plugs, specifically targetted at people who cannot sleep because of a snoring partner.

I could never had imagined how many ear plugs were available for us of the delicate sleeping constitution. My favourite feature of the website is that many earplugs are listed with the number of decibels they block out. The store also offers ear plugs specifically designed for women, who do tend to be the gender most affected by a snoring partner.

However, I wonder if the Snorestore will ever develop ear plugs for the partners of the following folk.

Jenny Chapman has the honour of being the loudest British female snorer and has been recorded snoring at 111.6 decibels. And another brit - a man called Alan Myatt - has been recorded snoring at 112.8 decibels. To give you a point of comparison any sound over 85 decibels can be considered hazardous to your hearing if you are being exposed to that noise for long periods of time.

I would be very interested to know if Jenny or Alan have partners - and if so, how do they cope?

But back to me. We are off to Melbourne for a long weekend in a few weeks and are sharing a bed! So, I have decided to purchase the Dreamgirl earlplugs.30 decibels of promised noise protection along with a slim fit for my delicate feminine ear canals.

The snorestore gives me more comfort in knowing I'm not alone with my affliction. 

So to all those comrades who roll their foam ear plugs then wait for the comforting silence as the foam unfurls with reassuring pops and crackles - I salute you.