Snoring is the vibration of respiratory structures and the resulting sound due to obstructed air movement while breathing during sleep. Having said that, in most of the cases, snoring may lead to Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), which is the worst case of the sleep disorder.

In OSA, one will find it really hard to breathe properly and the brain and the rest of the body may not get enough oxygen. There are 3 types of sleep apnea – Obstructive, Central, and Mixed, and the Obstructive type is the most common sleeping disorder among them.

In modern society, almost everybody is employed and most of them are doing shift works, which could be a great concern for your health. Furthermore, a new study states that around 20 million Americans are deprived of proper sleep because of their hectic work schedule. This means that you are disturbing the biological clock of your body, which will cause many consequences including serious sleep disorders. This can be harmful to your health as well as your career, as you could be thoughtless and may run into accidents at work due to sleep deprivation.

Anything that interferes with the amount and quality of sleep as the shift work does can worsen sleep apnea. In addition, scientists have observed that night shift work significantly worsens the relevance of sleep apnea events and the worst case is the fast rotating shifts. Unsurprisingly, patients with mild Obstructive Sleep Apnea can tolerate a short time sleep deprivation, whereas for the ones with more severe disorder, the frequency of apneic events may increase with sleep or wakefulness rhythm disturbance.

A recent study using daytime and nighttime Polysomnograph showed that shift workers experience more frequent breathing pauses while sleeping and higher oxygen de-saturation levels. Both measures showed that shift workers had more severe symptoms of sleep apnea. This is quite alarming considering the fact that such sleep disorders can get worse with time.

Besides worsening sleep apnea, night shift work or the fast rotating shift work, which results in the inversion of sleep-wake schedules, has many other side effects as well, such as:

• Excessive sleepiness
• Loud snoring
• Gastrointestinal disorder
• Cardiovascular disturbance
• Diabetes
• Breast cancer
• Peptic ulcer
• Hypertension
• Myocardial infarction

In short, shift work and sleep apnea are the worst possible combination. So the best way to counter any severe effects of shift work or sleep apnea would be to treat the underlying issue. In case of OSA, there are many snoring remedies, which can effectively treat the condition and offer you a good night’s sleep. Consult with a doctor today to plan a course of action and regain a healthy body and mind.