Snoring is one of the common problems that most people are facing, at the present time. According to a study, around 40% of people in the United States are facing snoring related issues. This is just the known cases; there will be million other cases that are unreported and untreated. Most people still find it really embarrassing to admit that they have snoring issues.

The Relation between Snoring and Parkinson’s Disease

It is medically proven that snoring may be an indicator of many other diseases such as Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Alzheimer’s, cardiac issues, etc. In worst cases, snoring can be fatal too, if left untreated. This can be the other way around as well, that is, snoring may be an after effect of some diseases. One of such health issue that may lead to snoring problems is Parkinson’s disease.

According to a recent study, around 75% of people affected with Parkinson’s disease also suffer from sleep disorders such as snoring, sleep apnea, etc. The most common sleep issues that are associated with Parkinson’s include:

• Snoring
• Shouting or talking while sleeping
• Short sleeping intervals
• Obstructive Sleep Apnea
• Fatigue and drowsiness during daytime
• Nightmares
• Restless legs
• Difficulty to turn sides
• Cramping
• Rigidity and shivering

Treatment

In some extreme cases, people affected with Parkinson’s syndrome also experience REM sleep behavioral disorder where the person acts out of their dreams. This may include kicking, hitting, shouting, and grinding teeth while sleeping. However, this can be treated using appropriate medication.

In most cases, many symptoms can be a side effect of the medications or drugs that the patient consumes in order to cure the Parkinson’s disease. Hence, it can be solved by changing those medicines or the treatment plan after consulting a doctor. On the other hand, you can also tackle some of these problems up to an extent by making some changes in your lifestyle. A few things in that regard can be:

• Avoiding stimulants such as caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol
• Avoiding drinking water few hours before going to bed
• Avoiding heavy meal for dinner
• Avoiding to think about stressful things before going to bed

The amount of sleep of the patient also triggers many sleeping disorders. So, it is advisable to keep a track of sleep cycle of the patient by means of home sleep study. In this, the breathing, as well as sleep parameters of the patient, is monitored. This will include a pulse oximetry, an instrument to measure the oxygen levels in the blood along with a record of events like the pause in breathing, sleeping pattern, snoring, movements, etc.