If there is one thing guaranteed to put a strain on any relationship, it is whether one of the couple snores, leaving the other to toss and turn all night.
Siobhan Ryan speaks to one woman who says a special mouthwash is the answer.
After 32 years of marriage, Denise Page can finally settle down for the night knowing she will be able to sleep the whole way through. For years her husband Rod had kept her awake because of his loud snoring and drove her mad.
She would end up pushing him or kicking him to make him turn over but a few minutes later the snoring would start again.
Fed-up with lack of sleep, Denise, from Brighton, started to look for alternative remedies that would stop her husband snoring.
"I was trying everything I could to get him to stop," revealed Denise. "It eventually got to the stage where I would go to bed before him and try to get to sleep first.
"I did have bifocals and varifocals but they are dark in the sun and difficult to drive with. "I got fed up living life through glass."
"But his snoring was so loud he would wake me up again. I was at my wits end." It was at this stage that Denise came across a new product in the form of a mouthwash called GoodNight StopSnore and decided it was time for her husband to give it a go.
"I was amazed," Denise stated. "It worked almost immediately. My husband said the mouthwash was quite pleasant tasting and it certainly made a difference to me.
"The funny thing is that he doesn't take it all the time but, when he does, it immediately makes a difference. "I 'm not sure exactly how it works but whatever it is doing it is working and for that I 'm extremely grateful."
The product is made up of a blend of essential oils which encourage restful sleep and help to tone and stimulate circulation in the soft palate and clear sinal and bronchial congestion.
Snorers may be the butt of countless jokes but the real sufferers are the partners of habitual snorers who suffer broken sleep and even sleepless nights. This can lead to tiredness, irritation, depression and even marital difficulties.
A recent UK study found that 90 per cent of those who took part in the survey rated their partner's snoring levels as extremely loud.
Ninety-five per cent reported being woken by the rumble of heavy snoring at least once a week and 39 per cent were woken every night. Partners have tried everything from sleeping tablets and earplugs to sleeping in another room.
Prodding, kicking and shaking the snorer was reported as the most common short-term relief for the problems. After using the product more than 65 per cent of snorers reported that their sleep had improved and almost 80 per cent of partners noticed that the duration of snoring was reduced.
Forty per cent of adults are said to snore and it is most common in men, especially older and middle aged ones. The noisy sounds of snoring occur when there is an obstruction to the free flow of air through the passages at the back of the mouth and nose.
People snore for several reasons, including poor muscle tone in the tongue and throat. When muscles are too relaxed, either from alcohol or drugs that cause sleepiness, the tongue falls backwards into the airway or the throat muscles draw in from the sides into the airway.
This can also happen during deep sleep. Children with large tonsils and adenoids and overweight people often snore. A stuffy or blocked nose can cause snoring, as breathing requires extra effort to pull air through it. This creates an exaggerated vacuum in the throat, and pulls together the floppy tis- sues of the throat, and snoring results.
This means that snoring often occurs only during the hay fever season or with a cold or sinus infection.
For more details about GoodNight StopSnore call 0870 842 0870.
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