New Home Construction and Snoring….What do they have in common?

While preparing for a presentation on snoring, I came across some interesting facts. According to the National Association of Home Builders, it is estimated that by 2015, 60% of upscale home construction will include increasingly requested “two –master bedrooms”! These extra rooms can be used for visiting in-laws, returning children and friends, and — in growing numbers — snoring spouses. 

In my practice it’s not unreasonable to say that approximately 30% of our patients sleep in separate bedrooms before treatment.

Lack of sleep isn’t just an inconvenience for merely a few people.  Recent polls by the National Sleep Foundation found 67% of people married or living with someone said their partner snored.  People who have a partner with sleep problems such as sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome and insomnia are more likely to say they have sleep-related problems, including greater trouble falling asleep, more-frequent daytime sleepiness and fewer nights of satisfactory sleep.

Sleep problems can lead to serious trouble. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,13% of fatal car accidents are tied to drivers who drift off behind the wheel. In the workplace, about $13 billion and 30 million workdays are lost each year due to sleep-related accidents on the job.

Sleep interruption caused by a spouse is “probably often the most common unresolved difficulty” in a marriage, Paul Rosenblatt, a professor at the University of Minnesota and author of the book “Two in a Bed: The Social System of Couple Bed Sharing.”

Not only is it rewarding for us to help individuals experience a better nights sleep, but  to bring couples back together in the same room peacefully is priceless.  Sometimes patients are so quiet after treatment that their spouses have actually woken them up to make sure they are still breathing! These true stories are ones we especially love to hear.