Why Don't Snorers Wake Themselves Up?

Why Don't Snorers Wake Themselves Up?

 Anyone who's ever slept in the same room as a loud snorer knows how infuriating it is to have to suffer through all that noise while the offending party remains¹ blissfully oblivious² – and asleep.

Loud snorers can wake themselves up with their own log-sawing sounds, but only for a few seconds. That's why they may not be able to recall the sleep disturbance³ when they wake up the following morning, according to "Sleep: The Mysteries, The Problems, and The Solutions" (Penguin, 2007).

Snoring is caused by breathing in air through a partially⁴ blocked airway⁵, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). When that happens, air vibrates as it flows past the tissues in the back of the throat, which produces the snoring sound.

The AASM estimates that approximately 24 percent of women and 40 percent of men are habitual⁶ snorers. Snoring is more common in those that are overweight because they tend to have more fat tissue in the back of the throat, which increases vibration⁷.

Loud snoring may also be a sign of an underlying⁸ problem such as sleep apnea, which is a chronic⁹ form of snoring that is characterized by the blockage¹⁰ of the air passage at the back of the mouth during sleep. Sleep apnea can cause a person to stop breathing for about 10 to 30 seconds, although some stop breathing for up to two minutes before their brain sets off the "arousal trigger" and wakes the person up, according to the book "Sleep."

Blocked air passages can cause those with sleep apnea to stop breathing and wake up hundreds of times throughout the course of a night, and they are usually unable to recall doing so the next morning. Besides preventing a person from feeling well-rested, the poor sleep quality caused by loud, chronic snoring can lead to cardiovascular problems, an increased chance of having metabolic¹¹ syndrome¹² and accidents associated with sleep deprivation¹³.

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 oblivious   

adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的

参考例句：

• Mother has become quite oblivious after the illness.这次病后，妈妈变得特别健忘。
• He was quite oblivious of the danger.他完全没有察觉到危险。

3 disturbance   

n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调

参考例句：

• He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
• You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。

4 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

5 airway   

n.空中航线，通风口

参考例句：

• Lay them on their side and ensure the airway is unobstructed.让他们侧躺着，并确保呼吸道畅通。
• There is a purple airway in London Airport.伦敦机场里有一条皇家专用飞机跑道。

6 habitual   

adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的

参考例句：

• He is a habitual criminal.他是一个惯犯。
• They are habitual visitors to our house.他们是我家的常客。

7 vibration   

n.颤动，振动；摆动

参考例句：

• There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。
• The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

8 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

9 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

10 blockage   

n.障碍物；封锁

参考例句：

• The logical treatment is to remove this blockage.合理的治疗方法就是清除堵塞物。
• If the blockage worked,they could retreat with dignity.如果封锁发生作用，他们可以体面地撤退。

11 metabolic   

adj.新陈代谢的

参考例句：

• Impressive metabolic alternations have been undergone during embryogenesis.在胚胎发生期间经历了深刻的代谢变化。
• A number of intoxicants are associated with metabolic acidosis.许多毒性物质可引起代谢性酸中毒。

12 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

13 deprivation   

n.匮乏；丧失；夺去，贫困

参考例句：

• Many studies make it clear that sleep deprivation is dangerous.多实验都证实了睡眠被剥夺是危险的。
• Missing the holiday was a great deprivation.错过假日是极大的损失。