We know that snoring has a negative impact on romantic relationships, but it’s hard to gauge how much of an impact it has. Now a new survey from the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM) shows that snoring has a significant impact on spouses.
Snoring Isn’t Sexy
One of the significant findings of the survey is that many people consider snoring a turn off in a romantic partner. The findings show that overall, 39% of people say that snoring is a turn-off with more women (40%) than men (37%) being unaroused by snoring. In addition, people of age 55-64 (those most likely to have experience with a snoring partner) were the most turned off by snoring (45%).
When a partner is snoring, 26% of respondents say they get angry or annoyed, while 21% say they want to (or do) sleep in another room as a result. And 35% said they couldn’t sleep as a result.
Although less than 10% said that snoring has had a negative impact on their relationship, the figures were higher for people aged 35-44 and 55-64, of whom 14% said snoring affected their relationship. And divorced people were the most likely to report snoring as a negative impact (15%), showing that the impact of snoring could be not just damaging, but destructive to a relationship.
Concern and Treatment
On the positive side, when asked about their reaction to a snoring partner, 43% of respondents said they were worried about their partner’s health. This is good because snoring is associated with sleep apnea, which is damaging to one’s health.
When asked about treatment, respondents overwhelmingly chose oral appliance therapy as the best treatment option for their spouse or romantic partner. Of the people who reported a preference, 63% preferred oral appliance therapy, as opposed to CPAP. The disparity was highest among single adults, where more than two-thirds selected oral appliance therapy over CPAP.
If you’re single, snoring hurts your chances of finding someone, and if you’re married, snoring can lead to relationship problems–even divorce. If you want a healthy love life, you need to get your snoring treated. And the preferred snoring treatment is oral appliance therapy.
If you want to learn more about oral appliance therapy for your snoring or sleep apnea, please call (402) 493-4175 for an appointment with an Omaha sleep dentist at the Advanced Dental Sleep Treatment Center today.
