Looks like inhabitants of the Northeast USA might need some melatonin, chamomile tea and a CPAP machine to combat their in-house Darth Vaders.
People in New York, Washington, D.C., and Connecticut rank as the most annoying snorers in the country, according to a new study conducted by OnePoll.
The surveyors examined 2,000 adults and found 53% of residents in the Northeast snore a bit too loudly for their partners and housemates — with some “growling” and even emitting the terrifying noise of the aforementioned “Star Wars” villain.
Survey says: 46% of adults who snore — or live with a log-sawer — have become so exhausted by the infuriating “honk shoo” hubbub that it affects their daily tasks.
Men tended to snore more loudly, with 57%, compared to just 46% of women. As for the ages, the research showed that 59% of snorers are 45 to 54, 56% are 35 to 44 and 54% are 55 to 64.
Dr. Michael J. Breus, a clinical psychologist and best-selling author of “Good Night: The Sleep Doctor’s 4-Week Program to Better Sleep and Better Health,” explained how getting some shut eye is “critically important for our mental and physical health.”
“While snoring might seem like a light-hearted and funny occurrence, it can have a significant impact on the quality and length of people’s sleep, and it seems those in the Northeast are faring worse than most,” Dr. Michael J. Breus, a clinical psychologist and best-selling author of “Good Night: The Sleep Doctor’s 4-Week Program to Better Sleep and Better Health.”
Meanwhile, previous research from the pros at Johns Hopkins Medicine found that an estimated 45% of adults snore occasionally, while 25% crank up the volume regularly. You’re most likely to throw an unwanted slumber party if you’re overweight, are a middle-aged or older man, or are a postmenopausal woman, according to Johns Hopkins sleep expert Dr. Alan Schwartz. Even worse: These night noises seem to worsen with age.
A new study revealed the worst snorers in the US come from New York, Washington, D.C., and Connecticut.
Breus — who gained national recognition for his appearances with Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Oz and on the “Today” show — continued, “If you are the one being kept awake by snoring, it can be infuriating and leave you struggling the next day due to the time spent trying to nod off. But it can also mean the person snoring is not getting the best quality sleep either, whether that’s from waking themselves up or from having their partner nudge them in the night.”
(BTW: “The Sleep Doctor” does indeed list melatonin, chamomile tea and a CPAP machine as time-tested tools in the fight for a good night’s sleep).
The new survey also found that sleepers have had their snoring described back to them by their peers. The top 10 common sounds that people have reported to express their snoring are a growl, a saw, a roar, a train, Darth Vader, thunder, a bumblebee, cars, jackhammers and drills.
Growling is the most frequent noise with 21% of people, while 16% have been told it resembles the sound of a chainsaw. Darth Vader only had 8% and a roar was concluded to be 10%.
These noisemakers have been awakened by their significant others using one of these physical reactions: kicking or elbowing the person, pinching their nose to stop their snoring or simply yelling at them to wake them up.
Other methods the affected parties have incorporated to deal with their snoring are wearing earplugs, recording them so they could shamefully hear their snores, bunking in a different room to get some peace and hitting the sack earlier so they could bypass their domestic partner’s snore schedule.
A summary of the sleeping study conducted by One Poll in conjunction with Mute, a nasal dilator brand.
Kicking or nudging are the most common actions for a snorer’s partner with 39%, while 13% got themselves earplugs or noise canceling machinery to drown out the wheezes.
The researchers also came to the conclusion that Americans suffer from disrupted sleep four nights per week.
John Ende, executive vice president at Rhinomed, the parent company of Mute, noted that “snoring can be so disruptive to our sleep,” no matter if we are the snoring Sleeping Beauty or our partner is the culprit.
“Millions of people worldwide are affected by snoring,” Ende said. “Sadly, it is often regarded as something you have to put up with despite there being a wide range of solutions, many completely natural and drug-free, to help.”
He added, “Freeing up the airways to improve your breathing while you sleep is one way some snorers — and their partners — can enjoy a quiet night’s sleep.”
