Snoring may actually be good

For years, the condition, which causes interruptions in breathing during sleep, has been linked to high blood pressure, strokes and heart attacks.

But the Israeli study of 600 people over the age of 65 has claimed that the risk of early death in people with moderate sleep apnoea was less than half that of people with no history of snoring, The Daily Mail reported.

The study also found that the risk of early death for those with a severe form of the condition was the same as a healthy control group, when it was expected to be higher.

“One theory is that the constant breaks in oxygen and blood supply to organs, caused by the pauses in the breathing, somehow strengthen the heart and brain; this means that if a heart attack or a stroke occurs, the body is better able to deal with it,” said the report.

However, Professor Jim Horne, head of the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University, said: “It is better to get heavy snoring treated rather than assume it will prolong life.” The distinctive rumbling sound of snoring is produced when the muscles in the nose, mouth and throat relax during sleep.

There are a variety of factors that exacerbate snoring, including sleeping position, being overweight, having a blocked nose, or physical features such as a large soft palate or long uvula (the bit of tissue that hangs down at the back of your mouth). Alcohol can also aggravate snoring, as it travels to all areas of the body and slows the brain’s responses, causing the muscles to relax even more than normal during a night’s sleep.