Monday, January 6, 2020

DO YOU SNORE?


Some how I have lived 80 years and really never known for certain if I snore. I have been told on occasion that I make gentle snuffling noises sometimes but since I am a side sleeper, I understand that position makes snoring difficult.

It's funny when you ask people if they snore, they will deny it but their spouse will either roll their eyes or flat out roar,"Yes you do!!!!"  Snoring evidently has the similar stigma of passing gas.  Few brag about passing gas and hopefully there is a dog or cat in the room to take the blame.  I said no one but there are always the "pull my finger types."

When I was a child we  lived with my grandmother in Key West.  She was the epitome of a proper lady.  She never came out of her room in the morning unless she was completely put together. Hair styled, girdled, hose, some makeup, and a
fresh dress. No slippers and jammies for her.

She use to remind me that ladies didn't sweat, they "glistened".  Pretty sure if I had brought up snoring she would have said that "women don't snore, we purr."  I am almost certain she never passed gas. Not sure how she would have explained that in a genteel fashion.

Because she drummed some of these notions into my head, I have always had a horror that I snored. I have all ready shattered the sweating and passing gas rules so anything was possible.

Why is snoring usually attached to masculine, burly men?  He snores like a truck driver, a stevedore or a lumberjack.  Maybe if the comparisons were more genteel such as she snores like a church lady or librarian, we ladies wouldn't feel so mortified.

In the relationships I have had, snoring was never mentioned. Still I wondered but not enough to ask. My best shot would have been my ex-husband but he was such a sound sleeper that a little snore wouldn't have awakened him.

Well the mystery is now solved. Now I said before that I sleep on my side but lately for some reason I started to nap on my back, the perfect position for snoring.

The other day I was napping away when a noise woke me.  Callie was taking a nap with me so I blamed her. Sometimes in her dreams she is chasing bunnies and makes all sorts of snuffling, growling and even barking sounds.

I wasn't finished with my nap so I went back to sleep.  Eventually that noise woke me again. It wasn't loud but was really in my ear. I looked for Callie but I was alone.

Then I started laughing. The 80 year mystery was solved. I can snore and I do it loud enough to wake myself up.  Oh the shame. I'll just have to remember to never take a flat on my back nap if I have company.

Do you snore and if you do are you loud and proud or do you purr?

48 comments :

  1. I've woke myself up snoring in recent years. Before that I have used a voice activated recorder to see what kinds of noises I make. Didn't pick up any snoring but I was talking in my sleep which I suspected...I do, but not all of it is clear enough to figure out what I'm saying. Just words here and there.

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    1. Jean,
      Had to laugh. I did that voice recorder also but then I didn't want to listen to 8 hours of tape. That talking in the sleep could get you in trouble. My brother use to when we were kids and I could ask him questions and he would answer.

      Delete
  2. I know I snore if I lie on my back, and I too have woken myself up with a good snore. But I mostly sleep on my side, and I only make a light snuffling noise. I've trained hubby to sleep on his side and he doesn't snore much any more. But still a bit. Glad you found out the truth! :-)

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    1. Djan,
      Ha ha, we must let'er rip when we are on our backs. Good job training your hubby. Sure beats being annoyed all the time and I'm sure he doesn't miss it.

      Delete
  3. I think I must snore, but mostly I sleep on my side. I have never woken myself up with a loud snore. Makes me wonder about the underlying reasons for snoring. Google, here I come!

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    1. robin,
      I do believe side sleeping stops the action needed for snoring. Just to be sure though, think I will follow you to Google.

      Delete
  4. That's funny and I can relate to what you wrote. Just yesterday, David told me I snored loudly. Well, if that is true, why didn't it wake me up?

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    1. gigi,
      I think if we do it all the time we just get use to it like a white noise. I have heard people snore that could cause hearing damage and they never heard it.

      Delete
  5. Yes, I've snored loud enough to wake myself, but generally, I sleep on my side, so I think I only "purr." However, within the last year, I've had vivid nightmares that have me making loud, fearful noises so Bob must wake me. They occur only sporadically, and I go right back to sleep, though I scare Bob so much, he lays awake for awhile. I think he'd rather I snored!

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    1. Barb,
      I think purring could be rather soothing for the partner. However those nightmares don't sound fun at all and then with poor Bob losing sleep because of them. Hope you can find the cause and make them stop.

      Delete
  6. My husband says I snore loud enough to wake the dead, and I'm a side sleeper.

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    1. Plain Jane,
      Welcome to TNS and thanks for commenting. That is interesting for I thought side sleeping was almost a cure. You certainly are determined:))

      Delete
  7. Mrs C claims I snore, but I've never heard it.

    Women do not fart, they "Fluff".

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    1. joeh,
      Well at least it is not bad enough for her to
      call you a jerk:))
      I love "fluff" and know my grandmother would have too. Now I have a term for most of the unpleasant bodily functions.

      Delete
  8. DH says that I snore... probably when on my back... but don't sleep that way much as it hurts my back. Side is best. Now HE SNORES! VERY LOUDLY! But after almost 52 years, I don't really notice anymore. Actually the cat snores too!
    And I agree that mama always said, "ladies don't sweat, they perspire..."

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    1. Rain,
      I guess after 52 years his is like a white noise for you. I think the animals that snore are adorable.

      Delete
  9. I purr not! I sound more like a stuffed pig prob'ly. Bud & Erik tell me so. Now, really, just how does a stuffed pig snore?

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    1. Anni,
      Ah, you are a loud and proud type. Stuffed pig?? Have no idea.

      Delete
  10. I'm not sure if I snore but I most definitely talk--LOL! :)

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    1. Rita,
      Ha ha, talking in your sleep would prompt one to live a spotless life.

      Delete
  11. What a topic! If you snore some doctors will recommend you have a sleep study to rule out any possible medical issues since it can be indicative of breathing problems, associated with possible heart problems for some people.

    Snoring is an issue for me since my left nares sinus can stop up when I sleep in some positions and the produced sound is no purr. This can result in my mouth-breathing as my body demands adequate oxygen, I guess, though if I awaken I don’t feel, short-of-breath. Those products advertised to open the nares provide no benefit to me since the problem is deeper in the sinus tissue, not the nose.

    Appreciated the humor of your snort awakening you to the truth of your behavior. As for passing gas, my bro always sounded the alarm someone had “dropped a fluffy” when sound occurred or a quiet sneaky aroma permeated the room. The source could always be attributed to any pet in the room saving face for the real culprit.

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    1. Joared,
      I think if I snored any other time but when I am napping, I would do a study. We will see.
      You are the second to mention fluff and fluffing. It is definitely going into my vocabulary.

      Delete
  12. Dear Patti, no one has ever told me that I snore, but, like you, I have awakened myself a few times and I'm thinking the sound is a loud snore! Peace.

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  13. I do snore, and learned of it the same way you did!

    I also sweat and fart. Some of my earliest memories are of my mom lifting a cheek in her chair and letting rip. Ladies we were not!

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    1. Eileen,
      Ha ha, that is funny and shows you are free to just be yourself.

      Delete
  14. HA HA --both George and I 'say' that we don't snore ---and he says that I don't MUCH and I say that he doesn't MUCH.... However, we have a Sleep App (called Pillow) which measures our sleep each night... It also measures the environment in the room. Some mornings it tells us that there was a vacuum cleaner in the room.... Hmmmmm-wonder what that was?????? ha ha ha

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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    1. Betsy,
      Now that is really funny about the vacuum cleaner. I'll have to check out that app. Wonder if Alexa would tell me?

      Delete
  15. Thank you for covering this important topic, Patti.

    My husband and I have slept in separate rooms for years for this very reason. When we travel together and must sleep in the same room, I've woken up to:

    1) my husband beside me whispering "STOP SNORING...STOOOP SNOOOOOORING" in desperate, hushed tones, as if he was attempting to send a message to my subconscious, sleeping mind

    2) a sock being thrown at my head

    3) a hand suspiciously on top of my face. I'm not going to accuse of him trying to murder me or anything...but...

    We both snore but apparently he's the lighter sleeper. If I disappear suddenly one day, I'm not saying he's a suspect, but...

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    1. Sherry,
      My sister and her husband do the separate rooms but he is the villain.
      Ha ha,don't worry, if you go silent, we will know and inform the authorities:)

      Delete
  16. Guilty. I have woken up several times because of my snoring. It is crazy and confusing and so funny.

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    1. Barbara,
      Well you have no doubts do you? It is confusing and it was funny enough for me to do a whole post on it.

      Delete
  17. As far as I know I do not snore. My husband used to snore loudly until he had surgery for sleep apnea. What a relief for me!

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    1. Linda,
      I know how bad that can be. My sister and her husbands have to sleep in separate rooms. I'll mention that to her.

      Delete
  18. Same as you, I snore loud enough to wake myself if I'm on my back and if it is hayfever season, so now I'm sure to always fall asleep on my side, because the rattle of the palate actually is uncomfortable for me.

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    1. River,
      Side sleeping really works. For some reason I sleep on my back when napping. Think it is because I am fully dressed.

      Delete
  19. Unfortunately the snoring is nothing compared to the passing gas. Yikes, I can't believe I wrote that but that's one of the worst things, for me, about growing into the late 80's. I sleep on my side too but if I snore I hope it's ladylike !

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    1. Ginnie,
      Well according to some commenters, that makes you a fluffer. Sounds better that way doesn't it. Work on that purr:))

      Delete
  20. I have sleep apnea and had surgery which helped. I never sleep on my back though.

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  21. I am a side-sleeperand just now asked Hubby if i snore. He says sometimes a light snort. Which is worse, snoring or snorting? Fifty-two years of marriage and this is the first discussion we have had about snoring.

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    1. LC,
      Snorting is much better than snoring. Think it would be more comical than annoying.

      Delete
  22. I know I snore, but I don't think I have ever gone wide awake to the noise. Not much of a back sleeper, so maybe that is why I don't get revved up!

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    1. Terri,
      Pretty sure side sleeping really keeps it down.

      Delete
  23. There are times that I know I snore. If I roll over on my back while asleep I wake my self snoring. After a long drive, non stop to visit a relative I was exhausted. I was told that I snored the whole time I slept after arriving. I am also 80. Hugs sweet Patti

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  24. Ummm... Yes, I pass gas... sigh. Art snores, but I don't. HOWEVER, he says I shout out, groan and once even smacked him. But, I don't snore.

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  25. And as you know... I'm perfectly OK with comment moderation. I'm having to do the same thing.

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