Sleep well?

Unfortunately, as we get bigger so does our snoring problem. Growing levels of obesity are now believed to be causing ballooning snoring levels, with 45 per cent of the adult UK population now thought to be sufferers.

Snoring happens when muscles in the neck relax during sleep. This allows the soft tissue in the upper throat to vibrate, creating the sound we all know, perhaps too well, as snoring. While it is often the butt of a joke, snoring is no laughing matter. In the long term it can lead to the break up of relationships. It has been reported that as many as 25 per cent of UK adults say it is ruining their sex lives.

The symptoms of simple snoring are most obvious to the partner of the sufferer, and most snorers get a good night's sleep if their partner doesn't complain. For a non-apnoeic sufferer, symptoms are audible snoring caused by vibration of the soft palate, velopharynx and upper oropharynx. Some sufferers also experience headaches during the night or in the morning, and may wake themselves and their partner with the noise of their snoring.