As most couples will know, there’s nothing worst than being kept up all night because your partner is snoring loudly and just won’t stop.
My boyfriend somehow even manages to snore while he’s awake, something to this day I still don’t understand, it drives me up the wall.
Not only is sleeping next to a snorer annoying, science has proven it’s also bad for your health.
A study carried out by a team of scientists at Imperial College London analysed the effect noise had on sleep revealing a snoring partner can raise a sleeper’s blood pressure.
Monitoring 140 volunteers who lived in homes near Heathrow and three other European airports, the study discovered snoring has the same impact on a sleeper’s blood pressure as the noise of a low-flying aircraft or a lorry reversing in the street.
In fact the type of sound or its origin did not appear to be important; only loudness mattered.
Simply put the louder the noise, the higher the blood pressure rising by 0.66 mm Hg for every five decibel increase, The Independent reports.
You can watch an interview with Britain’s loudest snorer here:
[ooyala player_id=”5df2ff5a35d24237905833bd032cd5d8″ width=”undefined” height=”undefined” pcode=”twa2oyOnjiGwU8-cvdRQbrVTiR2l” code=”BqYW0wZjE6oGdqzmC-eSMfPx26OJQKzq”]
Dr Lars Jarup, one of the authors of the study from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Imperial College London, spoke about the results of the study.
He said:
We know that noise from air traffic can be a source of irritation, but our research shows that it can also be damaging for people’s health, which is particularly significant in light of plans to expand international airports.
Our studies show that night-time aircraft noise can affect your blood pressure instantly and increase the risk of hypertension.
It is clear to me that measures need to be taken to reduce noise levels from aircraft, in particular during night-time, in order to protect the health of people living near airports.
High blood pressure is a known risk factor for heart disease, dementia, stroke and kidney disease.
Although Ellen Mason, a cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, believes the results of the study are important, she added there are other more significant factors contributing to high blood pressure, the BBC reports.
She explained:
Noise pollution may be the latest in a long line of issues that the airline industry needs to tackle.
High blood pressure is far more likely to be influenced by the fact that many of us eat far too much salt, don’t take enough exercise and are fast becoming overweight.
Professor Graham McGregor, an expert in blood pressure, also found the study interesting but claimed more work had to be done to confirm the link.
If you are sick of your partner snoring and concerned about your blood pressure, ASDA sells a special pineapple plant that may be the solution.
The strange looking plant, which has an adorable tiny pineapple at the very top, even has the backing of NASA.
According to their studies, pineapple plants produce oxygen and improve air quality throughout the night which can prevent snoring.
Available for only £12, it’s a real bargain!
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via stories@unilad.co.uk.
