Loud, long and hard to wake

By KATHERINE HOBY

Ian is in his late thirties and has snored since he was a teenager.

"I used to share a room with my brother and he would throw things at me when it got bad, which he said was all the time. Usually he would run out of things to throw."

Now, Ian says, he can control his chronic snoring through breathing exercises but is finding out what it is like to live with a snorer as his pregnant wife has started snoring.

"Some sort of justice, I suppose," he laughs.

Ian says it makes no difference whether he sleeps on his side, stomach or back.

Certain foods or drinks do seem to make him snore louder.

"Red wine's a classic. And creamy products, too much dairy is another bad one," he says.

Ian also says his snoring appears to be worse when he is over-tired.

"When I'm really tired, you can usually guarantee my snoring will be bad. It just comes down to lazy breathing."

And waking him or prodding or shaking him appears to have no effect either.

"My partner will shake me if it's bad. Sometimes she'll wake me up, and I'll wake up and talk for a while, and have no recollection of that conversation in the morning. But just a couple of breaths later I'll be back at it again."

Ian says what works for him is a series of breathing exercises which take just five minutes.

"In the end snoring is just lazy breathing. And when I do these exercises after a bad night my partner says it is like sleeping with a different guy."

Carole's husband, David, is in his early 60s. The couple have been married for 39 years, and sleeping in separate bedrooms for years now.

While Carole says she knows David has no real control over his snoring, it did annoy her as she has always been a very light sleeper.

"I used to get very cross with him but it's actually very upsetting for him so I had a hard time being mad."

Carole says she would nudge or push David when he was snoring - to no avail.

"We tried him on his side, or on his stomach. It made no difference, none at all. The sound was simply more like gargling but no quieter."

David had a surgical trimming operation about 12 years ago to try to cure his snoring. He says it was painful, and made little difference. He has also tried hypnosis.

Both he and Carole found it upsetting, especially initially, to be forced to sleep in different rooms to get a good night's sleep.

"He used to get horrendously upset about it," Carole says.

"We used to have to meet halfway if we wanted a kiss and a cuddle, and then go our separate ways. It took a bit of getting used to, certainly."

David says: "It was quite disturbing in the beginning and it does affect your marital life."

But they have got used to sleeping alone. "It has become something we live with and accept," David says. "We've had no choice."

What can you do to help stop snoring?

Lose weight if you need to - this can really make a difference.

Exercise regularly to improve muscle tone.

Stop smoking.

Avoid taking tranquillisers, sleeping pills and antihistamines before bedtime.

Avoid drinking alcohol for at least four hours, and eating heavy meals or snacks for three hours, before bed.

Establish regular sleeping patterns.

Try to sleep on your side.