Dr. Kandula went on The Morning Blend to answer common questions about snoring and sleep divorce.
And welcome back. Well, today, solving a problem that creates a wedge in many relationships, you know what it is, it's snoring. It can drive couples to sleep in separate beds or one partner even to go to the couch.
Last week, we posted this question on Facebook and it struck a pretty big nerve with people. As part of our Sleep Well, Breathe Well series, we are diving headfirst into the concept of sleep divorce. We are joined now by Dr. Madan Kandula, founder and CEO of ADVENT, with some advice to bring people back together.
Good to see you, doctor.
Good to be here. Thank you.
Absolutely. So let's talk about this and start with the basics, really, like how many people are actually snoring in relationships?
50 percent. Really, if you think about that, that percentage, almost every household in this country is impacted. And sometimes it's it's both partners, but it's it's rampant. And it's it's annoying. It's frustrating. It's it's all of those things.
There's nothing good about it. But it is extraordinarily common, I guess, is the bottom line.
Absolutely. We've got some great questions later from from viewers as well. But I want to get to some of this stuff, because I think in general, you coined this term, I feel like a few years back was the sleep divorce.
How often is that happening, knowing that it's like one in two couples?
Yeah, I mean, unfortunately, it's about one in four adults who are in relationships, sleep in separate bedrooms, which is significant. And the number one reason for that to happen is snoring. And obviously there's nothing good about that. It is, as we've talked about in the past, it's a wedge in relationships.
It starts to separate people from each other, which there's nothing good about it. Unfortunately, the reality is if somebody is snoring, then there's something wrong with their airway, that it's shutting down when they're sleeping at night.
And so a solution for that is not to, you know, sort of leave them in isolation and get away, although that's certainly the want and the tendency.
I agree with you. And I know a lot of people are listening, saying, oh, yeah, we do that. It seems to work for us. But I think a lot of people are embarrassed to talk about it. They don't talk about the fact that they're sleeping in separate bedrooms or having the sleep divorce going on.
And the issue is there can be the bigger problems that are going on. So you shouldn't really dismiss snoring, right? Why is that?
Yeah. No, absolutely not. I mean, snoring by itself is annoying and it does do damage by itself. But- I wouldn't say the extreme spectrum, but one partner with snoring is sleep apnea.
And so sleep apnea is when somebody stops breathing at night. So almost everybody who has sleep apnea snores. Not everybody snore is as sleep apnea, but there is really no simple way to know. And so if somebody's snoring on a consistent basis, they, in my opinion, deserve to to be evaluated.
And we need to know what's going on. And if it's snoring, there are things we could do about that. If they have sleep apnea, there are things we can do about that. And the whole process, from diagnosis to treatment, is low key.
And so I really I think maybe in a different era, in a different age, the embarrassment that goes along with snoring was reasonable in this day, in this age, we have solutions for these problems. So there's really nothing to be embarrassed about.
Know that you're likely maybe in the majority in this country as far as having the snoring issue and know that you can do something about it for either yourself or for your partner to put an end to something that nobody wants to be associated with.
I love that you said all that, because I think about, you know, like, you're in college and you're snoring. Your buddies or your friends are making fun of you. And so you've just kind of always been like, oh, that's just who I am.
But the truth is, yeah, you can stop breathing like a hundred times a night and so many people don't get help for it. And it can be serious and you shouldn't be embarrassed anymore. We know too much about it now.
So one of the questions people asked on Facebook and I think this, you know, everything you said credits why why we shouldn't dismiss this. But one of the questions I thought was really well asked was, can we just use some of those medical devices?
There's a lot of little devices on the market that can help us to stop snoring. Is that good enough?
It depends. I'd say generally not unless you know exactly what's going on. And so meaning that if somebody is bleeding out, you you wouldn't slap a Band-Aid on them and say you're going to be fine. And really these over-the-counter approaches, they can work.
So sometimes you need a Band-Aid and a Band-Aid can work. But if there's something serious going on to put a Band-Aid on it is dangerous and it is not helpful. And so that's where it gets tricky. And so, again, in this day and age, it's so easy to figure out if somebody is snoring.
And if so, then I say, yeah, could some of these over-the-counter agents work? They they very well might. If somebody has sleep apnea, for instance, and you slap a Band-Aid on that situation, you are not doing them any favors.
Even if you make them a little bit more quiet when they're sleeping at night, you're not helping the cause. And you're really sort of playing with dynamite, I guess, is the bottom line. It's not something to be messed around with.
I agree. And I love that you talk about the seriousness of it. You know, I think a lot of the treatments that you guys do, they're in office, they're under 20 minutes, they're so easy, and I think that's important for people to know that when they come in, they can get real relief and real help.
But there's one last viewer question that I think is great and important, because a lot of people do this, as they say, well, when I turn my partner on their side, they stop snoring. Is that good enough?
It's better than on their back, I guess what I would say. And so it's similar to the Band-Aid thing I said about over-the-counter aides is if you get someone on their side, their airway is going to naturally, gravity is going to kind of hold that open more than if they're on their back.
Although if their airway is narrow to begin with, then they're still likely in not the best situation. And everybody knows this, your elbow, somebody to get on their side. And then who knows, 10, 20, 30 minutes later, they're back on their back.
You're back awake. You got your elbow out and you're you're probably sharpening that elbow at that point. So that's common. And so I'd say while it can it can help, it's not a solution.
I think the biggest solution is to go and meet with you guys. It's so simple, right? You can actually just sign up in like 60 seconds on your website.
It's as easy as can be, and there's no reason not to get started.
Dr. Kandula, so good to chat with you. Good to see you again.
Good to be here.
Thank you. You can go to ADVENTknows.com to schedule online in just 60 seconds. Most insurances are accepted. There's no referral that's required. And there are five southeastern Wisconsin locations, so there's sure to be one close to you.
Wauwatosa, Mequon Oconomowoc, Oak Creek and Pleasant Prairie. They also have offices in Appleton and the Chicagoland area as well.