Millions of people are familiar with it - snoring. The number one annoyance in the bedroom at night. About one in two men and one in four women of middle age or older snores in their sleep. Previously dismissed as just an annoying disturbance of the peace, snoring is now recognized as a serious sleep and health disorder. These nightly lapses in sleep can even be life-threatening!

Let's start from the beginning. When snoring, loud breathing noises occur in the upper airways during sleep. A full 70 decibels — as loud as a passing truck. That's the sound many people fall asleep to. The causes of snoring are based on anatomical bottlenecks such as swollen tonsils, polyps, a curved nasal septum, or an excessively long uvula. Men over 50 years old, especially, snore. As many as 60 to 80 percent in this age group are affected.