Snoring can drive your better half to early grave: study

London, Feb 13 (UNI) Fed up with your partner's snoring habit? Speak up now or you may lose your life.

Researchers say noisy snorers may be doing far greater harm to their partners than disturbing their sleep. They may be risking their partner's lives by increasing their blood pressure through snoring, researchers added.

Scientists have found that blood pressure increases in response to noises at night, whether you are awake or asleep, which is a high risk factor for heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and dementia.

There are an estimated 15 million snorers in Britain and a persistent culprit can reach 90 decibels, about the same level as a passing train, scientists said.

Other potentially risky sounds include aircraft noise and heavy traffic, with the loudest sounds posing the biggest risk, according to a study published in the European Heart Journal.

Scientists made the discovery after monitoring 140 sleeping volunteers at their homes near Heathrow and three other major European airports.

They found that the blood pressure of participants' went up noticeably after a 'noise event', which was a sound louder than 35 decibels. This included a passenger jet flying overhead, traffic passing outside, or snoring.

The researchers said blood pressure went up in direct relation to noise loudness. For every five decibel increase in aircraft noise at its loudest point, there was a 0.66 mmHg increase in systolic blood pressure, they added.

The type of sound, or its origin, did not appear to be important.

It was volume that mattered, the study said.

Dr Lars Jarup, one of the study authors from Imperial College London, said, ''Noise from air traffic can be a source of irritation, but it can also be damaging for people's health.'' ''Our studies show that night-time aircraft noise can affect your blood pressure instantly and increase the risk of hypertension (high blood pressure),'' the Daily Mail quoted him as saying.

The research followed recent findings by the same scientists who associated high blood pressure with living near an airport or under a flight path.

Those who lived in one of these locations for at least five years were far more at risk of developing high blood pressure than those with quieter surroundings, it said.

The study showed that an increase in night-time aircraft noise of ten decibels raised the risk of high blood pressure by 14 per cent.

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