Is snoring good for health?

For years, snoring has been linked to high blood pressure, strokes and heart attacks. However, a recent study has revealed that the condition may actually be good for health.

Sleep

It might be frustrating for the partner, but it seems snoring is actually good for health. That's the suggestion from a recent study on sleep apnoea.

For years, the condition, which causes interruptions in breathing during sleep, has been linked to high blood pressure, strokes and heart attacks.

But the Israeli study of 600 people over the age of 65 has claimed that the risk of early death in people with moderate sleep apnoea was less than half that of people with no history of snoring, The Daily Mail reported.

The study also found that the risk of early death for those with a severe form of the condition was the same as a healthy control group, when it was expected to be higher.

"One theory is that the constant breaks in oxygen and blood supply to organs, caused by the pauses in the breathing, somehow strengthen the heart and brain; this means that if a heart attack or a stroke occurs, the body is better able to deal with it," said the report.

Sleep apnoea can result in the airways in the throat collapsing, cutting off the air supply for about ten seconds a time.