When trying to deal with your snoring problem, the first thing you need to do is to determine whether it's primary snoring or the more serious Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). To understand the difference between them, you need to know what snoring really is.

Snoring occurs when your airways are blocked while sleeping, restricting your breathing. In the case of primary snoring, the sound results from struggling to inhale. OSA occurs when snoring gets so bad that the airway is completely blocked, resulting in a lack of oxygen and the sufferer actually stops breathing - sometimes for more than 10 seconds.

Snoring can be caused by a number of different things. Being overweight, drinking alcohol, using sleeping pills and antihistamines, allergies, and a deviated septum are some common reasons that people snore. Primary snoring isn't necessarily a huge problem but it does still have negative effects on you and your family.

For example, studies have shown that people who snore cause their spouse to lose roughly an hour of sleep each night, waking them up to 21 time every hour.

This can cause restlessness and other problems for the spouse - a problem known as Spousal Arousal Syndrome. The lack of quality sleep can have a number of effects on the non-snorer, such as irritability, stress, and being more prone to accidents.

OSA, however, can have much more serious effects. Snoring is usually a symptom of sleep apnea, although not always. Because OSA can causes a complete lack of airflow, the sufferer can wake up choking for air and sweating profusely. They also often experience headaches and sore throats because of their continuous struggle for air.

People suffering from OSA rarely get a good night's sleep, leaving them irritable and unable to concentrate. This can affect both their personal and their work lives.

In the long term, if OSA is not treated it can lead to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke as well as high blood pressure.

If you have a snoring problem and some of these OSA symptoms are familiar to you, it's important that you seek the advice of a health care professional.