Sheri Katz has dedicated her life to help people combat sleep apnea, reports  Atlanta Jewish Times.

“We now know that snoring can be a sign of a potentially serious medical condition called sleep apnea,” said Sheri Katz, an Atlanta dentist who specializes in sleep apnea. “The throat is like a long tube. Some people’s throats relax too much as they sleep and their breathing becomes interrupted for seconds and even minutes at a time. People with sleep apnea tend to have more medical problems.”

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New York Magazine reviewed the possible health implications of snoring and spoke to sleep experts about the best anti-snoring pillows on the market.

“Snoring is basically related to a narrow upper airway, and gravity tends to make things worse,” says Kannan Ramar, a sleep physician and professor of medicine in the division of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the Mayo Clinic, and president-elect of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. “When you fall asleep, the tongue relaxes a little bit and can fall back and close up the airway. The soft palate and the uvula at the back of the throat relaxes, and that tends to narrow the airway.” Add a new pillow, the theory goes, and you put yourself in a position that reduces the effect of gravity on the back of your neck. Here are some pillows — selected by sleep doctors and sleep product experts — to try out.

Sarah Riccio, a senior writer at sleep product review site Sleepopolis, likes the Xtreme Comforts wedge with its 30-degree angle and 7-inch height. It’s also made from memory foam, which is Winter’s material of choice: “Memory foam tends to support and hold people better,” he says. “It’s conforming around your neck and giving a little bit more of an even distribution of pressure, versus down, which tends to look fluffy, but collapses when you’re on top of it.”

As an alternative to a wedge, Riccio says to look for “pillows with an extra-lofty profile of 5-inches or more,” that will also keep the head and neck elevated. She especially likes the Layla Kapok pillow since it “features a super high profile of 7-inches and does a great job of maintaining its shape.”

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Studies show higher divorce rates in couples where one person snores, reports WSLS.

“I noticed when I woke up, I was just as tired as when I went to bed,” said Eric Pellant, who has sleep apnea.

“At first it was just, ‘Roll over, roll over,’ you know, because it was keeping me awake,” said Kathy Pellant, Eric’s wife.

The problems stretch beyond the bedroom though.

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Physicians explain how snoring can sound when a person is experiencing sleep apnea.

“There are basically two types of snores,” said David Swanson, supervisor at Providence Holy Family Hospital’s sleep clinic and a respiratory therapist. “One is just a rhythmic type of snore, and usually the volume level stays about the same.”

With that, you typically won’t snore, or the sound softens if you move from your back to side.

“The other type of snoring, which about 75% of people who snore will have, is obstructive sleep apnea along with that snore. That’s more like a crescendo-type snore where the volume gets louder and louder, then all of the sudden you don’t hear anything for a while because the airway is closed.” That scenario sounds like a loud snort.

“It’s important to keep track of symptoms in addition to the snoring,” said Dr. Michael Cruz, with Spokane Ear, Nose and Throat and an ENT physician. Interrupted breathing could last 10 seconds or longer, Cruz added.

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Roses, candy, and a candlelit dinner are romantic gestures that many of us partake in for Valentine’s Day. In addition to these gifts, consider a lifestyle change that will benefit both you and your partner: gain control of your snoring.

“While snoring is disruptive to bed partners and can cause frustration in a relationship, it can also be an indicator of a serious health problem,” says Kelly A. Carden, MD, president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), in a release. “Snoring is a common symptom of obstructive sleep apnea, a chronic disease that involves the repeated collapse of the upper airway during sleep. When sleep apnea is untreated, it can increase the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, stroke, and other health problems.”

The AASM recommends the following tips for occasional snorers:

• Weight loss: Weight gain can make snoring worse and may even lead to obstructive sleep apnea. Shedding pounds can help reduce or eliminate snoring for some people, and weight loss should be a top priority if you are overweight or obese.
• Positional therapy: For some, snoring mostly occurs while sleeping on the back. To reduce snoring, try changing positions by sleeping on your side.
• Avoid alcohol, muscle relaxants and certain medications: These substances can relax your throat or tongue muscles, causing you to snore.
• Medical diagnosis: If snoring is loud and frequent, talk to a medical provider about your risk for obstructive sleep apnea or seek help from the sleep team at an AASM-accredited sleep center.

Pulmonologists speak to US News about the best sleeping positions to prevent sleep apnea.

Sleeping on your stomach can be awkward, and some people who try it find they wake up with a stiff neck. Choosing a very thin pillow or a pillow made specifically for stomach sleepers may help reduce strain on the neck when lying face down.

When sleeping on your side, you’ll likely need a thicker pillow to support the head and neck. Some people prefer to cuddle up to a large body pillow to help keep them in the right position. There are lots of pillows that are marketed specifically for addressing sleep apnea concerns, so do a little research and try out a few to find one that feels right for you.

Losing weight is an effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), but why exactly this is the case has remained unclear. Now researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have discovered that improvements in OSA symptoms appear to be linked to the reduction of fat in one unexpected body part—the tongue.

Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the effect of weight loss on the upper airway in obese patients, researchers found that reducing tongue fat is a primary factor in lessening the severity of OSA. The findings were published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

“Most clinicians, and even experts in the sleep apnea world, have not typically focused on fat in the tongue for treating sleep apnea,” says Richard Schwab, MD, chief of Sleep Medicine, in a release. “Now that we know tongue fat is a risk factor and that sleep apnea improves when tongue fat is reduced, we have established a unique therapeutic target that we’ve never had before.”

A 2014 study led by Schwab compared obese patients with and without sleep apnea and found that the participants with the sleep disorder had significantly larger tongues and a higher percentage of tongue fat when compared to those without OSA. The researchers next step was to determine if reducing tongue fat would improve symptoms and to further examine cause and effect.

The new study included 67 participants with mild to severe obstructive sleep apnea who were obese—those with a body mass index greater than 30.0. Through diet or weight loss surgery, the patients lost nearly 10% of their body weight, on average, over six months. Overall, the participants’ sleep apnea scores improved by 31% after the weight loss intervention, as measured by a sleep study.

Before and after the weight loss intervention, the study participants underwent MRI scans to both their pharynx as well as their abdomens. Then, using a statistical analysis, the research team quantified changes between overall weight loss and reductions to the volumes of the upper airway structures to determine which structures led to the improvement