The scariest part of snoring isn't the noise. It's the silence in between.

Snoring feels like a noise problem. For millions of people, it's a warning.

An estimated 936 million adults worldwide have sleep apnea, and researchers believe most have never been diagnosed (Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 2019). Loud snoring is one of its most common signs. Not everyone who snores has sleep apnea, but most people who have it do snore - and many wave it off as "just how I sleep."

Here's what the animation above shows. The airway narrows and the throat tissue vibrates: that's the snore. Then the airway closes and breathing stops for 10 seconds or more, and blood oxygen starts to fall. Your brain sounds an alarm, your heart rate jumps, and you gasp or wake for a moment. By morning you won't remember it.

Doctors call 15 or more of these pauses an hour moderate sleep apnea. Over a seven-hour night, that's more than 100 times.

Over the years, untreated sleep apnea is linked to:

• High blood pressure, often with no warning signs
• Nearly double the risk of heart disease and stroke, according to published reviews
• Brain fog, low mood and trouble concentrating
• Drowsy driving and accidents at work

Even when snoring isn't sleep apnea, it means your breathing is working harder than it should. One common cause is the mouth falling open in sleep: the jaw drops, the tongue slides back, the airway narrows and the tissue vibrates.

Don't wait for a bad night to take snoring seriously. One thing you can change tonight is how you breathe. Once the mouth stays gently closed, the body shifts back to nasal breathing on its own.

• Helps you breathe through your nose while you sleep
• Aims to cut down snoring that comes from an open mouth
• Hypoallergenic, latex-free adhesive - gentle enough for nightly use
• Comfortable to open at any time; nothing forces the jaw shut