Rhinomed CEO Explains How Snoring Affects Relationships

Michael Johnson, CEO of Rhinomed, explains the cognitive and relational impacts of snoring.

Transcript

Why should we be concerned that more than half of all adults in the 2022 Annual Global Sleep and Snoring Report say they snore?

Obviously, it's having a huge impact on relationships. One of the things has happened over the course of the pandemic with lockdowns and people being restricted in their homes, is it's put an awful lot of emphasis and pressure on relationships. Snoring is one of those sounds that seems to drive people bats, and that's what's happened, is people are really finding it so annoying. It's causing up to 3 arguments a week in some couples, so it's something that's a very tender topic.

I guess that, once again, we know that sleep is so well-connected to the immune cycle and cognitive and physical health. If you're getting disrupted by 1.5 to 2.5 hours, possibly 2 or 3 nights a week from snoring, then it's something that is ultimately fixable. It's not a natural occurrence, snoring, and it's something that can be remedied. I think that's the really exciting thing for the entire industry, is that there are solutions that we can bring to market and solutions that are out there now that can actually solve that.

Are there other concerns for people who are single?

If you are single, one of the interesting things we found is about 36% of people lie on dating apps about snoring, which is bit [of a] misrepresentation. I mean, a lot of people, from what I'm led to believe, fudge their photos. But the fact that you are not disclosing that you're probably a prodigious snorer would come as a surprise at some stage during the relationship. It's a bit of an issue for the younger folk out there—even the older people, as well—who are single and dating, that they need to be aware that they can do something about it.

How does snoring not only affect the person snoring, but their partner as well?

Obviously, if snoring is one of those annoying things, and when we're in a pressured environment like the pandemic where people are locked up together, it is putting that excessive pressure on people and on their relationships. We also know that it's disrupting sleep, it's impacting their cognition, it can have a big impact on their ability to deal with stuff, to concentrate, forgetfulness, memory—they're all well-established. I guess that's one of the things that we look at and go, "Well, if you can easily fix snoring, you can have an immediate impact on things that will affect your everyday life, like your ability to deal with these situations and stress." And God knows there's a lot of stress around at the moment.