My Daddy Snores

The Journey of a Snoree

By Nancy Rothstein

Here is how my snoring journey...my "snory" so to speak... began, inspiring a quest to raise awareness about snoring and the health risks that may lurk behind the noise, particularly sleep apnea.

One morning in 1997, I was helping in my daughter Natalie's kindergarten classroom. Exhausted from another night of my dear husband, Steven's, loud snoring, I yawned away. Surrounded by energetic children, I wrote the original draft of My Daddy Snores . Fast forward... My husband tested positive for sleep apnea and was treated with an oral appliance. Quiet nights were a welcome change in our home. Then, a few years ago, when weight gain led to the return of Steven's snoring, I remembered my children's book and decided its time had come. I knew I was not alone... although at that time I had no idea just how common this nighttime ordeal was! I felt that approaching this family issue through the eyes of the child would spark a new dialogue leading parents and others to seek diagnosis and treatment.

In February, 2005, Dr. Michael Gelb, a dental sleep specialist who treated my husband, came to our home to speak at our "Snoring Party," a response to our growing awareness of how many of our friends were living with snoring issues. Many of the snorers remained in denial, but most "snorees" (those within ear's range of the noise) were ready to record the evidence! Coverage by the Chicago Tribune and local papers ignited a spark of dialogue and action.

Through Dr. Michael Gelb, I was introduced to an Executive at Scholastic Inc., who accepted the manuscript and a book was born. Illustrator Stephen Gilpin's wonderful drawings brought the story to life. Anyone who deals with snoring will appreciate the depictions of the cacophony of sounds in My Daddy Snores. Knowing that sleep apnea was behind many of these sounds, I felt obligated to include a list of resources at the end of the book to lead the reader to help. To further boost my quest to raise awareness... and because My Daddy Snores was the first book to approach the issues of snoring and sleep apnea from the perspective of the child and the family... a My Daddy Snores website was a must. With a generous grant from the Respironics Sleep and Respiratory Research Foundation, I created www.mydaddysnores.com. The site is family friendly, offering viewers information on snoring, sleep apnea, sleep hygiene and about sleep in general... with links to outstanding information created by experts in the field. With a " Kids Center ," recent news articles and a comprehensive " Resource Center ," viewers can find the information they need, as well as guidance to seek diagnosis and treatment. My goal is to help improve the well-being of families. I welcome any comments or feedback, especially testimonials to add to the site.

Continuing my mission to create public awareness, I produced a documentary entitled America's Not-So-Silent Secret , which presents a call-to-action, through both intensity and humor, that snoring and sleep apnea cannot be ignored. Now in demo reel form, I plan to produce the full length version and to make America's Not-So-Silent Secret public.

My great uncle also knew all about the issues of snoring and sleep apnea... which leads me to another story that really caught me by surprise! My first cousin called me a few months ago to ask if I had seen our Great Uncle's book about snoring. "What book are you talking about?"... having no idea to what she was referring. She had assumed that this mystery book was the genesis of My Daddy Snores and my other snoring endeavors. She thought she had a copy, but no luck. Thanks to modern technology and the reaches of the Internet, I located a few copies of How to Stop Snoring by David Horwich, my father's paternal Uncle. Publication date? 1950. Yes, 1-9-5-0. And while science has made great strides in the past 6 decades, a significant proportion of the public... both adults and children... remain sleep deprived due to an annoying noise that my Great Uncle wrote about 57 years ago!

Reading the jacket cover of the book, I was amazed at how little has changed in 6 decades. The cover reads: "Despite the quips of comedians down through the centuries, snoring is no joke. It is responsible for a staggering amount of domestic unhappiness... Habitual snoring is accepted as a minor calamity from which there is no escape." Of course, my Great Uncle did not have the medical knowledge that is available today. Sleep apnea had not yet been identified as a disease in 1950. Fortunately, this is no longer the case. We have extraordinary scientists, physicians and health practitioners who continue to advance the protocols for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea and related issues.

It is estimated that about 20% of the U.S. population... some 60 million of us... snores. Add to that the snorees... and the numbers of people whose sleep is compromised is staggering. Families everywhere are struggling with the effects of snoring. "Musical beds" is a nightly routine for millions. I know this all too well. Many a night I have to decide whether to start my slumber in the bed I share with my husband, knowing that I'll be likely to seek silence elsewhere in the middle of the night, or just start out in another room. Sometimes a silent haven is not available. Just last week, daughter Natalie was with us in a New York City hotel room. Having removed the uncomfortable earplugs I gave her, she awoke very tired because of Dad's snoring. So prevalent is the problem that "snoring rooms" are the hot new trend in new home construction! People... myself included... are tired, frustrated and weary as a result of snoring.

Sometimes I feel as if a wind, maybe a snore from the sky, is pushing me on this ever growing quest! My goal is that My Daddy Snores and America's Not-So-Silent Secret will raise awareness that snoring may indicate significant health risks and that sleep deprivation for snorers and snorees can be resolved. With awareness and knowledge, the propensity not to take action is less likely. The public must become connected to the sleep community of scientists and practitioners who provide state-of-the-art diagnostics and solutions for snoring and sleep apnea. Our fatigued society must wake up to the fact that healthy sleep is essential to our well-being.

Whether Daddy or someone else in your family is compromising nightly ZZZZZZZs with earth rattling noise, or whether signs lead you to suspect something is amiss in the well-being of someone you care about, the time to do something about it is NOW!