What part of the body is affected if someone snores during sleep?
Can Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Address Loud Snoring?
Many people snore loudly during sleep, sometimes even waking themselves up gasping for air. Why does this happen?
I once treated a 49-year-old male patient with obesity who had suffered from loud snoring for over a decade. His snoring was disruptive to others, and he frequently experienced breath-holding episodes during sleep, often waking up choking. He also complained of daytime dizziness, fatigue, and poor memory. After a hospital ENT examination, he was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS).
During my TCM evaluation, his pulse was deep and thin, his tongue coating was white, the tongue body appeared dull and pale, and the sublingual veins were visibly prominent. He also reported chronic cold intolerance, cold extremities, loose stools, and a normal appetite. Based on these symptoms, I diagnosed spleen-kidney yang deficiency with phlegm obstructing the airways.
In TCM theory, the spleen governs nutrient transportation, and the kidneys regulate water metabolism. Yang deficiency in these organs leads to fluid stagnation, transforming into phlegm-dampness. The lungs, which store phlegm, become congested, causing phlegm to accumulate in the airways. This results in loud snoring and, in severe cases, airway obstruction and apnea. Additionally, phlegm impairs the lungs’ ability to produce ancestral qi (宗气), which supports blood circulation and physical functions. Over time, blood stasis develops (evident in his dark tongue and engorged sublingual veins), while phlegm disrupting the "clear orifices" causes dizziness. Spleen deficiency further weakens energy and memory.
Treatment Principle: Warm the spleen and kidneys, resolve phlegm-dampness.
I prescribed a modified Linggui Zhugan Decoction (苓桂术甘汤), a classic formula by Zhang Zhongjing to warm and dissolve phlegm-dampness. The base formula includes:
Poria (茯苓): Promotes diuresis and drains dampness.
Cinnamon Twig (桂枝): Warms yang and transforms dampness.
Atractylodes (白术): Strengthens the spleen and dries dampness.
Honey-fried Licorice (炙甘草): Harmonizes the middle energizer.
To address spleen-kidney yang deficiency, I added dried ginger (干姜) to warm spleen yang and aconite (附子) to warm kidney yang. To enhance phlegm-resolving effects, Chenpi (tangerine peel), Banxia (Pinellia), and Gualou (Trichosanthes) were included. For blood stasis, Danshen (Salvia), Chuanxiong (Ligusticum), and **Zelan (Lycopus)** were added to activate blood circulation.
After seven doses, the patient’s nighttime breath-holding episodes decreased, and his daytime energy improved, though fatigue persisted. We then increased qi-tonifying herbs in the formula. With continued treatment, his snoring and apnea resolved, and fatigue subsided.
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