Since snoring is such a common problem, the subject has wide appeal and is often regarded as a matter for humour. Yet although snorers are the butt of many jokes, their plight often has nightmarish results, caused by tensions and conflicts arising from the many sleepless nights that they inflict on their partners and families. Is there a miracle cure for snorers? And is snoring harmful to the snorer’s health? Not all snoring is innocuous. In some cases it is caused by a disorder known as sleep apnea syndrome (SAOS), which affects 500,000 people in France alone. Since sufferers from SAOS are incapable of attaining a state of deep sleep, the disorder can have extremely serious consequences: day-time fatigue and drowsiness (which can lead to road and other accidents), personality disorders, and even impotence. What exactly is SAOS? How can it be diagnosed? How can it be treated? This book answers these and other questions that will be of great interest to sufferers and their partners, as well to doctors, and to anyone who has trouble sleeping. Although the symptom has been frequently evoked in the media, this is the first book on the subject. The authors: Bernard Fleury is a hospital practitioner at Hôpital St. Antoine. Chantal Hausser-Hauw is attached to the Pneumology Service at the American Hospital in Paris. Marie-Frédéricque Bacqué is a psychologist and lecturer at the Université de Lille III.