Expert: Charles Cusumano, PA-C, DFAAPA - 10/4/2007

Question
Hi,

The issue I'm having is that I make a moaning like noise when sleeping which is stopping my wife from sleeping (she says it sounds like a baby moaning so she instantly wakes up due to motherly instinct).

I seem to make the noise when I'm at the stage between awake and deep sleep. I am not aware of making the noise and it only causes me to wake up about 2% of the time.

My wife says when she gets out of bed (to go to the bathroom or whatever) and comes back, I do the sound within 30secs.

I will repeat the moaning 10 times or so then I'd stop for awhile and start doing it again.

before we got the boxspring for our bed we used to sleep on the mattress on the floor and I rarely made the noise but since we got the boxspring I do it almost every night.

I do it just as often regardless of which position I sleep in. I sleep with my mouth open, my tongue against the roof of my mouth and I breath through my nose. I do snore but I know its not me snoring as my wife has no issue with that.

Its getting to the point now that my wife is having to sleep in the living room so she can get some sleep.

Any advice as to what is causing this or any solutions to stopping it?

Thanks in advance.

Answer
Hi Ab,
I’m not sure how the box spring versus the mattress on the floor plays into this unless it IS positional. It may be a sign of sleep apnea. Of course there are a host of other symptoms needed to diagnose that. Anxiety and stress could also cause this behavior. If this issue is coming between you and your wife, it deserves to be discussed with your doctor.