If you snore really badly it could be the sign of a serious medical condition which could mean you’re entitled to up to £156 a week in benefits.
While a number of things can cause snoring such as allergies, smoking, drinking too much or being overweight, it can also be a sign of a potentially dangerous condition.
This includes symptoms such as your breathing stopping and starting, waking up suddenly in the middle of the night and making gasping or snorting sounds while you sleep, according to the NHS.
That’s where the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) comes in as you could be entitled to some money if you’ve got a condition which seriously affects your everyday life.
According to Full Fact, the DWP have said that a person’s ability to claim up to £156 ‘entirely depends on someone’s condition and how it affects their life’.
It’d come to you in the form of a Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which is for people who have long-term physical or mental health conditions due to disabilities.
“You don’t receive PIP just by having a condition, it’s how that condition affects your everyday life.” they said.
In order to be eligible for those benefits, you’d first have to be sure that your snoring was a sign of sleep apnoea and then be able to demonstrate that it is affecting your life in some way.
To get £156 a week would also be hitting the upper limit of what you’d get too, so things would have to be very serious indeed for you to receive the entire amount of money.
Your sleep apnoea would have to severely affect your ability to complete daily tasks such as eating, drinking, dressing yourself and impacting your mobility.
According to the government, as of 31 July this year, there were 3.1 million people in England and Wales entitled to PIP, with 36 percent receiving the highest payment amount.
However, applying for PIP is no guarantee of receiving payments as over a 10 year period 3.2 million people have had their registrations disallowed.
Sarah Carter is a health and wellness expert residing in the UK. With a background in healthcare, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, promoting healthier living for readers.