By stress they meant anxiety, depression and sleepless nights.

Men suffering these problems had more than double the risk of developing type-2 diabetes than those with low levels of stress. The researchers claimed that stress may affect the way your brain regulates hormones and can also cause weight gain and that it is cortisol – the stress hormone – that could be the cause many health problems.

When you’re stressed – caused by hectic schedules, heavy workloads, money worries, illness and family crises – adrenaline pours into your system. This sends a warning to your body that it’s under attack, which in turn causes cells to pump fatty acids into your bloodstream, an emergency store of energy.

But you don’t burn them off in a fight as you would have in times gone past. Instead you’re sat at your desk with a report to finish by Friday, or on the M25 in a traffic jam, banging your head against steering wheel.

So the fat hangs around in your bloodstream ready for a non-existent fight, that is until a hormone comes along to dump it all in your belly – a culprit called cortical.

An article in the journal Sleep by the University of Chicago showed that men who slept only 4 hours had 37% more cortisol in their blood than men who got a full 8 hours sleep. So it seems that hormones and stress are linked to cause weight gain, diabetes, heart disease and depression.

If you’re suffering from stress, there are a number of things you can do about it . Firstly, talk to some one about it. Secondly, write down everything that’s worrying you, however insignificant or silly it seems – the pen is a mighty weapon. It makes you think about what’s wrong, what’s going wrong, makes you admit it, and by writing it down gives you a goal.

And thirdly use vinegar. Yes, vinegar.

Before you go to bed at night, mix two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar and two teaspoons of honey into a cup of hot water and drink steadily, but slowly. Also follow the recommendations in the previous article. Soon your mind will recognise these triggers and will start preparing for sleep.

If you’re averse to vinegar, or don’t have any around the house, then try lemon instead, it works well too.

The feature was written by a female journalist, Hannah Borno, and told of her lifelong problem, snoring, and what she did about it.

There are some 10.4 million snorers of which 4.5 million are women. Seventy percent of snoring is inherited, as we inherit the shape of our jaws.

Hanna thought she might have sleep apnoea and made an appointment to visit her GP. However her snoring worsened, as did her level of tiredness, so she went straight to a Sleep Centre. Here she was put on a sleep study machine to take home for the night to reveal possible reasons for her snoring.

The results proved she had mild obstructive sleep apnoea and was experiencing eight OSA events per hour (this is where the airway collapses and you stop breathing for longer than ten seconds – the worst recorded was a French lady who suffered over 600 a night). OSA affects two to four per cent of the population, where the throat relaxes too much during sleep so that it ‘flops’, causing a narrowing with each progressive breath until breathing is stopped. After a few seconds the brain detects the problem and triggers consciousness so that the throat opens and breathing restarts.

This sleep disruption leads not only to daytime sleepiness, but memory lapses, weight gain,, headaches and poor work performance. It can also contribute to psychological disorders such as depression. In severe cases there is an increased risk of high blood pressure, premature heart disease and stroke.

A CPAP (Continues Positive Airways Pressure) was recommended, which Hanna or a mandibular Advancement Device. (MAD) a splint (like the SnorBan mouthpiece) which holds the lower jaw forward during sleep to make more breathing space. She rejected these two on the grounds of vanity.

Hannah was then told of LAUP (Laser Assisted Uvulopalatoplasty). She writes, “This trims the uvula and scars the soft palette, creating a seared arch at the back of the throat. The theory is that the scarred tissue becomes so taut it vibrates less during the night.

During my consultation I learned that not only was my uvula and soft palette extra flaccid, but my nose was partially blocked. I booked in for both a turbinectomy to thin out my nasal tissue, and a laser session to deal with my problem palette – at a cost of £3,000.”

The initial procedures including acupuncture needles being placed all around her face, and anaesthetic being spraying into her mouth.

The Doctor said, “Say Ah,“ and then “a laser flicked on and a slender and intense red beam shot out and I felt a thin hot pressure, not painful at the back of my throat.”

Hannah continued, “Then my nostrils were opened with forceps and the laser thinned out the tissue there too. Immediately afterward my nose felt clear.

“The first fortnight was agony, but six weeks later when the laser burns had fully healed, I stopped snoring completely.

“Sadly, after another month or so I stated snoring again.

She bought a MAD, stopped snoring completely and “starting to feel livelier in the mornings. Now I can’t remember the last time I napped in the day.”