How a simple pair of socks could banish snoring and slash risk of silent killer

IF you're plagued by a partner's incessant snoring, science might be your saviour.

While most socks are designed to keep your feet warm, experts have said one design could banish snoring as well as slashing the risk of a silent killer.

A clinical trial is currently underway in France in order to determine if compression socks - more commonly used to reduce the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) - can help people living with sleep apnoea.

Despite being one of the causes of snoring, sleep apnoea is dubbed a silent killer due to the fact sufferers have an increased risk of heart issues and sudden death, experts at the BMJ state.

Many people might not know they have the condition, as one of the key symptoms is loud snoring - which is often only detected if you live with someone else.

The NHS states the condition is dangerous as it can stop you breathing in your sleep.

Now, scientists in France have recruited 24 patients, and will test whether wearing compression socks during the day and taking them off at night will reduce the number of disturbances caused by sleep apnoea, the reported.

In many cases of sleep apnoea, patients are treated with a mask they have to wear at night which helps pump air into the body - stopping them from gasping for breath mid snooze.

It helps keep the airway open, but many patients find them hard to use.

The French experts believe that the compression socks could help sufferers by reducing the amount of fluid that builds up in the lower legs during the day.

A previous study, published in 2011 in the , found that compression socks do help people with the condition.

This one looked at 12 patients in France who had sleep apnoea with chronic venous insufficiency.

This can happen when the veins in your legs don't allow blood to flow back up to your heart.

Normally, valves in your veins make the blood flow toward your heart, but when they don't work properly, the blood can also flow backwards, causing the blood to pool in your legs.