Ask anyone who shares a bed with a snorer what snoring is, and you’ll probably get a one-word answer: NOISE! Some snorers make more noise than others. Sometimes a gentle shove from the bed partner is enough to stop it. Other times one of the partners must be banished to the couch or a different bedroom so the non-snorer can get some sleep.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, approximately 90 million American adults snore, 37 million of them regularly. There are a variety of causes and finding the exact reason why a particular person snores can take quite awhile. So why do you snore?
Snoring Physiology
You snore when air can’t move freely enough through your nose and throat while you sleep. Instead of open air passageways, yours are constricted and obstructed and the tissues consequently vibrate.
All your muscles relax when you sleep. That’s one of the main reasons why sleep is so restful and beneficial. But when your throat muscles relax, your tongue falls backward. Your throat walls, soft palate, tongue, uvula, and tonsillar pillars – the tissue folds just behind your tonsils – get “floppy” and vibrate or rumble, especially when you inhale.
The more restricted your airway, the louder you snore. If your airway becomes completely closed, your body can’t get enough oxygen, and your brain will wake you up so you can breathe.
Medical Conditions That Cause Snoring
If you can’t breathe and your body wakes you up frequently during the night, you may have obstructive sleep apnea, a medical condition where you stop breathing for short periods of time.
Sleep apnea is a serious and can lead to:
- depression,
- weight gain,
- increased risk of heart disease and stroke,
- increased risk of diabetes,
- increased risk of cancer,
- increased blood pressure,
- accelerated aging, and
- brain damage.
Only about one in three male snorers and one in five female snorers has sleep apnea. For these unfortunate people, using a CPAP machine is the therapy of choice. CPAP stands for continuous positive airway pressure, and that’s what the CPAP machine provides. It gently blows pressurized air into your airway while you sleep so your throat can’t collapse.
Other medical causes of snoring include enlarged tonsils, enlarged tongue, deviated septum, chronic allergies, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and excess weight around the neck.
Risk Factors for Snoring
The Mayo Clinic lists the following factors that contribute to snoring:
- being a man,
- being overweight,
- having a naturally narrow airway,
- drinking alcohol,
- having nasal problems, and
- having a family history of snoring.
Lifestyle Snoring Solutions
Many people snore even though they have no underlying medical condition causing it. If you’re one of them, there are a number of things you can do to reduce your snoring or maybe even stop it.
If you’re overweight, losing those extra pounds not only will make you feel better overall, but also can make all the difference when it comes to snoring. While thin people are known to snore, too, overweight people do it much more often. So add one more reason to your list of reasons why you should lose weight.
You can’t stop the natural aging process, but getting regular exercise certainly, will keep your muscles in better shape and prevent their becoming flabby. Remember, your muscles relax when you sleep, and it’s those relaxing neck and throat muscles that lead to snoring. Even if you lead a sedentary lifestyle, it’s easy to exercise your neck while at work or watching TV. Simply rotating your neck while keeping your body straight can do wonders. Or sit up straight, tilt your head to one side, and hold it there while you count to 10. Then repeat in the opposite direction. Alternate the side-to-side exercises with forward-and-backward exercises.
If you’re a smoker, quitting is a major thing you can do to improve your overall health and also reduce your snoring. In addition to the many other bad things smoking does to your body, it also irritates your throat whether you’re aware of it or not. If you have “smoker’s cough,” that’s your throat telling you it’s irritated. An irritated throat is much more likely to close up while you sleep.
Practical Snoring Solutions
The vast majority of snorers do it while sleeping on their backs. This makes sense because when you’re lying on your back and your muscles relax, your mouth more easily opens and your tongue more easily slides to the back of your mouth. If you sleep on your side or on your stomach with your head turned to one side or the other, these things are much less likely to happen. Some people go so far as to tape a tennis ball to the back of their pajamas so that if they roll over on their back during sleep, they certainly won’t stay there for more than a few seconds!
Another good idea is to get a new pillow. Dust mites collect in pillows and can cause allergic reactions which, in turn, can cause you to snore. The average life of a pillow is between six months and three years, so if you haven’t replaced yours recently, it’s probably time to do so. You may wish to consider an “anti-snore” pillow. There are many on the market, but before going off on a blind search for one, find out what each brand offers so you can decide which pillows for snoring will best fit your needs.
There are a number of snoring mouthpieces that can help. Called Mandibular Advacement Devices (MAD), these pull the lower jaw forward and open the airways. Anti-snoring mouthpieces can work better then far more expensive treatments. A stop snoring device may be just what you need.
Other things you can do to reduce your snoring include refraining from eating and drinking milk or alcohol before bedtime. Drinking plenty of water throughout the day will keep you well hydrated, and your nasal secretions won’t be sticky. Also, opening your nasal passages by means of a hot shower, saltwater rinse, or neti pot can reduce snoring.
Determining why you snore and what to do about it takes time. Start with some lifestyle changes and natural solutions. If your snoring problem persists even after you’ve stopped smoking, lost some weight, done neck exercises, tried a different sleeping position and a new pillow, and used a snoring mouthpiece, then it’s time to see your doctor.
