Snoring is what happens when the airways at the back of the throat are obstructed. Every time you breathe your throat muscles are vibrating and when your airways are blocked or irritated - and when those vibrations are stopped - you snore.
So vibrations of soft tissues located at the back of our throats cause the noisy, annoying sounds of snoring. The palate, uvula and tonsils are the tissue structures that flap against each other when someone has too much tissue at the back of their mouth or when an obstruction is blocking the air passageway to the back of the throat.
These obstructions can be caused by several things.
1. Weight- Overweight men and women are more likely to snore. Those unsightly double chins can, as they sleep, press down on their throats, causing distortions in the airways, which will lead to snoring. Age, too, can affect how our skin and muscles shift, causing pressure to be placed on our airways.
2. More nose-related and can be a bit more seasonal. When your nose plugs up - or when your nostrils squeeze themselves shut - your mouth opens and because your throat isn't used to the change in position, you snore.
3. Deviated septum or nasal polyps-Other nasal causes can be a deviated septum (your septum is the wall that separates your left nostril from your right) or nasal polyps, which are small growths that change not only how air is drawn into your nose, but how much.
4. Long soft palate or uvula- Having a long soft palate (the soft palate is at the back of the roof of your mouth and shuts off your nasal passages when you swallow) or a long uvula (the long, dangling thing that looks like a punching bag) can narrow your airway and when they shift around as you settle down for sleep they can partially block your throat, leading to snoring.
Snoring can be a serious medical problem because it disturbs sleeping patterns and deprives the snorer of necessary rest, and in very severe cases it is called sleep apnea and these people actually stop breathing for periods of time during sleep. If you suffer from snoring and are considering trying one of the many available sleep aids, you should consult a doctor first to make certain that you're not suffering from sleep apnea, an illness which can affect severe snorers.
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