Snoring

If you, or someone in your home, are snoring, you certainly aren’t alone and snoring is anything but unusual. It’s more common than most people think and those who suffer from bouts of snoring should know that they are not alone in dealing with the problem. Many people think that snoring is considered a male thing but that is not true anyone can snorer. It’s true though that male physiology encourages snoring to some extent. It’s also true that dietary habits, the intake of alcohol and excessive weight can play a role in snoring. However, dismissing snoring as a uniquely male proposition is incorrect.

Infants and children are often known to snorer. Women are less likely to be problem snorers than men, but as they age the likelihood of snoring increases considerably. The reason for women’s tendency to snorer more with age can be because of physiological changes such as post-menopause hormone shifts and changes in the body and this can leave many women with a snoring habit. Snoring may be a common thing but it isn’t normal and it does suggest that there may be a problem and should be taken seriously. Snoring can be defined as the noise produced when an individual breathes during his or her sleep. This breathing particularly the process of inhalation creates a vibration in the soft palate and uvula.

Those vibrations create a sound as the tissues contact one another in the back of the throat and in the nose. The uvula (the hanging entity in the back of your throat) and the soft palate (the soft spot on the roof of your mouth) aren’t the only body parts involved in snoring, though. Your adenoids and tonsils may also be involved in the noisemaking activity. That’s one reason why many non-snorers are known to create a racket when they are sick or congested.

So, why are we snoring while sleeping at the night but we aren’t snoring during the day? It’s because when you sleep, your body relaxes deeply. Even your internal body parts take a break. Your throat muscles relax and when that happens, your airway closes partially. That might sound eerie, but it’s perfectly normal.

There can be a variety of reason for snoring and a few of them may be such things as your may have a narrow throat.  Carrying extra weight or fat in the neck can also cause a more restricted airway which will obviously encourage snoring. Age naturally creates a narrowing of air passages, which makes snoring more likely. This is why many women who have usually slept silently for years suddenly find themselves snoring after menopause. However making sure to eat a balanced diet can improve things but it is not a cure.

Smoking is a potential cause of snoring. When you smoke, muscles relax. We’ve discussed the role that can play in the process. Additionally, inhalation of smoke creates lung and nasal congestion, which will also spur snoring. Many studies indicate that second-hand smoke exposure can also turn otherwise silent sleepers into snorers.