A lot of factors contribute to snoring, and to get rid of the annoying sleeping habit, it’s important to understand what the main cause is.
So does being overweight cause snoring? Excess weight can cause snoring especially if some of the fats settle around the throat. This causes the airways to become wider, which triggers snoring.
Read more to find out how and why weight affects one’s probability of snoring. As you read further, you will also find out other factors that could cause snoring and find tips on how snoring can be controlled.
How Weight Causes Snoring
Weight can cause snoring in two different ways.
The first way that excess weight can cause snoring is through excess fat settling around the neck or throat area.
When there is excess fat around the neck, the upper airway is compressed, making it harder for you to breathe. This is especially true when you lie down to sleep.
You see, when you sleep, your throat and tongue muscles relax, and they collapse into your airways, along with some loose tissue. These make your airways narrower, which means that the air would have to force its way through your throat to get through as you breathe in and out. The vibration that this force creates becomes your snoring.
So just imagine having excess fat around that same airway. This adds to the obstruction that causes your breathing to be harder or more labored.
Aside from excess fat around the neck, fats around your midriff and chest can also cause your snoring to become worse.
Belly fat can cause your diaphragm to be pushed upwards, while excess fat around the chest can send pressure to your rib cage. In both cases, your lungs are affected, making the movement of the lungs more constricted.
When your lungs are constricted, there is less airflow. And because the amount of air can also dictate how much loose tissue and relaxed muscles can collapse into your airways, you will most likely snore more.
This is why men are also more likely to snore than women. Where in women, fat distribution is usually concentrated on the thighs, hips and buttocks, weight distribution among men are often concentrated in the neck, chest and abdomen.
Once a woman hits menopause, however, fat distribution also changes. Fats start to accumulate around the neck, chest and abdomen as well. This is why the chances of snoring in women are higher for those who are in the menopausal stage.
How Snoring Can Also Make Your Overweight
Here’s an interesting twist. Being overweight can cause you to snore, but snoring can also cause you to become overweight.
People who snore normally have restless sleep. This means that regardless of whether they stay in bed for 8 or more hours, their quality if sleep is not as good because their snoring causes their sleep to be interrupted a few times.
You see, people who snore may stop breathing while sleeping, sometimes for a few seconds to a few minutes at a time. This causes the blood oxygen level to drop.
When your blood oxygen level drops, your brain triggers your body to wake up and try to make up for the oxygen you’re losing. This is why you would often hear snorers gasping or choking while they sleep. This is their body trying to get more air into their system.
Because of the lack of quality sleep, a snorer’s habits, especially their appetite, can drastically change.
Somebody who lacks decent sleep, for example, can try to compensate for their lack of energy by drinking and eating a lot of sugar.
The body may also trick you into thinking that you’re hungry all the time, but in reality, it’s the lack of sleep talking.
Because of these changes, you may begin to gain more weight that recommended for your age and height.
Other Factors That Cause Snoring
Weight is not the only thing that could affect your snoring. Here are other factors that can cause snoring:
- Gender. Men are more likely to snore than women. Earlier, we discussed about this being caused by the distribution of fats in a man’s body. In addition to that, men also have narrower air passages. Add to that the fact that men statistically drink and smoke more than women.
- Mouth, nose and throat anatomy. The way your mouth and throat are built can cause you to snore. You may have a soft palate that’s thicker than usual. Some people also have a deviated septum, a case where the barrier between the two nostrils is not properly formed. In all of these cases, the seamless flow of air is disturbed, which contributes to your snoring.
- Alcohol and sedatives. When you drink alcohol or take sedatives before going to bed, your entire body relaxes. This causes your throat muscles to relax as well, making them collapse against your airways and causing an obstruction.
- Smoking. Smoking can irritate your nasal and throat passages, making them inflamed. This causes your airways to be narrower, which amplifies your snoring.
- Overfatigue. Tiring yourself out too much can make your throat muscles limp when you finally settle into bed. This makes them collapse even further into your airways, again, causing an obstruction.
- Allergies. There are a lot of allergens lurking around, causing your airways to become inflamed. Dust mites, molds, and other dirt are just some of the things that could trigger an allergy attack. Even pet fur and fragrances can do the same thing. And when allergies attack, the membranes in your nose and throat swell up, and your sinuses start to clog, making it harder to breathe and causing you to snore.
- Aging. As we age, we lose some of our muscle tone. This affects muscles all over our body, including the muscles in our throat. This means that they are more likely to collapse into your airways.
- Sleeping position. The way you sleep could also influence your probability of snoring. When you sleep on your back, your loose tissues and muscles will more likely collapse into your airways compared to when you sleep on your side.
Your snoring can be caused by a number of factors, so it may seem hard to pinpoint a single root cause. You may notice, however, that there’s a pattern here. Getting rid of snoring really is a combination of lifestyle changes and medical intervention.
Simply having a medical procedure to widen your airways by lessening the amount of tissue, for example, will be useless if you continue to tire yourself out, drink before bed, and smoke.
Why is it important to make these changes?
Potential Risks of Snoring
Snoring is more than just an annoying bedtime habit. It can lead to other health conditions, and heightens the risk for a number of life-threatening illnesses. These include:
- Low blood oxygen levels
- Frequently interrupted sleeping
- Strain on the heart
- Chronic headaches
- Daytime fatigue and drowsiness
- Heightened chances of heart failure or heart disease
- Heightened chances of a stroke
- Bigger probability of accidents in the daytime (due to drowsiness)
- Irritability and mood swings due to lack of quality slee
Snoring is also the primary symptom that comes with the condition called sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is characterized by frequent interruptions in breathing while sleeping and also leads to a number of health conditions like heart disease, stroke, or diabetes.
Related Questions
What causes snoring while sleeping?
Snoring happens when air is unable to move freely through your airways. This is usually caused by obstructions, like tissue collapsing against your throat, inflamed or clogged sinuses, and other anatomical factors. When these obstructions are present, the tissues vibrate as the air forces its way through, creating the snoring sound.
How can I stop snoring naturally?
Start off with your sleeping position. Try to sleep on your side. If you’re not comfortable with this, you can sleep on your back but elevate your head without straining your neck. Avoid eating heavy meals, drinking alcohol, or taking sedatives before bedtime. Eat healthy and exercise regularly to maintain the right weight. Loosen up clogged sinuses before sleeping by inhaling steam of through the use of nasal strips.
