Snoring can have a huge impact on your health, relationships, and overall quality of life.
What causes snoring? How is snoring treated? Snoring is usually caused by any form of obstruction in the airways. Treatments can range from a few lifestyle changes like sleeping on your side, to surgical procedures like having your tonsils and adenoids removed.
As you read further, you’ll learn more about the specific factors that contribute to snoring. You’ll also find out how you can prevent snoring.
What Causes Snoring?
Snoring happens when the airways do not allow air to pass through seamlessly.
Basically, the air often has to force its way through whatever small opening is left in the airways. This causes the tissues and muscles around the throat to vibrate, which results in the snoring sound.
Factors that contribute to snoring
There are a number of factors that can contribute to your snoring. People don’t have obstructed airways by chance.
Here are some of the biggest contributors to snoring:
- Anatomy. The way your mouth, nose and throat are fashioned can affect your snoring. Some people naturally have thick palates, for example, which makes the airways narrower. The same thing goes for people whose jaws are set too far back, as well as for those with deviated septums.
- Alcohol and sedatives. Alcohol and sedatives can worsen snoring as well. They tend to make your muscles and tissues over-relax when you fall asleep. This means that these could collapse even further back your throat, which can cause an even worse obstruction than normal.
- Nasal congestion. Since your breathing also means having air passing through your nasal passages, any form of congestion in your nose could cause snoring as well. This congestion could be caused by colds or the flu, or it could also be because of allergies or sinusitis.
- Lack of sleep or rest. The lack of sleep or rest causes over-fatigue. And when you are over-fatigued, your body behaves the same way as it would if you drank alcohol, or took sleeping pills or sedatives. Your muscles and tissues relax too much, making them cause an obstruction in the airways.
- Smoking. Smoking causes inflammation in the nasal passages and the throat, making it another major contributor to snoring.
- Excess weight. Having excess weight can greatly affect your snoring. In a lot of cases, a lot of fats get deposited around the neck and throat area, making the airways even narrower than usual.
- Family history. People who have snorers in the family, or those who have family members with sleep apnea, are more likely to snore as well compared to those who do not have any family history of snoring.
- Gender. Men are more likely to snore compared to women, because they usually have narrower airways. The chances of snoring raises for women after they go through menopause.
- Age. Once you reach middle age, your chances of snoring gets higher as well. Our tissues and muscles sag as we age. This is why the older you get, the more likely your throat muscles will start to lose their form and start to sag against your airways.
If you fall into any of the items listed above, this means that there’s a huge chance that you might be snoring at night without you knowing it (especially if there’s no roommate around who can let you know about it).
Does Snoring Cause Sleep Apnea?
Snoring is not a cause of sleep apnea. However, it is the primary symptom of the sleep-related disorder.
Sleep apnea is characterized by repeated interruptions in breathing while you sleep. This is why sometimes, if you have a snorer for a roommate who has been diagnosed with sleep apnea, you will notice that they would sometimes wake up gasping for air. It’s their brain reminding them to breathe.
Sleep apnea comes in two forms:
- Obstructive sleep apnea. OSA happens when there is something obstructing the airways, which is basically what happens in most cases of snoring.
- Central sleep apnea. This time, the brain fails to send the right signal to all the muscles responsible for breathing. This is usually caused by an undeveloped, under-developed, or damaged brainstem.
Although a lot of people dismiss sleep apnea as just a regular sleeping disorder, the truth is, it can lead to a number of serious health risks, like heart disease or stroke. Knowing that in most cases, snoring is indicative of sleep apnea, means that the health risks of snoring are just as serious.
What are the Health Risks of Snoring?
Snoring can lead to and can be a sign of a number of serious conditions. This is why it is important to find the root cause and address the issue right away.
Here are just some of the many health risks you may be facing if you are a heavy snorer:
- Light or frequently interrupted sleeping
People who snore have a hard time getting deep and restful sleep. This is because snorers may experience episodes where they stop breathing from a few seconds to a few minutes.
When you stop breathing, your blood oxygen level takes a dive. This low oxygen level causes the brain to send a jolt of hormones into your system, which wakes you up, sometimes so briefly that you won’t even remember it.
Because you always have restless sleep, you’ll end up waking up feeling more tired.
- Heart issues
The frequent dips in blood oxygen levels and the sudden jolt that the brain sends a few times each night can cause your blood pressure to shoot up. This sends an added strain to the heart.
It is also highly stressful to the heart when your sleep is interrupted when you snore. Low blood oxygen levels causes your heartbeat to slow down. But when your brain snaps you awake, it also tells the heart to start pumping more blood into your system suddenly.
This is why a lot of people who snore develop abnormal heart rhythms, a condition called arrhythmia.
- Stroke
Data from sleep studies show that those who snore frequently also have a higher risk of having narrow arteries. These arteries become narrower because of plaque buildup, which is a mix of cholesterol, fibrous tissue, calcium, and other cellular debris.
The louder your snoring is, the narrower your arteries usually are as well.
- GERD
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is also common among people who snore. This condition causes your stomach acids to flow back into your esophagus, which can then irritate your esophagus lining.
Why is GERD prevalent among people who snore?
When you snore, there is an irregular pattern to how your throat opens and closes while sleeping, as you breathe in and out. This can cause an upward pressure to develop, which sucks the contents of the stomach up to the throat area.
- Chronic headaches
Headaches and migraines can also be caused by lack of sleep, knowing that your mind and body does not get the right amount of time needed to recharge.
- Mental health issues
Because snoring does not give you the right amount and quality of sleep, you may lack focus throughout the day. You may also feel irritable and have frequent mood swings, and become forgetful as well.
Because of this, your productivity during the day suffers. Your personal relationships may suffer as well. This eventually leads to mental health issues like anxiety and depression.
- Bigger risk of injury or accident
People who snore sometimes end up drowsy or sleepy during the day. This causes them to be at bigger risk of being hurt in an accident.
How is Snoring Treated?
There are a number of ways that can help you get rid of snoring. Here are some of the most effective:
- Change your sleeping position. You can either elevate your head or sleep on your side to prevent your tongue and throat tissues and muscles from fully collapsing into your airways.
- Clear your sinuses. Remove potential allergens that may be causing nasal congestion.
- Lose weight to lessen the excess fat settling around your throat area.
- Quit smoking to prevent irritation and inflammation around the nose and throat.
- Avoid alcohol and sedatives before going to bed. These cause your throat muscles to over-relax, making them collapse against your airways and causing a blockage.
- Avoid eating heavy meals before bed.
- Consider using a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine.
- Consult a doctor and check for possible sleep apnea. Your doctor may also be able to tell you if you’ll need surgery to widen your airways.
Of course, the key here is knowing that you’re snoring at night. Ask your roommate (if you have one) to observe you when you’re sleeping. If you’re the only one in your room, you can check for symptoms like drowsiness during the day, dry mouth upon waking up, or lack of focus.
Related Questions
What is snoring a sign of?
Snoring could be a sign of an inflamed throat, nasal congestion, or your tissues and muscles collapsing against your throat for some reason. It may also be a sign that you have sleep apnea, although not all snorers necessarily have this sleep-related disorder.
Can you die from snoring?
One cannot die directly from snoring. Even if you stop breathing for a few seconds or minutes in between snores, your brain will immediately wake you up the moment it senses your blood oxygen levels dropping. However, snoring can also increase the risk of serious health conditions like heart disease or stroke. These health conditions are the reason why the life expectancy of most snorers is shorter than others.
