What are the Main Causes of Snoring?

Snoring, the word itself gives Goosebumps to some and absurdity to the rest. It is said that snoring is one issue which gets unnoticed until someone points out in a rather embarrassing way. The problem is annoying, hence some people just don’t own up. Medically, snoring is the sound resulting from vibration of respiratory structures in a human being. Taking in general terms, snoring is a noise which gets emitted by some people during deep sleep.

Reasons of Snoring

The reasons of snoring are well connected to each other. Like speech results from airflow (this triggers the vibration of vocal cords) which in turn results in formation of sound waves, almost the same procedure is the baddie behind the problem of snoring. The tissues of throat vibrate when air flows through them causing snoring.

The volume of snoring is proportional to the turbulence of air flowing through nose and the throat. Narrower the airway, louder the snoring noise (more intense would be the vibration in such cases). Another facet is – faster the wind being pushed through the airway, louder is the snoring sound.

One of the most important reasons of snoring is the blockage in the breathing passage. Another factor responsible is the blockage of the passageway caused by irregular airflow.

However, there are numerous other aspects which lead to the problem of snoring; some important reasons of snoring are mentioned as below:

- Any kind of throat weakness can cause snoring; the level of noise in many aspects depends on this factor. Weak throats tend to close during sleep, which in turn assists snoring. Pressing, clogging and blockage of throat are also responsible towards snoring.
- Even fat getting accumulated near and in the throat leads to pressing of throat, which leads to snoring.
- The nasal passageway is an important link in the circle called breathing, and any blockage or obstruction in this passageway can lead or aggravate snoring.
- The mis-positioning of jaws which is a result of tensions in the muscles also leads to snoring. This is one of the least common aspects leading to snoring.
- A latest development in the snoring based research has also blamed the increased use of relaxants like drugs and alcohol. These relaxants relax the throat muscles and are responsible to trigger snoring to an extent. Actually this factor explains why snoring is caused only during nights ( the throat, like any other muscle relaxes during sleep, hence the airway becomes narrower, and vulnerable to snoring)
- Sleeping incorrectly with respect to dropping of tongue can also cause snoring. In fact, when a person sleeps on his or her back, the tongue tends to drop towards the back portion of the mouth.
- Enlarged tonsils or adenoids are also a common cause of loud snoring. Goiter is a classic example.

Factors that increase the case of snoring include allergies clogging the airway, cold, flu, aftereffects of surgeries like thickening of tissues in the nasal passageway etc. Lastly, age is also a factor leading to the problem of snoring.