What causes snoring? Before that question can be answered we need to know what snoring is. Snoring is the vibration of tissue in your throat, caused by air flow from your nose or mouth going to your lungs. You yourself might not realize that you snore but your bed partner might if it is loud enough. Snoring is not a gender specific occurrence, although it has been shown that more men than women do snore. Snoring can also be a short term occurrence caused by a temporary condition in someone’s life such a going to a party and consuming a little too much alcohol or having a cold or other illness. Snoring tends to get worse as a person ages.

When we breathe air flows through the nose or mouth to the lungs and when we are awake and sitting upright there is no noise just the sound of steady normal breathing. When we sleep and are in a prone position this sometimes causes the airway to narrow. When this happens the opening is smaller causing a greater amount of vibration which produces the sound of snoring.

Breathing through our nose is best because the nose acts as a heater, filter and humidifier for air that is entering our bodies. When breathing through the mouth the air is not filtered or warmed. Breathing through the nose is the way the body was intended to take in air because it does treat the air entering the body by removing dust and dirt particles, warming it and adding a bit of moisture to it.

Some people can not breathe through their noses due obstructions in the nasal passages such as a deviated septum. The septum is the thin wall of cartilage that separates the two air passages that are known to most as the nostrils. A deviation can be caused to the septum by the nose being broken or it did not form correctly to begin with causing an obstruction. Some other causes of obstructions can be due to colds or allergies causing tissue swelling and the nasal passages to become narrower. People with these problems are sometimes called mouth breathers. Breathing through the mouth allows a greater amount of air to be inhaled allowing a greater chance of vibration and snoring to occur.

Narrowed air ways can lead to snoring. The airway can become narrowed by the tonsils, when they become inflamed due to the body fighting infection. The soft palate may be too large or floppy causing the airway to become narrow. The uvula, is the flap of skin that hangs from the back of the throat at the soft palate, it may be abnormally long or thick making the airway narrower. If the tongue is large or slips back to obstruct the airway this too can cause snoring.

REM sleep is when most snoring can occur because the brain sends a message to all the muscles to relax except the breathing muscles. If you are sleeping on your back when this relaxation happens gravity also comes into play pulling the relaxed tongue, palate and throat downward causing the airway to narrow making snoring worse. So your sleep position can play into the snoring.

Alcohol and medication can enhance the relaxation of the muscles during sleep and once again narrowing the air passage and creating the vibrations that causes snoring.

Snoring can also be a sign of a condition called Sleep Apnea or another sleeping disorder. The snoring may need to be evaluated to make sure that this is not the case.