What is snoring and how can you stop to snore?

Snoring – a nuisance or a serious medical condition?

Have you ever been awaken by your spouse snoring louder than a plane taking off? Have you spent long sleepless night listening to the loud rumbling noise wondering if you ever get good night sleep again?

Have you ever been awaken by your spouse and accused of snoring? Have you been nudged repeatedly and asked to roll over? Worse yet, have you been sent off to sleep on the sofa?

If the answer to any of these questions sounds yes, I can reassure you – you are not alone! You would be surprised how common the problem of snoring is nowadays. Millions worldwide ask themselves how to prevent snoring.

What is snoring?

In plain words, snoring is nothing else but the vibrations of fatty tissue in the throat and the noise created during breathing if, and when, the airways become obstructed in any way. It can arise both from ones nose or throat. When the airways become obstructed the air is forced in and out through narrower opening, usually at a greater pressure. Most commonly snoring occurs in the throat. When we are asleep, our muscles relax to give out body chance to rest. Muscles inside our mouth (jaw and throat muscles) relax as well. It is not something that one can control.

Go now to the mirror and open your mouth wide. You can see two roundish structures at both sides of your throat, tonsils and a hanging fatty tissue in the middle called uvula. The uvula hangs from the part of your mouth called soft palate (follow the roof of your mouth with your tongue now and you will be able to feel where the hard palate finishes and the soft palate starts).

During the day your tissue in the throat is kept tight leaving you with wide opening through which you can inhale air. At night, when you are asleep, and your muscles are relaxed, soft palate relaxes as well and the uvula hangs loser. Air that you breathe in and out causes the lose fatty tissue in your throat to vibrate as they rub against each other. The throat and soft palate can relax to the point of obstructing partially your airways. To compensate for the narrower entrance your body starts forcing the air in and out at greater pressure increasing the vibration thus the sounds called snoring.

Amount of noise created by snoring varies greatly. Incidentally, causes of a very loud snoring can be exactly the same as the ones causing barely audible occasional snores. If you ever listened to a someone who snores regularly, you have noticed that the noise changes according to position and usually gets worse when the person is deeply asleep. Additionally, snoring have been known to get worse over years if untreated, hence the stereotype that elder people snore more.

Please note that in extreme cases the throat and fatty tissue can complete block the airways and restrict the oxygen supply. That means the person actually stops breathing at night. Such condition is called Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and is a serious medical condition requiring IMMEDIATE medical attention. Sleep apnea sufferers can stop breathing numerous times during a single night, wake up to adjust their position and then fall asleep again without even remembering it. There is no self-help for sleep apnea and you should see a medical specialist as soon as possible.

Don’t panic however, not every person snoring has a sleep apnea. Snoring is one for the major signs of sleep apnea but can also be caused by a variety of other problems and conditions. And here comes the best part. You do not need to just put up with snoring they are methods available that might help you alleviate the problem and to stop snoring all together.

Why should we care about snoring? Is snoring bad?

If you think that snoring is a laughing matter you are mistaken. At best it’s the source of frustration, embarrassment and guilt. It can become a great social problem and even ruin someone’s life. It can be also dangerous both for the person who snores and the victim whose sleep is severely affected by it. Consequences of snoring are both of physical as well as emotional nature. Fortunately there is a variety of anti-snoring aids and solutions available you can try to alleviate the problem. The best way to tackle the problem is to understand the cause so that the treatment and prevention measures can be tailor-made to your needs. People snore due to different causes, you should take some time to determine why does it occur to you. Believe me, if you put your mind to it you can stop snoring (or at least significantly decrease the noise) giving yourself and your spouse a peaceful night. You should never give up if one methods doesn’t stop snoring in your case.

Is the snoring problem a common issue?

Do you know that 45% of adults snore occasionally? Yes, that’s almost 1 in 2! Occasional snoring is not something to worry about, it comes and goes. A quarter of occasional snorers however snore regularly and 45 million people are believed to be severe snorers. That means regular, every night load rumbling noise, virtually non-stop. Do you know how many people that is? Do you know what are the chances that you or your partner are one of them?

Statistically overweight men snore more than any other group. That however doesn’t mean that women or slim people don’t snore. Even kids and your favourite dog can snore. I was also statistically determined that snoring problem gets worse with age and seems to be affecting more and more people now than it did couple of decades ago. It can appear suddenly after you have been enjoying years of peaceful night sleep.

You are not alone with you problem. In XXI century, with the help of Internet you can read pretty much about anything. Visit my websites (The Best Ever Snoring Solutions) for more information about snoring, including up-to-date identified causes, consequences and available remedies and anti-snoring solutions.

NOTE: This article is meant for instructive purposes only. If you suspect you might be suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea go and see your doctor.