If you don’t snore, odds are your bed partner, roommate or family member does and the severity of their snoring can range from the occasional nuisance to a regular occurrence that may be robbing you of much needed sleep.
So what exactly causes Snoring?
Simply put, people snore when the air flow through the nose and mouth is obstructed and there are many things that can cause obstruction.
Obstructed Nasal Airways:
Certain people will only snore when they are suffering from allergies of have a sinus infection, but a deviated septum or nasal polyps may also block air flow.
Weak Muscle Tone in the Throat or Tongue:
This occurs when the throat or tongue muscles become too relaxed during sleep. If the muscles relax to much the tongue can collapse and fall back into the airway.
Bulky Throat Tissue:
Overweight people can develop bulky throat tissue that can cause obstruction that leads to snoring.
Long Soft Palate or Uvula:
This can narrow the opening from the nose to the throat, so that when the structures begin to vibrate, they will collide and block the air passage.
Health Risks caused by Snoring
Although snoring occurs more frequently in men and people who are overweight, 45% of adults snore at least once and awhile and 75% of these snorers are habitual snorers suffering from sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder that can cause a person to stop breathing all together for short spans of time as they sleep. Along with constant disrupted sleep, sleep apnea can also put strain on the heart, making suffers more prone to high blood pressure and heart enlargement that can lead to heart attack or stroke.
What is it that makes Men Snore more?
It all has to do with a person’s upper airway anatomy. In order for humans to speak with such complexity, the voice box has to drop down from behind the tongue to below the tongue. As a result of this, the tongue can collapse and fall back to block the airway with relative ease.
Men’s voice boxes drop even lower into the neck, giving them lower voices and because they have a larger space behind the tongue, partial obstruction can occur, which leads to snoring.
Natural Snoring Remedies
If you or someone close to you can’t seem to stop snoring, try some of these natural remedies for they may just do the trick.
1) Don’t sleep on your back: this will make the base of your tongue collapse and block the airway. To keep yourself from automatically flipping in the night, you may want to try a body pillow to help you remain on your side.
2) Lose some weight: although it’s not always the case, if you have gained weight recently and have begun snoring, weight gain may be the cause. Excess weight around the neck can squeeze you throat, making it more likely to collapse.
3) Skip the alcohol: alcohol and sedatives will relax your throat and tongue muscles, making you more likely to snore.
4) Keep your nasal passage clear: before you climb under the blankets, make sure your nose is as clear as possible. Take a hot shower to clear your sinuses, rinse your nasal cavity out with a saltwater rinse or try nasal strips to open up the nasal passage.
5) Stay well hydrated: the secretions in your nose will become stickier if you become dehydrated which can lead to snoring.
If you are one of the many people out there losing precious sleep due to snoring, try some of these natural remedies and if the snoring endures, consult your local physician and inquire about some of the newest ideas or treatments available to prevent snoring.
