Causes and Prevention of Snoring

As you doze off and progress from a lighter sleep to a deep sleep, the muscles in the roof of your mouth (soft palate), tongue and throat relax. If the tissues in your throat relax enough, they vibrate and may partially obstruct your airway.

The more narrowed your airway, the more forceful the airflow becomes. Tissue vibration increases, and your snoring grow louder.

Having a low, thick soft palate or enlarged tonsils or tissues in the back of your throat (adenoids) can narrow your airway. Likewise, if the triangular piece of tissue hanging from the soft palate (uvula) is elongated, airflow can be obstructed and vibration increased. Being overweight contributes to narrowing of your throat tissues.

Consuming too much alcohol before bedtime also can bring on snoring. Alcohol acts like a sedative, relaxing throat muscles. Chronic nasal congestion or a crooked partition between your nostrils (deviated nasal septum) may be to blame. Snoring may be an occasional problem, or it may be habitual.

Snoring may also be associated with sleep apnea. In this serious condition, excessive sagging of throat tissues causes your airway to collapse, preventing you from breathing. Sleep apnea generally breaks up loud snoring with 10 seconds or more of silence. Eventually, the lack of oxygen and an increase in carbon dioxide signal you to wake up, forcing your airway open with a loud snort.

To prevent or quiet snoring, try these tips:

If you're overweight, lose weight. Being overweight is the most common cause of snoring. Flabby throat tissues are more likely to vibrate as you breathe.
Sleep on your side. Lying on your back allows your tongue to fall backward into your throat, narrowing your airway and partially obstructing airflow. To prevent sleeping on your back, try sewing a tennis ball in the back of your pajama top.
Treat nasal congestion or obstruction. Allergies or the partition between your nostrils being crooked (deviated septum) can limit airflow through your nose. This forces you to breathe through your mouth, increasing the likelihood of snoring. Use an oral or spray decongestant for no more than three days in a row for acute congestion. Ask your doctor about a prescription steroid spray if you have chronic congestion. Adhesive strips applied to your nose widen nasal passages and may help reduce congestion or obstruction. To correct a deviated septum, you may need surgery.
Limit or avoid alcohol and sedatives. Sedatives and hypnotics (sleeping pills) and alcohol depress your central nervous system, causing excessive relaxation of muscles, including the tissues in your throat. In addition, they can increase the duration of stoppages of breathing by blunting the brain's ability to arouse from sleep and restart breathing