Why do People Snore?

A question most frequently asked by non-snorers 

Considering 40% adults snore regularly, this question is a important one, and requires detailed answering.

First:

How is Snoring Sound produced?

Snoring sound is produced, because air is being forced through the nose and throat. Take a straw insert a bead into the straw. Choose a bead small enough to fit into the straw. Now blow air through this straw. As air is forced through the straw, the bead will vibrate against the straw. This will produce a whistling like sound. That’s exactly how snoring sound is produced in people.

Why do people snore?

Just like the produced sound, so do people. People snore because their airway is being obstructed. Due to this the air that they are inhaling, is being forced through their obstructed nose or throat. This causes the soft tissue in nose and throat to vibrate and bump against one another. This gives rise to snoring.

Bottomline:

Why is the airway obstructed?

Airway in snorer’s can be obstructed due to various reasons:

• Excess mucus in nose/throat
• Enlarged tonsils
• Excess soft tissue in throat and/or nose
• Floppy neck or/and throat tissue
• Excess fat tissue in neck
• Smaller than normal jaw
• Aging causes loss of muscle tone, increasing chances of tongue obstructing the airway
• Larger than usual uvula
• Deviated septum
• Swelling of nasal/ throat tissue
• Medication can cause excessive relaxation of tissue leading to obstruction
• Alcohol can cause excessive relaxation of tissue causing obstruction
• Pre-existing medical condition like asthma can worsen snoring

How common is snoring problem?

Quite common. Almost 40% people snore regularly. Snoring becomes a problem when it affects sleep of the snorer or/and partner.

Do men snore more than women?

Yes they do. 4 in 10 men snore, whereas 3 in 10 women snore. Since there are more men than women (world gender ratio is 1.06; that’s means there are approx 17 men for 16 women)  this means you are more likely to come across a male snorer.

Why do people snore when they sleep?

An easy answer is that their airway becomes obstructed while sleeping, due to this air that they are breathing in is forced in through their obstructed air passage. This causes the snoring sound to be produced.

Why do people snore at night?

Snoring is most likely to occur during REM sleep and this sleep happens best at night, hence snorers can be quite during the day while letting out a drumroll at night. For more detailed understanding of REM sleep, read on.

Sleep can be divided into two types, based on eye movement. These are called REM ( Rapid Eye Movement) & NON – REM sleep.

Since sleeping begins with NON – REM sleep, let’s have a look at it 1st.

NON – REM Sleep:

Falling asleep happens gradually and naturally, however sleep researchers have divided the falling asleep process into stages, for ease of studying and understanding sleep better.

Stage `	Name	Characteristic
NON – REM Sleep
1	Nebulous	Semi awake state, where you are neither fully awake nor fully asleep
2	Light Sleep	You enter very light sleep, where any environmental stimuli can awaken you. (If a door shuts loudly, you are likely to get up in this stage of sleep)
3	Transitional	Here you move from light sleep into a deeper and more relaxed sleep. Your breathing and heart rate will slow down in this phase
4	Deep Sleep	Now you have entered the deepest sleep, here your heart rate and breathing are very slow. Waking you up from this stage of sleep is difficult and if woken you are likely to be disoriented ranging from few seconds to few minutes.
REM Sleep
5	Dream sleep	Can appear suddenly, at intervals throughout the night. This is the state where brain is almost as active as when awake and dreams are most likely to occur. To ensure that you do not act out on your dreams, during this stage body muscles relax completely, making you almost immobile. This complete relaxation makes this stage of sleep most likely time for snoring to occur.

 What is Sleep Apnea?

Snoring can indicate a serious underlying problem called Sleep Apnea. Snoring occurs because the airway is partially blocked and when breathing air is being forced through this obstruction causing the surrounding tissue to vibrate and produce sound.

Sleep Apnea refers to a condition when instead of partial the obstruction becomes full. In case of Sleep Apnea, the airway becomes obstructed fully, stopping the flow of air to lungs. This caused a fall in the blood oxygen level and simultaneous increase in carbon dioxide level in blood. These changes trigger off the brain to wake up the snorer, to restore normal breathing.

In Sleep Apnea the breathing can stop for as long as 10 seconds, which makes this a very dangerous condition. Sleep Apnea requires immediate medical attention to ensure that it doesn’t lead to any further complication.