Why do people snore?

People snore due to the vibration of muscle tissues in the upper structure of airway.

When we sleep, every part of our body undergoes recuperation and relaxation, except our brain of course. There are many muscles and tissues that we work and wear out in our day to day activities. Some of these muscles and tissues are also present in the upper structure of our airway, or the canal from where we source oxygen. In deep sleep, these delicate structures strike against each other and produce a vibrating sound, which is snoring. This act takes place exactly at the back of the mouth and nose, which is prone to multiple happenings of the same kind such as:

• Inordinate muscle quality: Sometimes while sleeping, the tongue muscles get too relaxed and fall back into the airway contestably with the throat muscles, which fall in from the sides. Both sets of muscles crowd up the airway and cause snoring.

• Inflammation of throat tissue: It is very often that when it comes to snoring, obese people are found wanting. The reason for this is that due to the accumulated fat present in their body, the throat tissues tend to swell up, thereby blocking the airway to a considerable extent. This is precisely why children suffering from thyroid, or tonsillitis, or adenoids are in the habit of snoring.

• Protracted soft palate and/or uvula: a lengthy palate originating from the nose drops straight into the throat to act as a flapping valve, which produces resounding vibrations. The same applies in the case of an extended uvula as well.

• Clogged nasal airway: In the event of a cold, or sinus infection, the nasal airway gets severely jammed; because of which the muscles have to retract harder, in order to pull in a greater amount of air inside. This inevitably results in snoring.

Other than the above factors, reasons for unnaturally induced muscle and tissue anomalies include smoking, alcoholism, etc. Also, some natural causes such as cysts, tumors, deviated/distorted nasal septum might have a role to play in the event of a person snoring.