When someone first tells you about your snoring problems, you might react with confusion, not knowing why you snore in the first place. As a matter of fact, most people who snore don’t have an idea why this occurs! Of course, knowing the snoring causes is very important because this can be originated on an underlying condition that we must treat.
Snoring happens when you sleep. During that part of the day our body rests, and all our muscles enter in “relaxation mode”, this includes the muscles we have on the throat. When we sleep we all then have smaller air passages for the air to pass through. But problems begin when something makes the passages even narrower.
One of the most common snoring causes is excess weight. As we gain weight we store fat in different parts of our body, perhaps you tend to think that we only store fat in the belly and the waist, but we have fatty tissues in the sides of the throat that also get more prominent. They enlarge and during the night some friction occurs, producing the terrible snoring sound.
Other cause of snoring is smoking. The smoke we inhale or even get from second hand, increase the chances of snoring problems by producing nasal congestion. When we inhale smoke, the body starts producing mucus, which then causes blockage of the air passages in the throat.
Yet another cause of snoring is the ingestion of substances that cause relaxation, this includes alcohol and also medications. As you can tell, by knowing the causes, it is very possible that you also work on some changes to prevent further problems of snoring.
Finally, another factor that can influence in the appearance of snoring is your mouth’s anatomy. Your airway can become narrower if you have a low, thick, soft palate. This can also happen if the uvula is elongated.