Snoring is caused by vibration of the mucous membranes of the throat as a result of a narrowing of the airway between the nose and the vocal cords. It is probably one of the annoying phenomena that makes one wonder why do people snore?
Some people snore very loudly. Snoring sounds vary in intensities from 40 to more than 80 decibels, which is as loud as, for example, loud shouting. The maximum permissible limit for nightly noise in the home is 45 decibels.
Snoring can cause a disturbed sleep pattern for the bed partner. That can lead to fatigue and drowsiness during the day, irritability, concentration problems for both.
How does snoring occur?
Under normal conditions, the throat cavity ensures that the throat remains open during sleep and there is a normal passage of the inhaled air. When these muscles are less active, or there are abnormalities in the throat structure that complicate the normal passage of the inhaled air, the airflow becomes turbulent. As a result, the mucous membrane of the throat begins to vibrate and snoring sounds occur.
Usually, it is a contraction of the wind pipe (the pipe from the nose to the throat ) or the part of the cervical behind the tongue due to the muscle relaxation during sleep. Also, especially when one is on the back, the tongue can be lowered, reducing the space.
Due to this contraction, breathing comes under pressure in the throat so that the soft palate with the tongue and walls of the throat is swung towards each other and vibrates. You can compare it with the deflating of a balloon, pushing the air through the narrow opening that will vibrate and create a touching noise.
When the throat cavity narrows even more and the airway closes as it were, a snoring occurs. When snoring is accompanied by breathing down, one is talking about a sleep apnea. An apnea may take 10 seconds to 1 minute. Obstructive sleep apnea, the most common form of the disorder, causes repeated interruptions in breathing during sleep. In some people, this happens a few hundred times a night.
This causes a shallow sleep, which causes the snorer to suffer from headaches, fatigue and concentration disorders. There may also be a variety of health problems (heart problems).
Who Snores the Most
Snoring occurs both in children (especially toddlers) and in adults. The chance of snoring increases with age, from about 40 years.
It is estimated that about one in ten children snores. At adult age, about 20 to 40% of women and 40 to 60% of men snore depending on age. Snoring occurs almost twice in men than in women. But frequency among women increases after menopause.
Up to 10% of the snores also suffer from sleep apnea.
What Causes Snoring in Children
The most common reason of snoring in children is an abnormal enlargement of the throat and / or nose arms or polyps.
Another important cause is a common cold. Once the cold is over, it also stops snoring.
A less frequent cause is a congenital abnormality of the face or a neurological disorder. Thus, snoring in children with Down’s syndrome can be caused by their thicker tongue.
In adults, it usually involves a combination of multiple factors.
Some factors that increase the chance of snoring:
• In some families, snoring occurs a lot and at a younger age. Probably this is a hereditary certain narrow throat cavity.
• Aging also causes snoring to increase. This is because as we grow older, the muscles always relax a little more.
• Being overweight increases the chances of snoring as there is more fat in the throat.
• Research shows that people who smoke experience twice as much snoring in comparison to non-smokers.
• Use of alcohol, especially before bedtime also causes relaxation of muscles of the mouth, the tongue, and throat. Relaxation can lower the tongue to the rear, especially when lying on your back.
• Some medicines for sleeping, allergies also cause muscle relaxation, just like alcohol and result is snoring.
• Different construction of the upper respiratory tract
- abnormalities of the lower jaw, upper jaw or jaw joint;
- a (congenital) long, slack or thick palate or creep;
- Too big almonds (especially in children), too big tongue.
• Constipation of the nose, eg by allergy, cold, nasal polyps or if the nasal congestion is inadequate.
• If the thyroid gland is working slow then this causes the relaxation of the tongue, the palate and the throat muscles get worse during sleep.
• Sleep in rugged: This reduces the soft palate and pulls tongue to the back. This not only increases the likelihood of snoring but also makes it louder.
• Acid Reflux of the stomach acids irritates the mucous membranes, making them thicker and easier to snuggle.
• Some people sleep with mouth open, and this also causes snoring for which there are head bands available in the market that can immediately stop this phenomenon.
Discussion about this post