Most people have complained at one time or another of a family member or roommate that snores. You or someone you know of no doubt either been awakened by snoring, or prevented from going to sleep because of it. Many find it quite funny at times, though the humor quickly dissipates after one sleepless night. But snoring is more than just a nocturnal annoyance. If not treated, it can lead to more serious conditions.

Obstructed Air Passages

One of the things that snoring can do to a person is something referred to as obstructive sleep apnea. If have been diagnosed with this condition, you are no doubt extremely concerned and are probably already getting medical assistance. Basically, snoring is a loud noise resulting from when one inhales (in most cases) during sleep, and a vibration of the soft palate as well as the uvula occurs.

The explanation as to why a person snores is an incomplete obstruction of the upper airway resulting in intermittent snorting as well as gasping that occur out when the sufferer has to make an effort to breathe. In cases of extremely loud snoring, you may be certain that it is more than just a loud noise and is mostly likely sleep apnea.

What’s known as primary snoring, which is just simple snoring, is really just noisy breathing when the person is sleeping. It can cause complaints from anyone in close proximity of the snorer who are awakened out of their sleep in the middle of the night. The sufferer may also awaken with a dry mouth.

Consider a Change of Lifestyle

There is quite a bit of research going on directed at trying to find the causes and treatments for snoring. However, until an effective solution is found, there are several aids that can help. The most popular are special pillows and external nasal strips.

Again, as is the case with most ailments, they are usually the result of some aspect of our lifestyle, and not a condition in itself. For example, heavier people tend to snore more than others. Therefore, losing weight may result in snoring less or completely stopping. It’s always better to treat the cause than the symptom. You may want to consider that your snoring is in fact a symptom of a bigger problem. If you are able to isolate what the bigger issue is, you may end up being able to solve more than just the snoring problem.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 6th, 2007 at 2:36 pm and is filed under Snoring Causes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.