What is it?
Snoring is the sound made when the soft palate, the uvula and the walls of the throat relax during sleep and vibrate in the airflow. The sound is not an illness in itself; it shows that the airway has narrowed. If that narrowing does not reach the point of stopping your breathing, if the oxygen level in your blood does not fall and if your sleep is not broken up, the picture is called simple snoring.
In simple snoring you usually wake up rested, feel no pressure to sleep during the day, and the people around you do not describe pauses in your breathing. The real burden usually falls on the person who shares your bed. Even so, the loudness of the sound is no reassurance on its own: someone who snores loudly may have no apnoea, while someone who snores more quietly may have clear apnoea.
The difference cannot be told by eye or by ear. What shows whether snoring is simple, or whether it goes together with pauses in breathing, is a sleep recording. For that reason, apnoea is expected to be ruled out before any treatment is started in someone who comes in about snoring.
Signs
You will not necessarily have all of these at once.
Why does it happen?
- 01
Soft tissues relaxing
As the years pass, the tissue support in the palate and the wall of the throat decreases and vibration becomes easier. In the deep stages of sleep, muscle tone drops and this can make the sound louder.
- 02
A blocked nose
Allergy, a deviated septum and enlarged turbinates make it harder for air to pass through the nose. Once breathing shifts to the mouth, the tissues of the palate vibrate more strongly and the sound becomes more obvious.
- 03
Sleeping on your back
When you lie on your back, the tongue and the soft palate fall backwards under gravity. In many people snoring appears only in this position, or clearly increases in it.
- 04
Alcohol, weight and smoking
Alcohol and sedatives increase muscle relaxation. Putting on weight thickens the tissue around the neck. Smoking causes oedema in the lining of the upper airway and deepens the narrowing.
How does it progress?
- Occasional
Snoring heard only on some nights
It appears after tiring days, after nights when alcohol has been drunk, or during a cold. Once the factors specific to that night have gone, the sound settles down.
- Persistent
Snoring every night and in every position
The sound has become regular and does not clearly ease when you lie on your side. At this point the nose and the structure of the throat need to be assessed by a doctor.
- Suspicious
Pauses and daytime symptoms are added
If witnessed pauses in breathing, waking as if choking or daytime sleepiness go along with the snoring, the picture no longer counts as simple snoring. A sleep study is requested and the matter is dealt with under apnoea.
How is it treated?
The first step is to rule out apnoea. If your history, what the people around you have noticed and the examination do not give enough information, a sleep study is requested. If the test supports simple snoring, treatment is not compulsory; the decision is made according to how much the sound bothers you. This assessment is made by the doctor who deals with sleep.
In simple snoring, changes to behaviour and sleeping position come first: lying on your side, raising the head of the bed slightly, avoiding alcohol in the evening, reviewing any excess weight and stopping smoking. If your nose is blocked, the cause is investigated by an ear, nose and throat doctor; when an allergic or structural problem is put right, the sound can become clearly quieter.
When these steps are not enough, a mandibular advancement device may come up. The device, which holds the lower jaw slightly forward, is made and adjusted on the dental side. To begin with you may notice more saliva and temporary tenderness in the teeth and the jaw joint, so regular check-ups are needed. Surgical options aimed at the palate and the nose belong to ear, nose and throat surgery.
- The people around you describing pauses in your breathing during sleep
- Waking at night choking or gasping for breath
- Feeling sleepy while driving during the day
- Your child snoring every night and sleeping with the mouth open
How is it prevented?
- Review how much alcohol and how many sedatives you take in the evening; both make snoring worse.
- Avoid sleeping on your back; getting used to lying on your side makes the sound quieter for many people.
- Do not leave the allergic and structural problems that block your nose unresolved.
- Keep an eye on changes in your weight; an increase around the neck can affect how loud the snoring is.
Frequently asked questions
- Does louder snoring mean a more severe problem?
- No such proportion is expected. How loud the sound is depends on the way the tissues vibrate, and it does not show whether breathing stops. Someone who snores loudly can have a normal sleep study, while someone who snores more quietly can have clear apnoea. That is why the decision is made from the recording and not from the sound.
- Do nasal strips and sprays help?
- If the narrowing comes from the nose, these products can give temporary relief. Where the snoring comes from the palate or the base of the tongue, no clear effect is expected. Decongestant sprays used over a long period can also make the symptoms worse; ask your doctor how long you should use them.
- Is a mandibular advancement device made for everyone who snores?
- No. First it is established whether apnoea is present, and then the teeth, the gums and the jaw joint are assessed to see whether a device suits them. If there are loose teeth, advanced gum disease or a painful jaw joint, the decision about a device is postponed or another route is taken.
This content is for general information and does not replace an in-person examination. Symptoms overlap between conditions, and a diagnosis can only be made clinically.