Snoring January 2009

Snoring is noisy breathing during sleep. It can happen when you are breathing in or breathing out.

What causes snoring? Snoring occurs when air cannot flow smoothly through your air      passages. It can also occur when there are structures in your air passages that vibrate while you breathe.

There may be several causes!

Sleeping on your back: this position allows your tongue to fall backward into your throat and partially block your throat, making a smaller passage for air.

Buckteeth: a very small lower jaw or a very long soft palate (the soft part of the back of the roof of the mouth) can contribute to the problem.

Blockage in the nose: this can be caused by colds, sinus infections or following an injury that changed the shape of your nose or nasal passages.

Weight gain: the air passages become smaller due to the accumulation of fat under the tissue lining the airway and a heavier chest increases the pressure on the airways.

Medication or alcohol: alcohol, sleeping pills, antihistamines, and pain medication cause excessive relaxation and can also cause snoring.

What can I do? Lose weight if you are overweight; Take medication to unclog your nasal passages; Sleep on your side or your stomach; Do not take sleeping pills, sedatives or alcohol before going to bed; Raise the head of the bed or mattress so that it is higher than the foot of the bed; Don’t use more pillows, as these can cause more breathing problems; Ask your doctor for advice.