Important Things to Know About Snoring
- You snore because of vibrations in a part of the throat
- called the pharynx.
- Being overweight increases your risk of snoring.
- Middle aged people snore the most.
- Men have a higher risk than women.
- Alcohol and some medications also raise your risk.
- You’ll snore more if you sleep on your back.
- Breathing through your mouth (maybe because of a blocked nose) raises your risk.
- There is a link between snoring and a more serious problem called sleep apnoea.
- There are a number of treatments available.
Why do people snore?
You snore when some
parts of your throat vibrate. This only happens when you’re asleep. The part of
your throat that vibrates is called the pharynx. It is right behind the tongue.
Several small muscles hold it open. But when you sleep, these muscles relax.
This makes it vibrate more easily. It also becomes narrower. When you breathe
in, it will vibrate and make a noise. The narrower it is, the more easily it
will vibrate and the louder you will snore.
How common is snoring?
About 40% of men have
at least mild snoring, on at least some nights. This number is smaller for
women (around 30%). About 15% of people snore on most nights. People of any age
can snore. Even some children have a problem with snoring (see Childhood
Snoring and Sleep Apnoea). But the age group with most risk are middle aged
people.
What can raise my risk of snoring?
- Being overweight or obese will mean you have more fat around the neck. This will make your throat narrower and it will vibrate more easily.
- Drinking alcohol will relax the muscles in your throat. This will mean more vibration and more sound
- People who breathe through the mouth are more likely to snore. This is because the walls of your throat at the back of the mouth vibrate easily. Walls at the back of your nose do not vibrate as easily.
- A blocked nose will mean that you have to breathe through the mouth. This will raise your risk of snoring.
- It also makes a vacuum inside the throat. This may pull the walls of your throat closer together.
- Sleeping on your back makes your tongue fall directly back. This can get in the way of your airflow. Snoring is almost always worse on the back.
- Some people snore because of narrowing caused by nasal polyps, a large tongue or thyroid swellings.
- These narrow the airway. Often children snore because of large tonsils and adenoids.
- Allergies, hay fever and smoking can make snoring worse. This is because they make it harder for air to flow in and out.
- Some medications make your throat muscles relax e.g. sleeping tablets, anaesthetic drugs, oral steroids and epilepsy drugs.
- Some people are born with a smaller airway than normal.These people will have a higher chance of snoring.
How is snoring treated?
One treatment is
called a Mandibular Advancement Splint. It looks a bit like a mouthguard. You
wear it between your teeth while you sleep. It pushes your lower jaw forward.
This gives you a wider airway. It needs to be specially fitted to you. You will
need to see a dentist oral surgeon for this. This is because different people
have different mouth shapes. It works for some people but not for others. (See
Oral Appliances).
Some treatments stiffen
the roof of your mouth. This makes it vibrate less. This can be done using
lasers, microwave rays or injections. Laser surgery on the throatmay work for
some people. But it can be painful. Only an Ear, Nose and Throat surgeon can do
this.
For children who snore,
it is common to take out the tonsils as tonsillar enlargement is a common
cause. This often succeeds. (see Childhood Snoring and SleepApnoea) For adults
with large tonsils, the same thing can also be done.
Some people snore
because of the shape of their tongue or the roof of their mouth. Others snore
because their nose is blocked. In all of these cases, surgery in the problem
area can help. A type of surgery called uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) used
to be common.
Here, the surgeon operates on the back of the throat to make it
wider. But it only ever worked for some people and has a low success rate in
the long term.
Positional therapies
to encourage you to sleep on your side can be helpful, but are often
ineffective in keeping you on your side throughout sleep.
Herbal or enzyme
treatments might help with allergies. If this is why you snore, then they might
help. But if you’re snoring for another reason, then they will do nothing.
Nasal dilator strips
can unblock your nose. But by themselves they won't stop snoring.
What might your doctor do?
A GP can refer you to
a sleep specialist. They will consider the issue and the
other problems it might cause for your health. They will
probably want you to do a sleep study. This is done to check
if you have anything more serious like sleep apnoea.
What could you do?
If you are
overweight, losing weight might help. Try and avoid alcohol for at least four
hours before sleeping. If your snoring is made worse by an allergy, try and
stay away from whatever sets it off.
Where and when should you seek help?
Get help if your snoring
is bothering you or your household. If you see a doctor about snoring, you
might want to bring your partner with you, if you have one. This is so that
they can talk to the doctor about what happens when you’re asleep.
Where can I find out more?
BOOK REFERENCE
Sleep Health
Foundation
ABN 91 138 737 854
www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au
A national
organisation devoted to education, advocacy
and supporting research into sleep
and its disorders
Sleep Disorders
Australia
ABN 98 075 427 459
www.sleepoz.org.au
A voluntary group
offering assistanceand support to people
and theirfamilies living with
sleep disorders
Australasian Sleep
Association
ABN 32 172 170 561
www.sleep.org.au
The peak national
association of clinicians and
scientists devoted to investigation of sleep
and its disorders