What Causes Snoring, and How to Stop It
Snoring is a common but often frustrating issue — not just for bed partners, but for health, too. In this guide, we explain what causes snoring, when it may signal a more serious condition like sleep apnea, and the treatments that can help, including dental devices, lifestyle changes, and doctor-led assessments.
What is snoring?
Snoring is the sound of the soft tissues in your airway vibrating as you breathe during sleep. As you breathe, air passes through your nose and mouth, past your throat and down your windpipe into your lungs. The nose, mouth and throat are called the upper airway, and they are made of hard structures and soft structures. The soft structures, mainly at the back of the throat, are held in place by muscles. As you fall asleep, these muscles relax, and your airway becomes slightly narrower. This causes the airflow to become more turbulent, which makes the soft structures vibrate and make a snorting or rumbling sound.
Is snoring dangerous?
The most typical injury a snorer will suffer is bruised ribs from being elbowed by a bed partner. But sometimes it can be more serious.
If you hear a snorer stop breathing while they sleep, then after a pause of a few seconds, suddenly restarting, often with a loud snort or gasp, it is likely that they have another condition called obstructive sleep apnea.
This is a serious condition, where the airway narrows during sleep to the point where it actually closes, and the person cannot breathe. People with obstructive sleep apnea do not sleep well; they often feel very tired during the day and are at risk of developing a lot of other serious physical health problems. We discuss obstructive sleep apnea here. Below are the common symptoms:
Episodes of stopping breathing
Loud snoring
Gasping, choking or gagging during sleep
Excessive daytime sleepiness
Morning headaches
Poor concentration or memory problems
If you think you (or someone you regularly hear snoring) has obstructive sleep apnea, then they should speak to one of our specialist sleep doctors and book our home sleep test for diagnosis and treatment.
Can You Test Snoring at Home?
Many people search for a snoring test, but snoring itself is usually a symptom rather than a condition. Loud snoring can sometimes be a sign of obstructive sleep apnea, a disorder where breathing repeatedly stops during sleep.
A home sleep apnea test can measure breathing, oxygen levels and sleep patterns to determine whether snoring is caused by sleep apnea.
At The Better Sleep Clinic, we offer a doctor-led home sleep test, with results available in just two working days.
What causes snoring?
For some people, it is just due to the shape of their upper airway, though there are a few factors that can cause snoring or make it worse.
Allergies like hay fever or pet allergies cause general inflammation and swelling of the upper airway, making it narrow. This is why people often find they snore when they have a cold or during a bout of hay fever. Smoking can cause similar inflammation.
Alcohol and sedating medicines cause the muscles which hold the soft airway in place to be more relaxed and this narrows the airway.
Having more weight pressing in around your neck will narrow your airway, as can having a very heavy, muscular neck
Are there different types of snoring?
All snorers seem to produce different sounds, which reflects how unique our upper airways are. Generally speaking, people are either nose snorers, mouth snorers or tongue-based snorers.
A simple way to check is to close your mouth and try to reproduce your snoring sound (you may need the help of someone who hears your snore!). If you can make the sound well, try again with your mouth open. If you cannot now make the sound, it is likely that you are a nose snorer. Other factors that indicate your nose might be the source is closing one nostril, pressing the side in, and seeing if you can breathe perfectly through the other, then repeat for the other side. If you consistently struggle to breathe through one or both nostrils, then there is likely to be some obstruction.
Obstructions of the nose can occur with congestion from a cold, with allergies or from a deviated nasal septum.
Other people snore through their mouths. To check, open your mouth and make your snoring noise. Then close your mouth and see if it can still be done. If not, you are most likely to be a mouth snorer. Commonly, mouth snorers wake with very dry mouths.
To see if you are a tongue-based snorer, recreate your snoring sound, then stick your tongue out as far as it will go and hold it between your teeth. If you now struggle to make the sound, then you are likely to be a tongue-based snorer
How can I stop snoring?
General measures that widen your airway will help with snoring, such as
Stopping smoking
Diagnosing and treating hay fever
Reducing alcohol
Reducing sedating medications where possible
Sleeping on your side rather than your back keeps your airway wider and can prevent snoring – sewing a tennis ball into the back of your pyjamas can help, or using a triangular pillow
In addition, there are a number of measures for more specific kinds of snoring:
Mouth snorers can find improvement with the use of an elasticated chin strap that gently holds the mouth closed during sleep
Tongue base snorers may benefit from a mandibular advancement device (MAD) — a plastic gumshield-like appliance that gently moves the lower jaw forward to keep the airway open. These can be self-moulded, but custom devices made by specialist dentists are often more effective. We recommend S4S Dental for professionally fitted snoring appliances.
When Should I Speak to a Sleep Specialist About My Snoring?
If your snoring is loud, frequent, or involves choking, gasping, or pauses in breathing, it may be a sign of obstructive sleep apnea. This is a serious sleep disorder that can increase your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and daytime sleepiness.
We offer fast, doctor-led home sleep tests to assess for sleep apnea, with results in just 2 working days.
Ready to Sleep Better?
If you’re concerned about snoring or sleep apnea, we can help.