Many health and medical studies suggest almost everyone snores at one point in time. However, for some people snoring can be signs of a very serious chronic problem that may need to be addressed with the appropriate snoring treatment. Because each individual is different, the reason for snoring can be linked to various reasons. The Hudson Valley Sinus Center goes in-depth with determining and treating snoring and sleep disorders, as well as their causes. The following could all be linked to a snoring disorder:
Anatomy of The Mouth
Some people suffer from problems with snoring because of the anatomy of their mouths. For people who are overweight, this may even mean the person has a throat with a narrow airway. The narrow airway is normally seen in the back of their throats because of additional tissues that cover up parts of this opening. The airflow can also be obstructed by an elongated by tissues connected to the person’s soft palate.
Unlike people who are not obese, the airways in the throat are not as narrow.
Alcohol Consumption
Some people like to drink alcohol before they retire for the night. Even though this may be a regular practice for people who have trouble sleeping at night, this practice has its inherent dangers including becoming a chronic snorer. Since the consumption of alcohol naturally relaxes the muscles in the throat, the airways can easily become obstructed during the night, particularly when these same muscles do not do their job or stop functioning properly.
Sleep Deprivation
Some people snore a lot more than others due to the lack of sleep. In many cases, these may be the people that work long hours on the job or stay up late at night for other personal reasons. In either case, when people are deprived of their sleep continuously, they tend to snore a lot more than others throughout the night. Again, one of the major causes of this kind of problem is normally due to the muscles in the throat not relaxing enough for the airways to be clear of obstructions.
Obstructed Nasal Passage
Temporary Nasal Obstruction: An obstructed nasal passage could be one of the links to snoring. Since some people may live with a temporary obstructed nasal passage, they may be a chronic snorer that needs some form of medical treatment to solve their health issues. For instance, if an individual is suffering from sinusitis that produces a lot of congestion in the nasal passages, they may only snore at night during allergy season.
Permanent Nasal Obstruction: On the other hand, if an individual has a deviated nasal septum (a partition in their nostrils that’s not positioned in a straight position but is crooked), this type of defect can affect their sleeping patterns. This is considered to be a permanent nasal obstruction (without surgery) that leads to chronic snoring problems.
Heredity Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)
Some people suffer very serious problems that affect how much sleep they can get each night. This type of medical condition has a huge bearing and an adverse effect on a person’s overall health. Also, the cause for some of these problems can be traced back to their heredity, particularly since conditions like sleep apnea may run in the family, some studies suggest that OSA may even travel from one member of the family to another for several generations.
To correct this type of problem, these individuals may need CPAP equipment to help them to sleep throughout the night without any type of unnecessary disruption. Physician care is also needed to treat OSA snoring problems because the CPAP is often prescribed to people that need this type of equipment to sleep.
Sleeping in the Wrong Position
In some cases, the problem with the person that snores can easily be remedied without having to depend on various kinds of treatments and medications. This is because some of the most common problems with snoring are directly related to the position that the person is accustomed to sleeping in. For instance, if the snoring in the person’s room begins to wake up the entire household, all a family member has to do is make sure that they are sleeping in a better position. If the person is turned over on their side, this may stop their snoring completely. With that said, if the person begins to sleep on their side instead of their back, they can eliminate the problems that cause the airways to be obstructed while sleeping.
Going to Bed Dehydrated
Just like many other medical and health conditions can easily be caused by dehydration, the same is true for chronic snores as well. This is because the nose is more likely to become filled with thicker secretions that stop up the nasal passages while sleeping. To eliminate these problems and keep them under control, everyone should drink lots of fluids throughout the day. For instance, both men and women should drink at least 11 to 16 cups of water daily to assist in reducing the problems with snoring.
Snoring is a common problem that many people deal with on a nightly basis. These problems can easily escalate if the person does not know what their snoring is linked to and how to correct it. Usually, when people discover the cause of snoring, they can create a plan to eliminate these problems. However, the cause of snoring is quite diverse and can include several different reasons, including dehydration, sleeping in the wrong position, obesity, nasal obstruction, alcohol consumption at night, sleep deprivation and a deviated nasal septum. Each of which requires some form of medical treatment or changes in sleeping and eating habits.
