Snoring is caused by a multitude of things which can be different for different people and for a variety of reasons. The medico's define snoring as noises caused by airways vibrations within the respiratory tract and is limited to when a person is asleep.

Why then, do we only snore when we are at our most restful state?

The only time our air passage muscles are relaxed are when we are asleep.

It is during sleep that our voluntary acting muscles are fully relaxed. Our throat rests while we sleep. The tissue of the throat is soft and when it is relaxed it is perfectly positioned to vibrate. The vibration is what we more commonly refer to as snoring.

With the relaxation of this soft tissue the passages in our airways becomes significantly more narrower than usual. Loud audible noise can be created by this narrowing of the passage as the vibration levels increase. The reduced size of the airway passages can have a direct impact on the pitch and also the tone of the vibrations. This is why the sounds of snoring can be very different.

The volume of a snore is directly affected by the force of the air flowing through the air passages. Typically a louder and more resonant snore is caused by the increased speed of the airflow through these restricted passages. Interestingly, babies are also capable of snoring too. Rather than being considered as snoring, it is more commonly referred to as moderate breathing noises caused by the respiratory tract. It would be unwise to ignore these noises as they could develop into long term issues. Large tonsils are on many occasions, the reason why children snore. Removal will cure the problem.

Snoring can strike any gender and at any age, however men are generally more often affected than women are. Studies have revealed middle-aged men are more commonly affected. Men are more likely to have increased fleshy necks which tend to be wider than women's.

Nature also supports women by producing progesterone hormones. These hormones can effectively reduce snoring in many cases. As a result of this knowledge, some anti-snoring devices are known to use progesterone as their basic ingredient. Thank you ladies.

However, nature alone is not the only reason we snore. Health and lifestyle are also contributing factors to snoring.

I have listed some examples:

Obesity,

Allergies that cause narrowing of air passages,

Drying of the nasal cavities - allergy medications,

Cold and flu - blocked noses,

Excessive alcohol,

Thickening of the tissues along the nasal passage,

Pot belly - large stomach,

Irritation of the air passages due to overuse of nasal sprays,

Enlargement of the tonsils or the adenoids,

Smoking which causes inflammation in the air passages,

Swelling of the thyroid gland or goiter,

Blockage of the airflow due to large tongue,

Medications that initiate relaxation.

The main contributor to snoring problems is the narrowing of the airways. In most cases it is as a result of the softening of the tissue surrounding the airways, or the pressure applied by excess weight on the air passages.

If you are looking for some information on a solution to snoring then I would recommend a web site that has completed a review on a mouthpiece which is proving to be very effective.

The web site is called ZQuiet Reviews, and the mouthpiece is called ZQuiet. The ZQuiet solution is manufactured and available only in the USA but the information is universal and worthwhile reading.