Exploring Causes and Treatments of Snoring by Mark Daymond For many people, snoring is seen as a bit of a joke. In fact it is far from it and for many people it is a very serious matter. These are people for whom snoring can make their lives a misery and can be responsible for sleepless nights and ultimately ruined relationships. For such people, going to bed is a chore that is ended in the morning with the realisation that another night has passed with little or interrupted sleep. A common question for sufferers is what causes snoring? And perhaps more importantly, how can I stop snoring? Let's consider first of all what causes snoring. Put very simply, it is to do with the soft tissue at the back of the throat vibrating causing the characteristic snoring noise. The cause of this is that the muscles around the airway relaxing when asleep reducing the amount of space available for air to pass through. When we are awake these muscles are taut keeping the airway open which is why we do not snore when we are awake. There are a number of factors that can exacerbate this airway restriction. Being overweight, for example, can lead to a build up fat around the throat meaning that the airway is more susceptible to becoming restricted. Sleeping position can also be a factor - lying on the back in particular can also reduce the airway as the soft tissue falls back reducing the amount of space available. Other causes tend to relate to people tending to breathe through their mouth while sleeping rather than their nose. When we breathe through our mouths the air follows a curved path meaning that it hits the back of the throat in a gentle way. However, breathing through the mouth means that the air hits the soft tissues at the back of the throat full on making vibrations more likely. There are number of reasons for this pattern of breathing while sleeping. For many people it may just be a habit that they have fallen into. Others, may suffer from allergic conditions which restrict their ability to breathe through their nose. Some people have small or collapsing nostrils, which again make breathing through the nose more difficult. It is helpful to work out the particular cause of your snoring in order to identify a solution. For example, a simple solution for someone who tends to roll onto their back is to arrange pillows to prevent this occurring. If this particular problem persists you could try the more drastic solution of sewing a tennis ball into the back of your pyjamas to prevent rolling over. If you are looking to address the issue of snoring in your relationship then why not read about how to stop snoring. You can read more about curing yours or partner's snoring at http://www.snore-buster.info.