- Colds and Allergies – nasal congestion forces you to breathe through your mouth and creates more pressure behind your soft palate and uvula, which leads to “zzz’s” or vibration of the tissue.
- Not enough room for your tongue – you may not even notice that your mouth is too small for your tongue… until you relax into sleep, your tongue moves back, obstructs your airway, and causes snoring.
- Obesity –weight gain affects all your tissues, even things like neck tissues, and a thicker neck puts a strain on your throat.
- Enlarged adenoids or tonsils – Anything that blocks your airway can cause snoring.
- Aging – a loss of muscle tone is common in aging, causing the throat to narrow and leading to that zzz sound during sleep.
- Sleeping on your back – this sleeping position causes your neck and throat muscles to be at their most relaxed, which can collapse them against each other. The result? More zzz’s than usual.
- Sleep apnea – snoring is the primary symptom of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a sleep-related breathing disorder that prevents airflow during sleep – and it’s no joke! Sleep apnea occurs when the tongue and surrounding tissues collapse to the back of the throat, blocking the airway, severely reducing oxygen intake – and it can happen hundreds of times a night!