Snoring...

About 45% of adults snore occasionally and about 25 % are habitual snorers. Snoring is more prevalent in males and overweight people and becomes worse with age.

When we have a stuffy or blocked nose it requires a lot more effort to pull air through it. This creates a vacuum in the throat which pulls together the floppy tissues of the throat, and this causes snoring.

Snoring may become a very serious problem when it causes others to have sleepless nights and makes you the subject of ridicule. Sleeping on your back may worsen snoring.

Snoring often occurs:

• During the hayfever season
• When a person has a cold
• During a sinus infection
• Obstructed nasal airways
• Nasal congestion
• In asthma patients
• In patients that have polyps
• Allergic rhinitis (hayfever)

What causes snoring?

Remember, snoring means obstructed breathing and an obstruction can be serious in a sense that it reduces breathing capacity.

When someone has reduced breathing capacity, they tend to inhale harder which causes the throat to vibrate, and this is known as snoring. If you keep the sinus passages clean and open it reduces one of the major causes of snoring. If you're snoring or unable to sleep soundly, an undiagnosed case of sinusitis may be the culprit.

Poor muscle tone in the tongue and throat, often due to alcohol and substance consumption is another culprit for snoring habits. When muscles are too relaxed, the tongue falls backwards into the airway or the throat muscles draw in from the sides into the airway.

What can I do to prevent snoring?

Since snoring problems are more common in overweight males and adults, sufferers should take the following self help measures:

• Visit the gym more often or jog to develop good muscle tone and lose weight
• Eliminate habitual consumption of sleeping pills before bedtime
• Refrain from alcohol, heavy meals or snacks at least three hours before bedtime
• Establish regular sleeping patterns
• Sleep on your side rather than your back
• Adjust the head of your bed upwards four inches

Avoid anti-snoring devices since they can best help keep you awake the whole night.