Snoring used to be considered a bit of a joke, with the bed partner on the suffering end. Today, it is recognised that chronic snoring is an unhealthy way to breathe during sleep, that predisposes the person to health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and depression.
Snoring is the sound a person makes when they try to breathe too much air through a narrowed airway during sleep. This excessive breathing causes the soft tissues behind the mouth and in the nose and throat to vibrate.
Breathing increases and decreases in line with changes to metabolism and hyperventilation simply means breathing more air per minute than is required for any activity. The volume of air that is required to sleep, is approximately 20% less than when we are awake and resting, making it minimal. Watching someone snore is like watching someone breathe the way they would during an activity of high metabolism, such as heavy exercise, and this makes it a type of hyperventilation.
Read more: Hyperventilation Connection to Snoring
Not only has snoring has been linked to serious health conditions, such as depression and high blood pressure, but it also makes you tired in the day time. Snoring involves breathing deeply and forcefully, and so anyone who believes that breathing deeply gives you more oxygen that provides the body with energy, may wonder why this is.
Read more: Snoring makes you tired
Everyone snores occasionally, especially when they have a cold, after having too much alcohol, or when the person is waking up naturally.
The snoring that is either causing health problems or is the sign of an underlying health problem is chronic snoring.
Read more: The risks of snoring
Snoring causes such misery, and is a prime cause of insomnia (if not for the snorer, then certainly for anyone forced to sleep nearby), so there are literally hundreds of inventions and ideas a person can try in order to stop the snoring noise.
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