What is snoring?

Snoring or ronchopathie is a sound which is produced during your sleep by vibrating soft parts of the nose, mouth and throat.

What causes snoring sounds?

While you are asleep the muscles that keep your upper airway open, relax. That will lower the tongue backwards and narrows the airway. By the suction of air during breathing the soft tissue of the mouth and throat can vibrate. This can cause snoring noises.

Some facts

Snoring is more common among men than among women. With age, the muscles in the throat become weaker and the chances of snoring increases.

Among adults, 60% of the men and 40% of the women have snore problems.

Snoring can be experienced as very disturbing by the partner and keep her of him out of her/his sleep. Also the snorer himself can have a bad night’s sleep by his own snoring.

Even children snore. They can be restless and have irritable behavior during the day, because of this snoring.

The social consequences

A snoring partner can cause a lot of tension in a relationship. A disturbed night’s sleep, the use of earplugs, separate bedrooms. In extreme cases the snoring sound keeps the whole family or even the neighbors awake.

Because of snoring you can have a bad night’s sleep. Possible consequences are fatigue, drowsiness, irritability and headache.
The result is that you are not fit and can not function properly during the day at work, in traffic and at home. With all the possible consequences.

The medical consequences

Snoring and associated apneas and hypapneus (= respiratory arrest) can negatively affect your health.
By an irregular supply of oxygen your overnight rest is not sufficient, with the possible symptoms that you are overtired during daytime, have drowsiness or get a headache. Over time, even serious medical problems arise, such as high blood pressure and cardiovascular complaints.

read more about apnea
read more about dental sleep medicine: a treatment wihtout operations