He was snoring like thunder, but he was sound asleep, and I couldn't stand it anymore...

If I am guilty, please let the law punish me, instead of letting me listen to other people's snoring in the middle of the night and unable to fall asleep! What's even more annoying is that the next day you told that person that he snored, and he couldn't hear it even though it was so loud? Let's take a look at this night noise - snoring, what is going on.

#1 Causes of Snoring

Snoring, commonly known as "snoring", is mainly caused by the collapse, narrowing or obstruction of the upper airway. When the airflow of breathing passes through the narrow obstruction, it causes high-frequency vibration, which will produce snoring.

Image source: Pixabay

The upper airway includes three parts: the nose, pharynx, and larynx. Therefore, snoring may be caused by nasal problems, such as deviated nasal septum, nasal polyps, or nasal ventilation obstruction caused by nasal neoplasms. It may also be a problem in the oropharynx, such as enlarged tonsils (adenoids), posterior tongue root, thickened tongue, and thickened lateral pharyngeal wall. The reason why obese people are prone to snoring is that they generally have a thickened and narrow pharyngeal cavity. In addition, tumors in the hypopharynx and collapse of the epiglottis may also cause narrowing and obstruction of the airway, causing snoring.

You should know that snoring is not a good thing. If someone who has never snored suddenly starts snoring, it is best to go to the hospital for a check-up.

#2 Occasional snoring may be caused by these reasons

Poor sleeping posture. If you sleep on your back, after entering deep sleep, the muscles of the tongue relax, and the root of the tongue or other related tissues will slide back to the throat under the action of gravity, blocking the airway and causing difficulty in breathing and snoring.

Excessive fatigue. After excessive fatigue, people's muscles will relax better during sleep, which will cause the root of the tongue in the throat to drop more obviously, causing the airway to be affected and compressed, causing snoring.

Drinking. After drinking, due to the stimulation of alcohol, the human body muscles are extremely relaxed and numb, and fat accumulates in the neck muscles during sleep, which significantly narrows the airway and causes snoring. Excessive drinking can also cause varying degrees of congestion and swelling in the throat and nasal mucosa, which can also lead to upper respiratory tract stenosis and cause snoring. If the snorer's airway is relatively narrow, when falling asleep after drinking, the direct paralysis and relaxation of the muscles by alcohol will cause the already narrow airway to collapse and block repeatedly, resulting in frequent snoring and breath holding.

#3Why can’t people who snore hear themselves?

When people are sleeping, their ears can actually hear sounds. For example, many of us have experienced being awakened by sounds during sleep, which shows that when we are sleeping, the auditory nerves in our ears are still working normally, but the central nervous system has entered a dormant state. As long as the sound is loud enough, it can form enough stimulation to wake up the central nervous system. The stimulation value that wakes up the central nervous system is called the "threshold." Although the snoring sounds very loud to others, the incoming nerve impulses cannot reach the corresponding "threshold" and cannot wake up the central nervous system, so they cannot hear their own snoring. At the same time, for every snorer, snoring has a process from nothing to something, from low to high, and from weak to strong, and the body will gradually adapt to this process, so it is difficult to be woken up by your own snoring.

Sometimes, we will find that the snoring stops abruptly, and the snorer will take the opportunity to turn over or smack his lips. This may be a sign that they are woken up by their own snoring. Because the nerve impulses of auditory input can be superimposed, when the impulses gradually accumulate and reach a critical point, it will wake people up. After waking up, the snoring will stop, but because there is no continuous stimulation, the person will fall asleep immediately, and the snoring will start again, forming a new "awakening cycle."

Image source: Pixabay

#4 Three types of snoring

The first type: green-light snoring. This type of snoring is a mild snoring that occurs occasionally when a person's breathing is even when they fall asleep. Generally speaking, snoring with a loudness below 60 decibels is benign snoring and has no adverse effects on the body. Fatigue, sleeping on your back, etc. may cause this type of snoring.

The second type: yellow-light snoring. This type of snoring is also called "snoring", the sound exceeds 60 decibels, and it hinders the airflow through the upper respiratory tract, and affects the rest of others. Mild snoring will not cause obvious symptoms of hypoxia, but it will mainly disturb others. However, if the snoring exceeds 80 decibels and is accompanied by hypoxia symptoms such as abnormal heart rhythm and groaning, it is considered severe snoring.

The third type: red-light-level snoring. This type of intermittent snoring is medically known as "sleep apnea syndrome". It refers to more than 5 breathing stops for more than 10 seconds in 1 hour, or more than 30 breathing stops for more than 10 seconds in 7 consecutive hours. In other words, in 7 hours of sleep, the sleeper spends at least 5 minutes holding his breath, and severe cases of apnea may occupy 40% of the sleeper's sleep time.

If you have snoring symptoms consistent with severe snoring or sleep apnea syndrome, please go to the relevant department of the hospital as soon as possible to complete relevant examinations (such as imaging examinations, sleep breathing monitoring, etc.), and actively cooperate with treatment. Snoring is not a trivial matter. Severe patients may even be at risk of "sudden death". You should know that more than 100,000 people die from snoring every year around the world.

#5 How to get rid of snoring?

Control your weight. Do not gain weight too quickly. People who are overweight should lose weight. Studies have shown that losing weight reduces the collapsibility of the upper airway. Even losing about 10% of your body weight can reduce the severity of sleep apnea by more than 50%. Losing weight by exercising can also increase muscle tone and improve snoring symptoms.

Actively treat diseases that cause nasal obstruction, such as upper respiratory tract infection, allergic rhinitis, etc., to reduce snoring symptoms.

Quit smoking and drinking. Smoking can stimulate the proliferation of pharyngeal lymphoid tissue, increase airway resistance, and aggravate respiratory symptoms; alcohol can calm the central nervous system, relax pharyngeal muscles, increase airway resistance, and aggravate snoring, nocturnal breathing disorders, and hypoxemia. In particular, avoid drinking before going to bed.

Avoid being too tired. When you are too tired, the tension of the mucous membrane and muscles of the human body is likely to decrease, which can easily cause muscle or mucous membrane relaxation and lead to snoring. Excessive mental stress, anxiety and other negative emotions can also easily cause snoring when they exceed a certain limit.

Avoid lying on your back. Sleep on your side, preferably on your right side, to avoid the pharyngeal tissue and tongue falling back to block the airway during sleep, which will aggravate the upper airway obstruction. A small pillow can be fixed on the back to help force you to stay in a side-lying sleeping position.

Other treatments: Mild snorers can use medications or oral appliances to open up the throat, while severe snorers can have surgery or use a home ventilator to treat snoring.

Source: Chongqing Science and Technology Museum

Author: Wu Bucai, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University

Review experts: Huang He, Li Chunli, Chen Tao, Xu Xiaoping

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