What Causes Snoring?

The sound of snoring is created when the soft tissues of the back of the throat—in the airway—vibrate because of a narrowed or blocked passageway. During sleep, you are in a more relaxed state. Every time you inhale, the air you breathe flows in through your mouth or nose and across the soft palate (the fleshy part of the inside of your mouth between the hard ridge and the back of your throat). This soft palate area, including your uvula, is capable of collapsing during sleep. It is from here that the breathing passageway becomes blocked or narrowed enough to disturb the air you’re breathing and cause the vibrations. When the soft palate collapses and narrows the airway, your body works harder to draw in breath. As the uvula and soft palate are vibrated against the back of the throat, the snoring sound is made. If you still have your tonsils and/or adenoids, those, too can vibrate and add to the sound. The stronger the vibrations are, the louder the snore. Snoring only occurs during sleep, because when you are awake, the muscles of your throat hold the soft tissues in place. It's only when you sleep that these muscles relax enough to allow the tissue to collapse and cause the obstruction.
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