So what is the cause of snoring? "Well it depends", is the normal answer. But is there any one unifying cause that explains all types of snoring?

Snoring is due to turbulence of airflow and vibrations of the soft tissue in the throat and breathing passages.

This noise can occur in many parts of the throat including the nasopharynx, oropharynx and laryngopharynx. And snoring comes in many flavors and rhythms, from a quiet swoosh to a full on roar.

There are many factors that increase your chance of snoring. For instance your weight. If you have a large neck size. If you have a narrow jaw. If you are male. But you can still have all these attributes and not snore. Alternatively you can have none of these attributes but you do snore. These factors make it easier to snore but they are not the cause of snoring.

So is there a link to all snoring?

Maybe there is…

Your breath.
All vibrations in the throat require airflow. Sure if you stop breathing, that will definitely take care of your snoring and any other ailment you have, permanently. But more than just airflow, your breath requires plenty of energy. Enough energy to vibrate the soft tissue and to cause the turbulence that makes the snoring sound.

The volume of any one person’s snoring is directly proportional to the volume and speed (the energy) of their breath. If you want to make a louder snore take a deeper, faster breath. Reduce the energy in the airflow to a low enough level and you can stop the snoring.

Of course this is easier said than done, as when we sleep we have no conscious control over our breathing. It’s on automatic pilot. To change the way you breathe when you sleep you have to retrain your breathing system. This is the theory behind breathing exercises designed to rectify the cause of snoring.
As you are trying to reduce the energy of the air, you have to either reduce the volume or reduce the speed (or both) of the incoming air. There are many breathing exercises but two that focus on controlling the flow and volume of your breathing are Qi Gong, a Chinese breathing healing technique and Pranayama, a yoga breathing practice.

Food for thought!

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