Dr's Casebook: What causes snoring and how to try and stop it

There are simple things that are worth trying to stop snoring. Photo: AdobeStock

Snoring is a condition that often causes a lot of stress and tension within relationships and families, so it needs to be taken seriously. The good news is that there may be quite a bit that one can do to alleviate the problem.

Dr Keith Souter writes: It is estimated that there are about fifteen million snorers in the UK. One survey found that

about a quarter of all men and about an eighth of all women are noisy snorers.

When you are awake, the neck muscles keep the throat open, so that you can breathe freely.

During sleep the throat sags, causing turbulence in the flow of air as we breathe. The soft palate and the uvula, the bit that dangles at the back of the throat may vibrate in this turbulent stream to produce the snoring noise.

This is more common in mouth breathers, smokers, those who imbibe alcohol or take sleeping tablets and those with large necks. In addition, it is commoner if you sleep on your back.

There are simple things that are worth trying. Avoid being overweight, and avoid taking alcohol, sleeping pills and tranquillisers at night. It is worth trying to stop yourself sleeping on your back. It may sound banal, but try attaching a tennis ball or cork to the back of your pyjamas.

It is also worth propping the head end of the bed up three inches. This will help to reduce the effect of gravity on the throat muscles. This works far better than a stack of pillows, since they will tend to kink the neck and will encourage snoring.

Some people may actually have a problem with a condition called Sleep Apnoea Syndrome.

In this they have episodes of ten seconds or more where they stop breathing throughout the night. The individual may start with a choking noise and, if there are many throughout the night, they may wake tired. If this is the case, a medical opinion may help. It may be possible to have sleep studies performed to diagnose this properly.

For more information and help, you might look at the British Snoring and Sleep Apnoea

Association website http://www.britishsnoring.shop where you can do an interactive snoring test to find out what type of snorer you are. It also has an online shop with various products that may help.