Why do I snore?

Snoring is not a disease, it is an acoustic event. During sleep the soft tissue at the back of the throat relaxes, the airway narrows, and air rushing through it makes that tissue flutter. Think of a flag in the wind: the narrower the gap and the faster the flow, the louder the sound.

The sound is relaxed tissue vibrating

While you are awake, muscle tone keeps the throat propped open. In deep sleep that tone drops and the soft palate, uvula and base of the tongue drift backwards. As the remaining gap narrows, air speeds up and the tissue starts to vibrate. That is why snoring often gets more obvious later in the night, when sleep is deepest.

Anything that narrows the airway makes it louder

A blocked nose, allergies, a cold, a deviated septum, large tonsils, extra tissue around the neck, mouth breathing, a pillow that collapses, sleeping on your back, an evening drink and sedating medication all push in the same direction. There is rarely one cause; it is usually several small factors stacking up on the same night.

Why it changes from night to night

Snoring is unusually sensitive to daily conditions. A heavy late meal, a glass of wine, an exhausting day, dry room air or the start of allergy season can turn a quiet sleeper loud. That variability is exactly why recording helps: you stop judging a single night and start reading a trend across weeks.

This page is for information only and is not medical advice. If your snoring is loud and constant, if anyone has seen you stop breathing, or if you are sleepy during the day, talk to a doctor.