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So what causes snoring anyway? It's loud, it's annoying and it even can be life-threatening in certain cases. But what is it really? What causes snoring is a physical reaction that occurs when the air passages block the smooth flow of air, or else when the tissues or muscles in those air passages vibrate. The muscles in your tongue, your throat and the roof of your mouth, better known as the soft palate, relax as you fall deeper into your nightly slumber. Because of this relaxation, the tissues in the throat start to sag, which leads to the airway becoming more narrow, and as they narrow they also start to vibrate. This vibration creates the sound we recognize as snoring. The more narrow the airway gets, the louder the snoring becomes.

The most common answer to the question of what causes snoring in relation to how it can be controlled is weight. Many people who never had a problem with loud snoring often find it accompanies weight gain. Gaining weight leads to more neck tissue that becomes less firm. The weight of the neck results in more pressure on the airways. This results in a higher propensity for the tissues to vibrate as you breathe.

Besides weight, age also plays a part. As you age, the muscles in the throat become weaker. This weakness results in the tissues sagging and that leads to more vibration.

Developing an allergy can also lead to increasing snoring. The blockage of the nasal passages serves to limit the ability of easy flow of air through the nose, which in turns forces you to breathe more through your are located.

As it does with so many things, alcohol also plays a part in snoring. Alcohol and tranquilizers can affect your nervous system by relaxing the muscles in the back of the throat, thereby loosening them and subjecting them to vibration.

Although losing weight is probably the answer to controlling the snoring of most people, there is a much easier and quicker temporary solution. The majority of those who snore only do so when they sleep on their back. Sleeping on one's back results in the tongue slipping backward into the throat, narrowing airways and blocking airflow. Since most people's slumber isn't interrupted by their own snoring, instant relief can be usually be found'again temporarily'by simply nudging the snorer onto his side. Obviously, this becomes problematic the more the sleeper weighs or if the snorer is a particularly heavy sleeper. Extremely cold feet usually solves the problem, however.

Obviously, there is no single, simple answer to question of what causes snoring. Generally, however, most snoring is related to weight problems or physical changes in the throat tissues.