Snoring is the noise caused by the vibration of tissues in your throat and mouth as air passes through them whilst sleeping.
Snoring can happen to anyone, but it's more common in people who:
It can also be a sign of a more serious condition called sleep apnoea, where you stop breathing for short periods during the night.
Snoring can be disruptive to both you and your sleeping partner.
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What is sleep apnoea?
Sleep apnoea is a sleep disorder in which a person stops breathing for short periods during sleep.
This happens because the muscles in the back of the throat fail to keep the airway open. As a result, the brain senses a lack of oxygen and wakes the person up briefly to resume breathing.
This can happen multiple times throughout the night (and you may not even notice!) and can cause disruptions in sleep, leading to symptoms such as
Sleep apneoa is more common in people who are overweight, have high blood pressure, or have a family history of the condition.
It can be diagnosed with aid from a sleep study and is typically treated with lifestyle changes, such as weight loss or sleeping on one's side, or with a device such as a mandibular advancement device or continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine that helps keep the airway open during sleep.
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