Too much snoring at night may be a symptom of any obstruction in the upper airways (nose, mouth, and pharynx) or obstructive sleep apnea syndrome which is the situation where snoring is frequent and loud enough to annoy people who are close or even in a room next door. Its cause is the narrowing or partial interruption of the upper airways during sleep, making it difficult for air to pass through and causing a vibration of these structures. In this situation the snoring has pause periods where a respiratory arrest (apnea) of a few seconds occurs.
Some symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome are: snoring, mouth breathing, headache and dryness of the mouth and throat in the morning, a lot of daytime drowsiness, irritability, depression and nocturnal arousal with a feeling of suffocation.
It is normal to snore a little during sleep in some situations, such as after drinking alcoholic beverages or sedatives, when the nose is clogged and during REM sleep (deep relaxation phase), because in these situations there is a greater relaxation of the musculature of the upper airways causing a vibration and snoring. Also in the position lying belly up, because it facilitates a slight fall of the tongue back causing a vibration in the place, in addition, obesity, old age and being a carrier of withdrawn chin (retrognathism) can aggravate snoring.
The diagnosis of the causes of snoring is made by the doctor specializing in sleep disorders, through clinical examination and an examination to evaluate the quality of sleep, polysomnography.
