For many people, the realization that they’re snorers comes as a shock. Snoring is something other people do, not them, and now their whole self-image is shaken. Not only that, but the realization may come to threaten their relationship, whether it’s a new romance or a long-established marriage. That’s right, people often consider divorce over snoring.
But what has caused you to start snoring suddenly? Here are some examples of what makes you snore and why you might suddenly find yourself snoring. For help overcoming your snoring, please contact a Denver sleep dentist at Colorado for TMJ Therapy & Sleep center.
There’s Someone to Listen Now
If you’re in a new relationship and you now have a partner to share your bed but didn’t before, there’s a very simple explanation. You’ve always been snoring; you just didn’t know it. Now there’s someone there to hear your snoring, and they tell you.
You might wonder why you didn’t hear yourself snoring. After all, if it’s loud enough to disturb someone else, wouldn’t it be loud enough to disturb you? The truth is that it might always have been waking you up. You just didn’t notice or remember because you would rapidly fall back asleep because your snoring stopped when you awoke. Others don’t have that luxury.
People often don’t know how often they wake up at night. People with sleep apnea might awaken hundreds of times a night, but they never get awake enough to know. If they do wake up, they attribute it to a need to use the bathroom or a nightmare.
Irritants in the Air
One contributing factor in snoring is inflammation of your tissues. When your tissues swell, they can narrow your airway. This restricts the flow of air, leading to a turbulent airflow. This can occur anywhere in the airway, from the nose to the throat.
There are many potential irritants that can contribute to snoring. Some of the more common irritants include:
- Tobacco or marijuana smoke
- Allergens
- Chemicals
If you have started smoking or have taken up with a smoker, the resulting irritation could be contributing to snoring. You might also experience an increase in snoring if you have been smoking more recently.
Allergens also trigger swelling that can make snoring more likely. This might include seasonal allergies like pollen. If you notice snoring seems to come and go with the seasons, consider whether you might have a relevant allergy. Pet dander can also contribute to snoring, so if you’ve added a new pet or are letting your pet sleep in your bed now, consider whether it might be causing your snoring.
Chemicals can also affect your airway. If you’ve done something to introduce more chemicals to the air recently, it might be why you’re snoring. Common chemical sources to look for include:
- Paint
- Cleaners
- Perfume
- New furniture
- Car exhaust
If you suspect that these might be causing your snoring, consider trying different products that might not emit as many chemicals.
People snore more when they live near a busy street. Denver traffic is worse than ever, and if you’ve recently moved close to a major thoroughfare, you might be snoring as a result.
Alcohol, Marijuana, Diet, and Medications
Sometimes people change their habits or patterns in ways that make them more likely to snore. One of the most common reasons why people start snoring is that they change their alcohol drinking habits. They may drink later at night, or they may drink more than they used to.
The same is true of marijuana usage. Marijuana is a powerful relaxant, so if you’re using it at night, before bed, or as a sleep aid, you might notice that it increases your snoring. With medical and recreational use legal in Denver, we’re seeing this more than ever.
Another common cause of snoring is consuming foods to which you have a slight allergy. This can cause inflammation of the nose and throat, obstructing your airway and causing you to snore.
Finally, if you’ve been prescribed a new medication, it may be causing your snoring. Some medications may cause snoring as a side effect. Talk to your doctor and see if you can adjust your schedule for the medication to potentially avoid snoring.
Weight and Exercise
Our changing health can make us more likely to snore. Although some slender, fit people snore, the causes are usually anatomical and don’t have a sudden onset. On the other hand, a person who gains even a small amount of weight may experience an increase in snoring.
If you used to get regular exercise but haven’t been, this can also make you snore. Muscle tone in the throat is vital to ensuring you maintain an open airway. Even if you’re not actively exercising your throat by singing or playing an instrument, you are helping your overall muscle tone. And when you stop, you may see your snoring increase rapidly.
Denver is one of the healthiest cities in the country, but we aren’t all maintaining our health as well as we might.
Age and Hormones
As we get older, we become more likely to snore. This may be related to some of the factors above, such as weight gain or a lack of exercise. But it may also be related to hormonal changes.
Women experience a significantly higher risk of snoring after menopause. The changes in estrogen and other hormone levels cause their menopause risk to increase sharply so that women after menopause have a comparable snoring risk to men.
Women might also experience snoring during pregnancy. Pregnancy hormones can trigger inflammation of the soft tissue in the nose, restricting the flow of air. Combined with pregnancy-related weight gain, pregnant women are about as likely to snore as men.
Want to Resolve Your Snoring in Denver?
Now that you’re a snorer, what should you do about it? Fortunately, we offer convenient treatment options to help you. Although home remedies and over-the-counter snoring solutions are unreliable, the snoring treatments we offer are highly effective.
If you are looking to stop snoring as quickly as it started, please call (303) 691-0267 today for an appointment with a Denver sleep dentist at the TMJ Therapy & Sleep Center of Colorado.
