Snoring is when your body makes loud sounds while you're sleeping because your airway gets blocked a little bit.
Imagine you're trying to drink from a straw, but someone squishes it a little, the more they squish it, the noisier the drink goes. That's kind of what happens in your throat when you snore.
Why It Happens
Your throat is like a tunnel that air has to go through while you sleep. Sometimes, the muscles in your throat get relaxed and loose, making it narrower. This makes the air have to push harder through the smaller space, creating vibrations, which sound like snoring.
What It Sounds Like
Snoring can be as soft as a whisper or as loud as a toaster going off in the kitchen. Sometimes it even sounds like someone is trying to hum a song while they sleep!
If your throat is really blocked, you might even stop breathing for short times, that's when snoring becomes sleep apnea, which we can talk about another day!
Examples
- A man snores loudly every night, waking up his wife.
- Children snore when they have a cold.
- An office worker is always tired because he snores all night.
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See also
- What Is the Difference Between Light Sleep and Deep Sleep?
- What are sleep patterns?
- What is Adjust your sleep schedule?
- Why Do We Snore and What Can Be Done About It?
- What Is the Difference Between Sleep and Rest?