Excess Weight – Does It Have An Impact On Snoring?

There are many reasons why men and women snore and having too much unnecessary bodyweight is one of them. Being overweight can cause many health issues.

While snoring isn’t always considered to be a severe health problem, it can definitely be upsetting for the sleeper who snores and bothersome to everyone who has to sleep close to him or her. Snoring can, and often does, eventually affect the snorer’s relationship with other people, both on a physical level as well as emotional.

Individuals who snore loudly are often a target of bad jokes and sly elbow pokes; funny as that sounds, it is not really a joking matter. Healthcare science has identified that snoring can, at times, have implications for severe medical conditions. Snorers are known to have a higher rate of heart attacks, strokes, and high blood pressure than non-snorers. The risk of developing these medical difficulties will increase the longer an individual snores and the more severely they snore. Consequently, it is critical that snoring be brought under control and kept under control indefinitely. By keeping the snoring under control, the risk factors for all these severe medical conditions will gradually decrease over a period of time.

Formally, snoring is defined as a resonant noise from the respiratory tract that emerges during sleep. But biologically, snoring is a vibration in the airway that connects the nose and the mouth; a vibration that may emerge via the mouth, the nose, or as some non-snorers are painfully aware of, it can emerge via both.

It has long been believed that being overweight and leading a sedentary lifestyle contributes substantially to a snoring problem. As we put on extra weight, we store the fat in different parts of our body. Accumulation of fat isn’t solely limited to the belly or other obvious body parts. Weight gain also affects the fatty tissues inside the throat. These tissues become enlarged and during the night some friction occurs, producing the unpleasant snoring sound.

Consequently, losing weight may help to decrease or even completely stop heavy snoring. The hypothesis is that excessive weight around the neck and chest areas create increased pressure on the muscles needed for regular breathing when asleep. Plus, air that is inhaled and expired has to force its way through a narrower passage, due to the enlargement of fatty tissues inside the throat. This is what causes the snoring.

You can find a number of individuals out there who have never had a problem with snoring, but as soon as their weight increases, they notice that they start snoring. You don’t need to put on a lot of weight before snoring takes place. Even a gain of as little as five to ten pounds can lead to snoring at night. Losing weight is often a very effective cure for mild to moderate snoring. Even a small bit of weight loss can decrease fatty tissue in the back of the throat and decrease snoring. By losing weight, you’ll decrease the pressure put on your chest and will open up the airways in your throat, which in turn will help to alleviate the snoring.

Shedding weight by incorporating a regular exercise program into your daily regimen may assist in managing snoring, but it has been determined that exercise itself has a helpful effect on snoring. It’s believed that this is due to the muscles and other areas involved in the breathing process becoming more toned and efficient due to exercising.