Reasons Why You’ve Just Started Snoring

If you or a loved one has just started snoring, or has started to snore more loudly and/or frequently than ever before, there may be cause for concern.

Snoring is an embarrassing condition for those that do it. And for those that have to live with habitual snorers, sleep-time can be more frustrating than relaxing. Instead of putting recent-onset snoring down to unfortunate circumstance, however, the problem can, and should be, addressed.

Why It Happens

Snoring results from a blockage of the air passages, or respiratory tract, due to a number of possible causes.

People with inflamed tonsils or adenoids are at a high risk for snoring, as are the obese, whose respiratory tracts are usually relatively constricted due to their excess weight. Such conditions are often long-term or life-long.

However, short-term problems such as sinusitis or conjunctivas may cause snoring. If you’ve just started snoring, this may be a sign that you have recently contracted an infection.

It also could be that your snoring is symptomatic of a more serious, even life-threatening, medical condition, such as sleep apnea.

Medical Implications

If your snoring is related to a recently contracted infection, and you’ve never been a snorer before, it will likely go away soon after treatment of the infection. However, if any infection is left untreated, it could spread, potentially causing damage to the brain.

Many people live with sleep apnea, and because it causes a sudden stop to breathing mid-sleep, sufferers often wake up throughout the night and cannot sleep restfully. More seriously, sleep apnea can cause heart attack or stroke.

If you know you have sleep apnea and have just started snoring, it may be a sign that your condition is getting worse.

Ultimately, if you’re concerned about having just started snoring, it is wise to consult with your doctor to get to the bottom of its causes, and from there look into possible treatment.