The causes of snoring are as follows: being overweight, smoking, drinking excess alcohol, sleeping on the back, sleep apnoea (temporary blocking of airways during sleep), having long soft palate (roof of the mouth) or a long uvula (tissue hanging a the back of the mouth), a poor muscle tone of the throat, bulky throat tissue and obstruction in the nose due to allergies or other reasons.

No, snoring does not indicate good sleep. Snoring disturbs the sleep and people who snore have sleep deficiency. Inadequate sleep due to snoring affects the quality of life and your routine activities on the next day.

One of the possible causes of snoring is obstruction of the nasal airways. This obstruction can be due to cold. Some people typically snore during the season when allergies are high or when they have a sinus infection. All these conditions result in cold and eventually snoring.

You may do some lifestyle changes to treat snoring. The other treatment options are: a device to bring the tongue forward so that it does not block the airway, a chin strap to close your mouth so that you breathe through the nose, nasal dilators strip to widen the nasal passage, CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) device to treat sleep apnea, different surgical options are also available.

The major complication of chronic snoring is obstructive sleep apnea. You may have interruptions in the sleep due to blockages in the airflow. This will affect your next day’s activities. The obstruction results in low oxygen levels in the blood and makes your heart pump harder. This may result in high blood pressure or even a heart attack during sleep.