Watch your snore score

Find out the cause of your snoring before you opt for a quick fix from our guide

While nearly half of all middle-aged men snore, it's not solely a male problem. It affects women too, particularly after menopause.

The key, say sleep specialists, is to work out what type of snorer you are before buying devices and opting for remedies. Here's our guide:

Being overweight
Weight gain is linked to a host of health problems and is a main trigger for snoring in men because, unlike women, they tend to put on weight around their necks.

The fatty tissue around your neck squeezes the airway and prevents air from flowing in and out freely when sleeping. The airway is more likely to vibrate, say doctors.

Solution: Lose weight sensibly through diet and exercise.

Alcohol alert
Alcohol is a sedative and depressant so it relaxes you. The downside is that is can cause the muscles in the back of the throat to collapse — another key cause of snoring.

Sleeping pills and sedative medication, such as antihistamines, also produce a similar effect.

Solution: Reduce your alcohol intake. Have your last drink at least four hours before you go to bed.

Kick the butt
Smokers are approximately twice as likely to snore as non-smokers, say studies. Cigarette smoke irritates the lining of the nasal cavity and throat, causing swelling and catarrh. The resulting congestion of nasal passages makes it difficult to breathe through your nose. Passive smokers also run the risk of snoring.

Solution: Quit! Or try to have your last cigarette at least four hours before bed to reduce the effects of the smoke.

Sleeping position
If you sleep on your back, you are more likely to snore because of the effects of gravity on the upper airway. This happens since the tongue and soft palate fall back into the throat, narrowing the airway.

Solution: Sleep on your side. A mandibular advancement device is more beneficial for this kind of snorer. These are mouthpieces that hold the lower jaw and tongue forward, making more space to breathe.

Another option is a shaped pillow which puts your head in a slightly tilted position and opens the airway at the back of the throat.

Allergies
Allergies, such as hay fever can cause nasal congestion, contribute to snoring and affect sleep quality. Swelling in the lining of the nose and throat affects breathing through the nasal airway — particularly at night.

Solution: Treat the allergy.

Mouth breathing
If you usually sleep through the night with your mouth open — you probably snore, suggest experts.

When we breathe in through the nose, the air passes over the curved part of the soft palate in a gentle flow into the throat without creating unnecessary turbulence.
But, when we breathe in through the mouth, the air hits the back of the throat 'head on' and can create enormous vibrations in the soft tissue.

Solution: Try mouth breathing devices that prevent the mouth from falling open.

Small nostrils
Small or "collapsing" nostrils make it harder to breathe through the nose when sleeping.

This means you're breathing through your mouth — and will snore. Solution: Wearing nasal dilators can help. This is a springy, flexible plastic device that "holds" the nostrils open.

Tongue base snorer
If you've been a heavy snorer for some time, damage to the nerves and muscles of the upper airway mean they're more prone to collapse.

This restricts the airway and vibrates the tissue of the tongue, causing it to block the airway.

Solution: Clinical studies show that a mandibular advancement device can help keep the tongue away from the back of the throat.     

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