There are several health and lifestyle factors that contribute to snoring; and this is true for both men and women, since snoring is a condition that does affect both genders (though surveys suggest that men snorers outnumber women snorers by a ratio of 2:1).
Some of the major health and lifestyle factors that can contribute to snoring include:
- Allergies, which can clog the airway and trachea
- Allergy medications, which can dry the nasal cavities
- Cold and Flu, which can similarly clog the airway (this is why some people experience snoring only when they’re suffering a cold or flu)
- Thickened tissues in the nasal passages, which can sometimes result from some surgeries unrelated to snoring
- Overuse of nasal sprays which irritate the nasal passageway
- Enlarged adenoids and/or tonsils
- Goiter (swelling of the an ineffective thyroid gland in the neck)
- A disproportionately large tongue that blocks airflow
- Ineffective regulation and neural control of mucus membranes
- Obesity and excess weight (leading to an enlarged neck and excess soft tissue in the trachea)
- Excess gut/belly (relatively decreasing the size of the lungs)*
- The normal aging process, which can simply lead to a loss of muscle tone in the neck and thus snoring
- Cigarette smoking, which inflames the upper airway
* Since relatively more men tend to experience an excess gut, this is one reason why more men tend to experience snoring than women.
Drinking alcohol**, which:
- sedates the throat muscles and causes them to collapse
- dilates blood vessels which swells up throat tissue
** Any medication (prescribed, over the counter, or illicit) that leads to excessive relaxation can lead to snoring.