Why do we only snore when we sleep and never when we are awake?
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[Snoring happens when the muscles in your soft palate and throat relax and vibrate as air flows past.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWhGqGNaVzY)
This is much more common when sleeping, but it can just as easily happen to people laying in a supine position while awake. It doesn’t happen as often when you’re awake because you’re subconsciously adjusting those muscles to be able to breathe easier.
“up your nose” are tubes that connect to your trachea which brings air to your lungs. Those tubes A. are normally muscular and the muscles keep them open and B. are a place that fat can accumulate.
For conscious, healthy people the tubes are kept open by the muscles and are spacious enough for quiet, healthy breathing.
For sleeping people the muscles will relax causing the tubes to collapse a bit, typically this isn’t a huge problem as the tubes should still be wide enough for healthy breathing.
For overweight people the tubes can also get chubby, reducing the space air can flow through. Combine this with sleeping and the muscles going weak means collapsed tubes you can’t really breath through. Hence – snoring.
It’s because when we sleep, the muscles in our throat relax, causing the airway to partially close and making the snoring sound.
You obviously never met my roommate. Rather large fella with sleep apnea.
Before he got a CPAP machine he’d snore while sitting there watching TV. I’d hear snoring and look over expecting to see him asleep but nope, he’d been fully awake and into the movie.
After he got his machine he sleeps much better and doesn’t do that anymore.
I used to work at a buffet and the lead cook snored when he breathed. He was a smoker and very overweight.
The muscles in our upper airway tend to relax when we’re asleep, impeding airflow and thus causing snoring. When we’re awake these muscles stay contracted and open so snoring doesn’t occur.
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