What Causes Snoring in Women?

Snoring can be caused by a number of things, like oral anatomy, sinus anatomy, allergies, a cold, the person’s weight, or even a jaw joint disorder. When a person sleeps, the muscles in the mouth, tongue, and throat relax, and this exacerbates the aforementioned issues to cause snoring. Generally, the problem that causes snoring is a narrowed or partially blocked airway. A sleep study can often easily reveal the cause of a patient’s snoring, and so can a professional like one of ours here at Koala® Center For Sleep & TMJ Disorders.

It may sound strange, but it’s true that in men, the air passage is typically narrower than the air passage in women. This may explain why snoring tends to affect more men than women. If a woman has a narrower air passage than usual, this may cause or contribute to snoring. However, there are other possible factors too:

– Age – As women age over 30, snoring problems can increase
– Menopause – After PMS, a woman can become just as likely as a man to start snoring
– Weight – Greater weight adds excess fat around the neck area, and this can narrow or partially block the air passage
– Pregnancy – Weight gain during pregnancy can cause expanding blood vessels in the nasal cavity which can become problematic
– OSA – Obstructive sleep apnea which isn’t so common in women, but can still be an issue

If you believe any of the above factors could be causing or contributing to your snoring, then you may need to address them. Really, if you’re snoring at all, then you should get professional care. Snoring can not only disturb a partner during sleep, it can also be a sign of an issue like sleep apnea or sleep deprivation.

Making lifestyle changes like losing weight can help with snoring, but lifestyle changes won’t necessarily help if the snoring is caused by something like a jaw joint disorder or sleep apnea. In the case of snoring caused by sleep apnea, CPAP therapy can help, but many patients find it inconvenient, loud, and uncomfortable.

An alternative to CPAP therapy for snoring and sleep apnea is oral appliance therapy. It’s also effective for snoring caused by a jaw joint (TMJ) disorder. For many patients, after 3 months of oral appliance therapy, their symptoms are relieved by 90%.

Oral appliance therapy is highly approved by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, and we provide it here at Koala® Center For Sleep & TMJ Disorders. It could easily be the treatment for your particular case, and you can find out by asking us here at our clinic! We have multiple locations in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Texas and Wisconsin, and you can reach us at (855) 977-0400. You can also book a consultation with us on our Appointments page. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you believe as we do that we can help you with your snoring here at Koala® Center For Sleep & TMJ Disorders!