Why do people snore in the first place? Like other mammals, human beings also rely on lungs to breathe, and there is a pipe to transport air from the mouth and nose to the lungs, which is what we usually call “airway”. During sleep, the airway is narrowed due to local muscle relaxation (especially during the day when we are tired and drinking alcohol). The narrowing of the airway causes the airflow speed to accelerate, causing the high frequency fainting of the soft palate (“little tongue”), and snoring is produced. As you can imagine, the size of the snoring sound is mainly determined by the vibration frequency of the soft palate. Statistical data show that 95% of snoring people only show snoring sound at different decibels (generally greater than 60dB), however, the remaining 5% of people often show a sudden pause in snoring sound, breathing also disappears at the same time, and a period of micro-awakening with or without muscle struggling action. This condition is usually referred to as sleep apnea syndrome. These patients often snore deafeningly, but due to brief micro-awakenings, sleep fragmentation and poor sleep quality, they often have morning headaches, memory loss and daytime sleepiness. Never underestimate daytime sleepiness, I once had a patient with sleep apnea, riding a bicycle on a 2 km long highway, fell down a total of 4 times because he fell asleep, fortunately it was a bicycle, if it was a car not only for himself, but also a threat to public safety. In addition to this, long-term sleep apnea can lead to hypertension, cardiac arrhythmia and other systemic diseases, and even the possibility of sudden death in sleep! Sleep apnea in children, on the other hand, can affect growth hormone release, thus affecting growth and development. Therefore, if you find the problem of snoring, you must not be careless. First, self-diagnose whether there will be sleep apnea, daytime sleepiness and other typical manifestations, if they exist, please go to the hospital as soon as possible, through professional sleep monitoring of various aspects such as ECG, EEG, blood oxygen, oral and nasal airflow, snoring loudness and breathing pattern, and then analyze the indicators to clarify the severity of snoring. Thereafter, through clinical examination and X-ray examination to clarify the airway narrowing area, and then under the guidance of the doctor, formulate a comprehensive plan that takes into account the adjustment of living habits and reasonable medical intervention, so that you and your family can get a good night’s sleep!