How Being Overweight Affects Snoring

What is snoring?

Snoring happens when the flow of air through your mouth or nose is partly blocked while you sleep. This causes the tissues in your throat to relax and vibrate as air passes through, creating the sound of snoring. The noise can range from a soft hum to a loud, more disruptive sound that might even wake you or others up during the night.

While occasional snoring is usually harmless and nothing to worry about, frequent or loud snoring can sometimes be a sign of an underlying health issue, such as sleep apnoea or other breathing problems.

What causes snoring?

Snoring is caused by your airways being partially blocked while you sleep. While it’s not always obvious what’s causing this to happen, there are certain factors that can make it more likely or make it worse:

Sleeping position

Lying on your back can make snoring more likely. In this position, your tongue and soft palate fall toward the back of your throat, which can partially block the airway and lead to snoring. Sleeping on your side can help to reduce this problem.

Alcohol consumption

Drinking alcohol, especially before going to bed, relaxes the muscles in your throat more than usual. This extra relaxation can narrow your airway, increasing your chances of snoring. Try to limit alcohol consumption and avoid it before bedtime to try and reduce this.

Nasal congestion

When your nose is blocked (due to allergies, a cold, or sinus problems), it can force you to breathe through your mouth while you sleep. Mouth breathing increases your likelihood of snoring because it changes how air flows through your throat. Treating nasal congestion with medication or nasal strips can help keep your nasal passages clear and reduce snoring.

Being overweight

Carrying extra weight, especially around your neck, can put pressure on your airway and make it harder for it to stay open during sleep. This can lead to snoring. Maintaining a healthy weight can help reduce this risk. Losing weight can also help improve your overall health.

Age

As we age, the muscles in our throats naturally become weaker. This can make snoring more likely over time. While there is obviously no way to stop ageing, there are certain tongue, throat and jaw exercises that can strengthen your throat muscles and improve airflow to reduce and prevent snoring.

Smoking

Smoking irritates and inflames the tissues in your throat and airways, this can lead to swelling and a higher chance of snoring. Quitting smoking is not only great for reducing snoring but also for your overall health.

What is sleep apnoea?

Sleep apnoea is a sleep disorder where your breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. The most common type is obstructive sleep apnoea, which happens when your airway becomes partially or completely blocked. This can cause interruptions to your breathing. These interruptions can happen many times during the night, disrupting your sleep and leading to a variety of symptoms and health issues.

Symptoms of sleep apnoea

Symptoms of sleep apnoea include:

• loud snoring – often the first sign noticed by a partner
• choking or gasping during sleep – this can occur when your body briefly wakes up to restart breathing
• excessive daytime fatigue – poor-quality sleep can leave you feeling tired, groggy, or unable to concentrate during the day
• morning headaches – frequent interruptions in breathing can lower oxygen levels, leading to headaches when you wake up
• mood changes – poor sleep can contribute to irritability, anxiety, or even depression

Diagnosing sleep apnoea

Sleep apnoea is diagnosed by your doctor. They may want to carry out some tests to check for the condition to provide the right treatment plan. These tests also help the doctors measure the severity of your sleep apnoea using a measurement called apnoea-hypopnea index (AHI).

Treating sleep apnoea

If you are diagnosed with sleep apnoea, there are a range of treatment options, including:

Lifestyle changes

1. Losing weight: Reducing excess weight can help open your airways.
2. Changing your sleep position: Sleeping on your side instead of your back can reduce snoring and apnoea episodes.
3. Avoiding alcohol and sedatives: These relax throat muscles, worsening symptoms.

CPAP therapy (continuous positive airway pressure)

A CPAP machine delivers constant air pressure through a mask, keeping your airway open during sleep. This is one of the most effective treatments for moderate to severe sleep apnoea.

Oral appliances

Specially fitted mouthpieces can reposition the jaw or tongue to keep your airway open.

Surgery

Surgery may sometimes be needed to remove excess tissue, fix structural problems, or implant devices that help keep your airway open.

Nasal treatments

If nasal congestion contributes to the problem, treatments like nasal sprays, decongestants, or nasal strips may help.

Does being overweight cause you to snore?

Yes, being overweight is a significant risk factor for snoring and sleep apnoea. Excess fat, particularly around the neck, puts pressure on the airway, narrowing it during sleep.

Research also consistently links obesity with an increased risk of snoring and sleep apnoea, as well as the severity of sleep apnoea:

➤ One research study showed a direct link between body mass index (BMI) and sleep apnoea. It also found that reducing BMI directly reduces your apnoea-hypopnea index (AHI), a tool healthcare professionals use to measure the severity of sleep apnoea symptoms.

➤ Another study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that a 10% increase in body weight is associated with a 32% increase in the apnoea-hypopnea index.

Why do overweight people snore?

People who are overweight are more likely to snore because extra weight affects how air moves through the throat and lungs during sleep.

Fat around the neck

Extra fat in the neck makes the airway smaller. This narrow airway makes it harder for air to flow, causing the throat tissues to vibrate, which creates the sound of snoring.

Weaker throat muscles

Being overweight can make the muscles in your throat weaker. When these muscles are too relaxed during sleep, the airway can partly close, making snoring more likely.

Fat in your tongue and throat

Extra fat in your tongue and soft tissues in the throat can take up space and block the airway. This makes it harder to breathe and can lead to snoring.

Belly fat affects breathing

Extra fat around the stomach can push against the lungs, making it harder for them to expand. This puts more effort into your breathing, which can make snoring worse.

Higher risk of sleep apnoea

Overweight people are more likely to develop obstructive sleep apnoea. This is when the airway gets fully blocked during sleep, causing loud snoring and interrupted breathing.

Snoring might seem harmless, but it can seriously affect your health, especially if it’s linked to sleep apnoea.

Heart and blood problems

High blood pressure – sleep apnoea causes oxygen levels to drop repeatedly during the night. This puts extra stress on your body and can raise your blood pressure.

Heart disease – chronic snoring or sleep apnoea increases the risk of heart problems, like heart attacks or strokes. The constant drop in oxygen and poor-quality sleep strain your heart over time.

Effects on weight and blood sugar

Weight gain – poor sleep caused by snoring or sleep apnoea disrupts hormones that control hunger. This makes you feel hungrier during the day, which can lead to overeating and gaining weight.

Diabetes – sleep disruptions make it harder for your body to manage blood sugar levels, increasing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Mental health and brain function

Memory and focus – sleep deprivation from snoring or sleep apnoea can make it harder to think clearly, remember things, and stay focused during the day.

Mood problems – lack of quality sleep can also affect your mood, leading to higher chances of depression or anxiety.

Snoring isn’t just about the noise, it can be a sign of serious health issues. Getting the right treatment can improve your sleep, protect your heart, and support your overall health.

Research indicates that weight loss of 5 to 10% of your body weight can significantly reduce snoring and symptoms of obstructive sleep apnoea.

Being overweight can cause several issues that make it harder for your airways to work in a healthy way as you sleep. You can combat these problems when losing weight which improves snoring by:

1. Reducing fat (especially around the neck)

Shedding excess weight can decrease these fat deposits, helping to keep your airways open during sleep.

2. Improving muscle tone

Losing weight can strengthen muscles that keep your airways open, reducing the chance of airways collapsing, which leads to snoring.

3. Minimising pressure on the diaphragm

Your diaphragm helps you breathe, excess fat around the abdomen can press against it making it harder for your lungs to expand fully, worsening snoring. Losing weight can relieve this pressure, allowing you to breathe more easily during sleep.

4. Improving nasal airflow

Overweight individuals are more likely to have nasal congestion due to inflammation or increased fatty tissue around the nasal passages. Losing weight can reduce this inflammation, improve nasal airflow, and make you less likely to snore.

5. Lowering your risk of inflammation

Excess weight often leads to more inflammation in the body, including the tissues in your throat and airway. This inflammation can contribute to snoring by further narrowing your airway. Weight loss can lower overall inflammation, helping to keep your airway clear.

6. Improving hormonal balance

Being overweight can disrupt hormones that regulate sleep, such as leptin and cortisol. These imbalances may affect your breathing patterns and worsen snoring. Weight loss can restore balance to these hormones, improving sleep quality and reducing snoring.

7. Changing your posture during sleep

Carrying extra weight can alter your sleep posture, causing more trouble for your airways as you sleep. For example, people who are overweight are more likely to sleep on their back, which increases the risk of airway collapse. Losing weight may allow for more comfortable side-sleeping, which reduces snoring.

Losing weight is an essential step in managing snoring and sleep apnoea. The NHS recommends weight loss as the first in-line treatment for improving snoring and treating sleep apnoea. By reducing your weight, you can lessen the severity of these conditions in addition to:

✓ improving your sleep quality – weight loss can lead to fewer breathing interruptions during sleep, allowing for deeper and more restorative rest, in turn minimising stress, and fatigue

✓ improving your overall health – achieving a healthy weight supports heart health, lowers the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and can enhance mood and energy levels