Not a laughing matter :

SNORING is a symptom of a serious disorder called sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a serious, potentially life-threatening condition. It is a breathing disorder characterised by repeated collapse of the upper airway during sleep with consequent cessation of breathing.

Forty-five per cent of normal adults snore at least occasionally, and 25 per cent are habitual snorers. The problem is more frequent in males and overweight persons, and usually grows worse with age. They may wake up frequently at night resulting in sleepiness and fatigue during the day.

Causes
This could also result in serious medical problems like hypertension and in some cases even cause sudden death. But not many take snoring seriously; often it becomes a matter of ridicule. Some patients tell of being asked to leave the train compartment by co-passengers, of being woken up by the airhostess during a flight, of feeling sleepy during working hours ...

The main cause is an obstruction to the free flow of air through the passages at the back of the mouth and nose. This area, where the tongue and upper throat meet the soft palate and uvula, is collapsible. Snoring occurs when these structures strike each other and vibrate during breathing. People who snore may suffer from:

Poor muscle tone in the tongue and throat. When muscles are too relaxed, either from alcohol or drugs that cause sleepiness, the tongue falls backwards into the airway or the throat muscles draw in from the sides into the airway. This can also happen during deep sleep. Excessive bulkiness of throat tissue. Children with large tonsils and adenoids often snore. Overweight people have bulky neck tissue, too. Cysts or tumours can also cause bulk, but they are rare. Long soft palate and/or uvula. A long palate narrows the opening from the nose into the throat. As it dangles, it acts as a noisy flutter valve during relaxed breathing. A long uvula makes matters worse.

Obstructed nasal airways. A stuffy or blocked nose requires extra effort to pull air through it. This creates an exaggerated vacuum in the throat, and pulls together the floppy tissues of the throat, and snoring results. So, snoring often occurs only during the hay fever season or with a cold or sinus infection.Deformities of the nose or nasal septum, such as a deviated septum (a deformity of the wall that separates one nostril from the other) can cause such an obstruction. Snoring can be a serious social problem. A person who snores is often an object of ridicule and causes sleepless nights for others. This problem is worse when one is a frequent traveller.

Treatment
Many do not realise that a person is breathing only when he is snoring. The sudden cessation of snoring followed by heavy snoring occurs because of the signal that the brain gets from oxygen-starved organs. This results in fragmented sleep and daytime sleepiness.