We’ve all experienced the terrible sensation of trying to sleep while another person is snoring away all night. The noise is recurrent, annoying, and hard to ignore, but the snorer isn’t truly responsible and cannot control their bodily rumbles.
When we sleep, our muscles start to relax in our throat and our tongue falls back into our throat, all of which decrease the amount of space that air can get through. When snorers inhale, the walls of their throats start to vibrate, causing the annoying sound. This seems like an evolutionary flaw. When we sleep we are at our most vulnerable, and presumably would hope to be silent in case of giving our location away to a predator. I am especially surprised that this has not been adapted out of our lives.
There can be several factors that cause snoring or create a more intense snore. For example, enlarged tonsils or adenoids, nasal polyps, or deviated nasal septum can reduce the nasal passage causing a narrow airway and therefore a more likely chance of snoring. Additionally, people begin to snore as they age. As our bodies begin to decay, our muscles get less tense and take up more room in our throats, causing a more intense snoring also. More than that, sleeping on our backs can also increase the chance of snoring.
There are a few options to decrease snoring, but not many feasible ones. Surgery is an option, but seems pretty extreme for a harmless sound. Also you can change your lifestyle to lose weight, sleep not on your back, or use an oral appliance at night, but once again are not sure ways to stop the snoring. I would suggest those who struggle with snoring simply warn their roommates and give them ear plugs. This is a cheap option that will solve their sleep problems and without much of a change to your personal life.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-do-people-snore
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3076706#.UmhQ1KWTOPQ