National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-06-15
WHY PERSONS sNoRE.
The Habit Cured by Force ef VIII or the
Use of n Harness for the Jaw.

| 1t may not be generally known that it
is the vibration of the uell pendulum pdldtt which
causes snoring but it is no less matter of interest
| to great many people who either snore them
selves or are annoyed by snorers.
| Dr.. Lewis II. Sayre, of Fifth avenue, was asked
why people snore.
Because they don't shut their mouths" he said
"What is snoring?"
"WeIl, it's common enough" said DR.. sayre;
| and, in an off hand fashion, he explained that
snoring is noise made in the posteror part of the
mouth and nasal fosse during the moments of in
spiration. 1t is due TO relaxation of the lecd0r
pdlah Blo5s and the circQHIerHs pdlaH in sleep, by
which the Veum pendulum palat is left free to Vi
brate or flap in the two currents of the air which
| enter at the same time through the nostrils aud
! the mouth. Beside the vibration of the Uelum
pendulum pdldt soft palate, there is also vi
bration of the column of air itself. Thus is pro-
| duced the rasping, snorting noise so well known
| and so unpleasant to every one within earshot Of
| the placid snorer himself
| DR.. Sayre was asked what caused snoring.
| when man is fatigued," he said, and his
selfcontrol is unusually relaxed in Sleep he is apt
| to let his lower jaw drop down. No man was ever
seen or heard to snore with his mouth shut. The
moral is obvious. The soft palate flaps like sheet
in the wind, and the near neighbors of the snort
ing sleeper are correspondingly disturbed. Now
An Indian believes that if he snores when he is
young he will grow :, to be even less handsome
at maturity than nature originally intended. His
vanity, therefore is enough to make savage sleep
in a proper position"
A well-known physician up town, whose prac-
tice has been largely in cases of affection of the
respiratory system, asked whether snoring is
| disease.
mot so much disease as bad habit" he said;
GI,rfT 7 e
its cure
"Can it be curedg'
Easily
why do elderly or corpulent people commonly
snore ?"
Because their systems are generally more re-
laxed in sleep, and their mouths then fall open.
Any one will be likely to snore if he sleeps with
his mouth open, and no one will if he shuts it.'
"How can the habit be cured?"
First, you must give person a chance to
breathe through the nose, and then make him do
so. Ifthere is any obstruction in the nasal pas
sage that must be removed by treatment Then,
if q snorer can't keep his mouth shut by force of
viii, his jaw must be tied up. harness for the
lower jaw is sometimes employed in bad cases of
snoring. A skull cap worn upon the head serves
to hold system of straps under the chin, and keep
the mouth shut until the patient can form q habit
Of sleeping his side or with his head sufficiently
elevated to hold his jaw"
"Is it an easy matter to hold ones jaw when
asIeep?"
Hardly more so than when awake"
'Why is snoring, then, SO common if it is so
easily cured?"
Because catarrhal troubles are so common,
which prevent free inspiration through the nos
trls. In sleeping and in hotels one frequently
hears the resonant snore, because people in those
places usually to sleep tired out An old doctor
used to advocate sleeping on the face to guard
against the possibility of snoring"-NclU York Sun