Sharp County record., 1881-08-18
Why Persons SnOre.


1t NAV not be generally known that it
Is the vibration of the Uet1tm pendulum
pdlGh which causes snoring, but it is no
less a matter of interest TO great many
people who either snOre themselves or
are annoyed by snOrers.
DR.. Lewis H. Sayre, of Fifth Avenue,
was asked why people snOred.
because they don't shut their
mouths" he said.
"What is snoring"
"Well, it's common enough" said
DR.. Sayre; and in an of-hand fashion
he explained that snoring is noise
made in the posterior part of the mouth
and nasal fOssR during the moments of
inspiration. 1t is due to a relaxation OF
che ieUQtOr palati nOihS and the circun-
feTuS palatj in sleep, by which the
Uelun pendulum paiGtj is left free to Vi
brate or flap in the two currents of the
air which enter at the same time
through the nostrils and the mouth.
Besides the vibration of the Ueiunl pen
dulum paiGtj or soft palate, there is
also vibration of the air itself. Thus
is produced the rasping, snOrting noise
so well known and so unpleasant to ey-
cry one within earShot of the placid
snorer himself
DR.. Sayer was asked what caused
snoring.
"When a man is fatigued," he said,
"and his self-control is unusually re-
Taxed 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 a sheet in the wind, and the
near neighbors of the snOrting sleeper
are correspondingly disturbed. Now,
the Indians never snOre, They think it
a disgrace. An Indian believes that if
he snores when he is young he will
grow up to be less handsome at matur-
ity than nature oringinally intended
His vanity, therefore, is enough to
make savage sleep in proper posi-
ton"
A well-known physician in town
whose practice has been large IN cases
of affection of the respiratory system,
was asked whether snoring was dis
ease.
"NOt so much disease as a bad
habit" he said; "but | am frequently
called upon to prescribe for its cure"
''Can it be cured?"
easily"
"Why do elderly or corpulent people |
commonly snOrem
"Because their systems are generally |
more relaxed 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 a person a J
chance to breathe through the nose,
and then make him do so. If there is
any obstruction in the nasal passage,
that must be removed by treatment
Then if snorer cant keep his mouth
shut by force or will, his jaw must be
tied up A harness for the lower jaw
is sometimes employed in bad cases OF
snoriny 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 habit
of sleeping on his sides or with his head !
sufficiently elevated to hold his Jaw
els it an easy matter to hold ones
jaw when asleep?"
Hardly more SO than when awake.
"Why is snoring, then, so common,
if it is so easily cured?"
because catarrhal troubles are 50
common, which prevent free inspira-
tion through the nostrils. In sleeping
cars and in hotels one frequently hears
the resonant snore, because people in
those places usually 90 to sleep tired
out. An old doctor used to advocate
sleeping on the face to guard against
the possibility of snoring. "-NeW York |
Sun.