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Scientists Finally Solved the Mystery of Why You Sound Like a Chainsaw in Your Sleep

It’s nice to know what’s happening when someone sounds like they’re kickstarting a motorcycle in their sleep.

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As someone who makes choking, dying-hog sounds in my sleep thanks to sleep apnea, I am especially interested in the mechanics of snoring. What is it about my throat, nasal passages, tonsils, and tongue, and their interactions with one another, that makes it sound like I’m trying to crank-start an old lawnmower while I’m supposed to be resting? A team from Sweden, publishing its findings in Physics of Fluids, may have an answer.

Researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology built a 3D computer model of the upper airway to simulate what happens during ordinary,........

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