Snoring is a fairly common affliction. In fact, it’s so common that many have learned to disregard it.
It is caused by loose hanging tissues that prevent the normal air passage in the throat. This happens when the body and the muscles surrounding the throat are at their most restful positions. This explains why though we literally breathe the whole day, only during sleep do we experience snores.
The tongue for example, would fall back into the throat when the jaw drops. Thus, narrowing the air passage. The pressure then passing through the throat would be doubled (or tripled depending on the speed of the wind that runs through it). Thus, vibration is created.
We often hack this problem by creating states wherein the muscles would not fall back to create blockages.
To prevent snoring, patients are often advised not to sleep on their sides. This is because there is constraint of air passage when one sleeps on his back. Coupled with gravity, the tongue and other loose muscles will fall back to the throat, which then creates much less space.
This is why the first device created to keep a person from snoring is the sock that covers a tennis...