What causes snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea?

Basically we snore because 
1.Our airway is too small  and/or because
2.Our airway is too floppy
(We are very focussed on strengthening the airway with Myofunctional therapy as that has been shown to help children and adults with sleep apnoea)


Small airways are often the result of excessive soft tissue within the facial bony framework. 
If a person has a small chin, a narrowed jaw or long face then its much more likely that the soft tissue will be pushed backwards narrowing the airway. 
If a person mouth breathes at night- this often results in the tongue falling backwards causing a narrowed airway.
So when air flows through a narrowed airway- you get the snoring sound. Apnoea occurs when the airway obstructs or collapses during sleep due to the small airway or the excessively collapsible airway.

The nose plays an extremely important role in stabilising an airway. Mouth breathers are much more likely to snore.