Snoring – it’s a frustrating affliction, for both sides of the equation. It can drive your loved ones mad, while you’re still asleep.
You wake up to see tired, even angry faces — for something that you have little or no control over. It also affects the quality of your sleep and is linked to chronic health problems.
If you’ve had enough, and your loved ones have had enough, let’s look at some new snoring solutions.
All About Snoring
Let’s have a look at the causes and concerns related to snoring. We’ll then give you some tips that might help you to put an end to it.
What Is Snoring?
Snoring is the sound of the relaxed tissues in your throat vibrating as you breathe in.
Aside from being annoying, it can be an indicator of a more serious health concern. It can also be a real threat to your relationship.
Is Snoring Common?
Something like 45% of adults snore from time to time. That’s almost half the population.
If you add all their partners to the mix, that’s a lot of people either occasionally snoring or affected by occasional snoring.
Why Do Some People Snore?
There are factors that make snoring more likely.
These include body weight, the shape of the mouth, and general health. It generally increases with age.
Physiologically, some people are at a disadvantage when it comes to snoring. Those with a deviated septum – where one side of the nostril structure is smaller than the other, have more trouble breathing and are more likely to snore.
Surgery can help in these cases.
Things like allergies, the common cold, and sleep deprivation can make it more likely you’ll snore.
Alcohol and other drugs can contribute, as can the sleeping position. Sleeping on your back makes it more likely you’ll snore.
Will Snoring Cause Further Health Issues?
Snoring doesn’t necessarily lead to further complications, but there are other health concerns that correlate with it.
That is to say, these illnesses aren’t caused by the snoring. But if you snore regularly, you might have a higher risk of also experiencing them.
Around 75% of snorers have obstructive sleep apnea. That’s when breathing is disrupted during sleep. Obstructive sleep apnea, in turn, is a risk factor for heart disease.
Those that snore often clench or grind their teeth while asleep. This is known as bruxism. Over time, this sleep-related movement disorder can wear down the tooth
enamel. This can expose deep layers of the tooth. It can result in tooth sensitivity and pain.
Lack of Sleep Is Serious
Perhaps you’ve brushed off your partner’s complaints about interrupted sleep due to your snoring. Perhaps you’ve wondered about your own disrupted sleep.
You should certainly not overlook sleep deprivation as a mere nuisance. It should be taken seriously as a lack of sleep is correlated with chronic health problems.
When we sleep, our bodies are able to heal and repair organs like the heart, and blood vessels. Sleep also helps our learning, decision-making, and creativity.
Heart disease, kidney disease, stroke, diabetes, and high blood pressure are all linked to a lack of regular, restful sleep.
Snoring Is a Marriage Risk
Snoring is connected to physical risks in some cases, as we saw above. It can also genuinely affect marriages.
Chronic snoring limits a partner’s ability to sleep and in many cases leads to separate bedrooms. A lack of intimacy over time – and that can be as innocent as nighttime holding or hugs – reduces the resilience of a relationship.
Add to that evenings without sleep, you can see why snoring causes real problems in marriages.
Can Snoring Be Fixed?
Yes, snoring can be fixed!
There is no guaranteed way, however. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. But we certainly have some ideas for you to try.
Here are our 7 snoring solutions. We hope they work for you.
1. Lose Weight
If your neck is more than 17 inches around you are more likely to snore. Speak to a nutritionist and/or an exercise coach to help you shed some of those extra pounds. Remember to consult your physician before making any dramatic changes to your exercise regimen.
This isn’t a guarantee, by the way. There certainly are thin people that snore!
However, exercise can work by reducing stress – another snore factor, as well as lowering the chance of airway obstruction.
2. Change Your Sleeping Position
Sleeping on your back can trigger snoring for occasional snorers. In regular snorers, it can make their snore-chorus louder and worse.
Sleep on your side, and put some pillows behind you to make it less likely you’ll roll back.
3. Get Cleaning
Wash your pillows, bed sheets and other linen. Vacuum regularly and air-out the house.
Why? If common allergies such as dust, dust mites, pollen or animal fur are causing your airways to swell, this could be the cause of your snoring.
Regular cleans might be enough to avoid more expensive or invasive solutions. Make sure you clean the air filters in your house on a regular basis, too.
4. Cut Back on Alcohol and Other Drugs
Alcohol and drugs such as sedatives can relax your tongue and throat, increasing the chance of snoring. Cut back entirely, or at least drink less within four to five hours of your bedtime.
5. Tongue Retaining Device
This helper looks a bit like a retainer. It keeps your top and bottom teeth in place and uses a sucking mechanism to keep your tongue in a forward position in the mouth.
They might be one you use when traveling and don’t want to carry a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine with you,
6. Mouth Tape
Mouth taping during sleep, or for shorter periods of time, has recently become more popular because it facilitates breathing out of the nose.
This can be a bit uncomfortable initially but can expand nasal airways, thus reducing snoring
Which Snoring Solution Will Work For Me?
You might need to try several snoring solutions before you find one that works for you.
That’s because there are several different physiological causes of snoring. You’ll need to experiment to find which solution works in your particular case. It’s a bit trial and error.
