What is snoring? Snoring happens when you can't move air freely through your nose and throat during sleep. This makes the surroundi...
What is snoring?
Snoring happens when you can't move air freely through your nose and throat during sleep. This makes the surrounding tissues vibrate, which produces the familiar snoring sound. People who snore often have too much throat and nasal tissue or “floppy” tissue that is more prone to vibrate. The position of your tongue can also get in the way of smooth breathing.
To stop snoring, it’s necessary to first identify exactly how and why you’re snoring. The good news is that no matter the cause, there are solutions to relieve your snoring and help you and your loved one deal with complaints, resentments, and other relationship issues caused by your snoring.
Is it just snoring or sleep apnea?
Snoring could indicate sleep apnea, a potentially life-threatening condition that requires medical attention. Sleep apnea is a breathing obstruction, causing the sleeper to keep waking up to begin breathing again. Normal snoring doesn’t interfere with the quality of your sleep as much as sleep apnea, so if you’re suffering from extreme fatigue and sleepiness during the day, your problem may be more than just snoring.
The causes of snoring: Identify the cause to find the cure
People snore for different reasons. When you get to the bottom of why you snore, then you can find the right solutions to a quieter, deeper sleep. Enlist your non-snoring sleep partner to help you keep a sleep diary to monitor your snoring. Observing patterns in your snoring can often help pinpoint the reasons why you snore, what makes it worse, and how to go about stopping your snoring. Enlisting your sleep partner to help in this way can also help demonstrate how serious you are about tackling your snoring problem and the value you place on the relationship.
Common causes of snoring
Being overweight or out of shape. Fatty tissue and poor muscle tone contribute to snoring. Even if you’re not overweight in general, carrying excess weight just around your neck or throat can cause snoring. Exercising and losing weight can sometimes be all it takes to end your snoring.
Age. As you reach middle age and beyond, your throat becomes narrower, and the muscle tone in your throat decreases. While you can do anything about growing older, lifestyle changes, new bedtime routines, and throat exercises can all help to prevent snoring.
The way you’re built. Men have narrower air passages than women and are more likely to snore. A narrow throat, a cleft palate, enlarged adenoids, and other physical attributes that contribute to snoring are often hereditary. Again, while you have no control over your build or gender, you can control your snoring with the right lifestyle changes, bedtime routines, and throat exercises.
Nasal and sinus problems. Blocked airways or a stuffy nose make inhalation difficult and create a vacuum in the throat, leading to snoring.
Alcohol, smoking, and medications. Alcohol intake, smoking, and certain medications, such as tranquilizers like lorazepam (Ativan) and diazepam (Valium), can increase muscle relaxation leading to more snoring.
Sleep posture. Sleeping flat on your back causes the flesh of your throat to relax and block the airway. Changing your sleep position can help.
How you snore reveals why you snore
It’s important to note the different ways you sleep and snore.
Closed-mouth snoring may indicate a problem with your tongue.
Open-mouth snoring may be related to the tissues in your throat.
Snoring when sleeping on your back is probably mild snoring—improved sleep habits and lifestyle changes may be effective cures.
Snoring in all sleep positions can mean your snoring is more severe and may require a more comprehensive treatment.
Self-help cures to stop snoring
There are so many bizarre anti-snoring devices available on the market today, with more being added all the time, that finding the right solution for your snoring can seem like a daunting task. Unfortunately, many of these devices are not backed up by research, or they work by simply keeping you awake at night. There are, however, plenty of proven techniques that can help eliminate snoring. Not every remedy is right for every person, though, so it may require some patience, some lifestyle changes, and a willingness to experiment with different solutions.
Lifestyle changes to stop snoring
Lose weight. If you’re overweight, dropping even a few pounds can reduce fatty tissue in the back of the throat and decrease or even stop snoring.
Exercise can also help to stop snoring. As well aiding weight loss, exercising your arms, legs, and abs, for example, also leads to toning the muscles in your throat, which in turn can lead to less snoring. There are also specific exercises you can do to strengthen the muscles in your throat (see below).
Quit smoking. Quitting is easier said than done, but smoking irritates the membranes in the nose and throat which can block the airways and cause snoring. Get help with quitting here.
Avoid alcohol, sleeping pills, and sedatives because they relax the muscles in the throat and interfere with breathing. Talk to your doctor about any prescription medications you’re taking, as some encourage a deeper level of sleep which can make snoring worse.
Establish regular sleep patterns. Create a healthy bedtime ritual with your partner and stick to it. Hitting the sack in a routine way together can help you sleep better and often minimize snoring.
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