When it comes to snoring, most of the time the people that are suffering are not the ones who are doing the snoring, it is the people that are sleeping next to them or even in another room depending on how loud the snoring is. For someone who suffers from obstructive sleep apnea, serious medical intervention will be required. However, for simple snoring, there are several surprising ways to help you quit snoring once and for all. Here are some easy things that you can do to help you stop snoring.
Sleep on Your Side
Most people who snore will do so more when they are lying on their backs than when they are lying on their sides or on their stomachs. If you find that you often sleep on your back, there are a couple of things that you can do to help you start sleeping on your side. One trick to help you stay on your side during sleep is to sew a pocket or safety pin a sack onto the back of your sleep shirt. Place a tennis ball in the pocket. When you roll onto your back during sleep it will be uncomfortable, making you turn back onto your side. You can also put tennis balls inside a pillow case and wedge it behind your back to keep you from turning over.
Change your Pillows
Many people do not realize how many dust mites and allergens can build up on their pillows over time. Even if you use a pillow case, the dust mites can still become entrapped on your pillows. These allergens and dust mites may be the cause of your snoring. If you find that you are stuffed up at night, but not during the day, try putting your pillows in the dryer on the air fluff cycle at least once a week. You should replace your pillows about once every six months.
Lifestyle Changes
There are several lifestyle changes that you can make in order to stop snoring. First, losing weight can help most people. However, even skinny people snore, so this may not be the issue. However, dieting and losing extra weight can be beneficial for a lot of reasons and is something to consider when you are trying to stop snoring.
Sedatives and alcohol can reduce the tone of the muscles around the back of the throat, which makes it more likely that you will snore. Drinking alcohol before you go to sleep can make your snoring worse. Even people who do not typically snore will snore when they sleep after drinking alcohol.
Throat Exercises
Throat exercises can be a great way to help you stop snoring. Curling the tongue in different ways and producing certain vowel sounds can help you strengthen the muscles located in the upper respiratory tract and help to stop snoring. Some of the throat exercises that you may want to try include:
- Take the tip of your tongue and place it behind your front teeth and then slide it back. Do this for a few minutes each day.
- Repeat all the vowel sounds for a few minutes each day.
- Open your mouth and move your jaw to the right and hold and then repeat on the left side. Do this several times each day.
Taking singing lessons or learning to play the native Australian instrument called the didgeridoo can help strengthen the muscles in your throat and soft palate, which can help reduce snoring.
Flight Socks
Perhaps one of the more surprising ways to help you reduce snoring is to wear flight socks. These socks were designed to help prevent fluid buildup and blood clots during the lower legs when you are traveling. Research done by the University of Toronto has shown that wearing these socks during sleep can help reduce snoring as well. The reason is that because some of the fluid that has built up in your legs during the day can travel up to the neck at night, which can cause the muscles to tighten, causing you to snore.
Tape Your Mouth Shut
Taping your mouth shut may sound a bit extreme, but it can be helpful to prevent snoring. After all, if you cannot open your mouth you will not be able to snore. There are devices that you can wear to help you breathe through your nose during the night, but you can also simply use regular tape in order to keep your mouth shut at night.
If you still continue to snore, your condition may be more severe and there are medical devices that can be used to help you with your snoring problem. For severe snorers, having a sleep test conducted by a doctor is recommended as your snoring may be the result of an underlying condition.
Sources:
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/sleep/how-to-stop-snoring.htm
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/tips-on-snoring
