Part 1
Does your partner ever wake up in the morning looking tired and cranky? If the answer is yes they probably spent the night listening to a strange cacophony of sounds that either kept them awake or woke them up during the night. Snoring would have to be the number one complaint of what will keep a partner awake and disturb their sleep. No one likes to be told that they snore, yet nearly everyone will snore at some stage in their life. Snoring occurs when the air going into your nose and throat during sleep doesn’t move freely and causes the surrounding tissues to vibrate, producing the snoring sound. Sometimes the position of the tongue during sleep can obstruct breathing and cause you to snore. If you would like to stop snoring we must first find the cause. It is important to identify how and why you snore so that solutions to the problem can be found. You will need the assistance of someone who can observe your sleep, whether it is your partner or a family member to monitor you snoring. The following different ways you sleep and snore can reveal why you snore;
- Open-mouth snoring – relates to tissues in your throat
- Closed-mouth snoring – could indicate a problem with your tongue
- Snoring on your back – mild snoring
- Snoring in all sleep positions – severe snoring
Why do we snore?
Being overweight or out of shape, your age, structure of your nasal and air passages, nasal and sinus issues, alcohol, smoking, medications and sleeping posture are all common causes of snoring. There are currently a plethora of devices available to stop snoring. However, most of them don’t work and have no research based evidence to prove their effectiveness. What you can trial are some lifestyle changes and bedtime remedies to help you stop snoring.
Lifestyle changes – proven techniques to cure and eliminate snoring include;
- Losing weight
- Exercise
- Quitting smoking
- Avoiding alcohol, sleeping pills and sedatives
- Establish regular sleeping patterns
Bedroom environment remedies that can stop snoring include;
- Clear nasal passage – nasal strips or a decongestant
- Humidify your bedroom air – dry air can irritate
- Sleep position – elevate your head by using a specially designed pillow can ease breathing and encourage your jaw and tongue to move forward
- Positional sleep – sleep on your side instead of your back
In part 2 we will cover how snoring relates to serious sleep related disorders such as obstructive sleep apnoea and suggest medical assistance to help stop snoring.
