The Top 5 Most Common Solutions to End Snoring

The Best Snoring Solutions For Most Snorers

There are tons of anti-snoring solutions that work in the marketplace today. However, many of these products are tailored to help only a small percentage of the population. There are more general solutions that have helped the larger majority of the snoring population curb their snoring. While many people are searching for the best snoring solutions, here are 5 common approaches, mostly natural approaches, that have helped millions of people.

1.  Stop Sleeping On Your Back

Sleeping on your back is the worst possible position that can lead to snoring.  In this position, the soft palate in the back of your throat may have a tendency to collapse causing the passageway in your throat to become narrower.  When air tries to pass through the narrow passageway vibration can occur in your throat and result in snoring. The solution? Sleeping on your side can keep your throat muscles from collapsing and reduce the amount of snoring.  There are different ways to stay off your back.  Be creative.

Try bolstering up pillows and place them near your back to keep you from rolling over.  Building a “wall” with pillows will help you keep from rolling onto your back.  Another option is to take a backpack and fill it with foam or something soft.  Still another option to make sure you stay on your side is to sew a tennis ball into the back of your shirt.  Every time you roll over onto your back, you’ll be jolted with the unpleasant feeling of the tennis ball and immediately roll back to your side.  These are all common snoring solutions that work.

2.  Lose Those Extra Pounds

One of the best snoring solutions is simply to just lose weight.  There’s so much talk today about obesity and it’s adverse health benefits (all true, by the way).  But extra pounds can contribute to larger necks and consequently more fatty tissue at the back of the throat.  The extra fatty tissue tends to obstruct the airway and consequently puts more pressure on your throat, especially when air is trying to pass through the passageway.

In fact, it can even lead to sleep apnea, a serious health condition.   So, even if you’re not considered obese, but maybe only 5, 10 or 15 pounds overweight, your snoring may be due to the extra lbs.  Your snoring may be the result of a combination of factors, but probably one of the first things a doctor will tell you is to lose weight.

3.  Stop Drinking Alcohol & Stop Smoking

Let’s look at alcohol first.  Here’s the problem.  Alcohol tends to make the muscles in your throat relax.  Once again, this may cause the tissues in your upper airway to collapse.  So even if you don’t normally snore, don’t be surprised if you start after having alcohol.  Some people even think having a few drinks will help them sleep.  But even if you don’t typically snore and then fall asleep after drinking, you may begin to snore.

If you already have a pre-existing sleep condition such as sleep apnea or some other type of sleep disordered breathing, alcohol will just make matters worse.  If you’re going to drink alcohol, the best advice we can give is a) don’t drink too much – or don’t drink at all; 2) don’t drink too close to bed-time; stop at least 4-5 hours before you go to sleep; 3) avoid nightcaps; a drink before bedtime may help you fall asleep faster, but you will wake up at night and the quality of your sleep will be reduced.

If you don’t know by now that smoking is unhealthy then you’ve been living in a cave.  But, did you know that studies have shown that smoking contributes to snoring.  One of the best snoring solutionsis to simply stop smoking.  Smoke irritates and inflames your upper airway, particularly your nasal passage and throat.  Smoking increases airway congestion which can lead to throat vibration and snoring.

As the mucous membranes in your airways become irritated and inflamed, airflow is obstructed which can lead to vibration issues that cause snoring surrounding the uvula and soft palate at the rear of your throat.  Studies have also shown that smokers sleep less.  Since nicotine is addictive, smokers may wake more during the night with cravings for nicotine.  So even if smokers don’t actually smoke when they wake up (although many do), their sleep pattern has been disrupted and it can take longer to fall back to sleep again.  One way to help end snoring is to stop smoking.  You’ll reduce other health risks too.

4.  Open Up Your Nasal Passage

While there are many causes for snoring, sometimes the problem may be right in front of your eyes – your nose.  Other snoring solutions that work include making sure your nasal passages remain open and clear.  If snoring starts in your nose, you can try a number of solutions.

a. Take a hot shower or a warm bath.

The hot moist air will help to drain the mucous from your sinuses and reduce the possibility of snoring by helping to open your passageways.  Nasal sprays and nasal strips are intended to do the same thing – open your nasal passage.  So you might try Breathe Right products, for example.

b. Different saline solutions or nasal sprays can help open your nasal passages.

You can buy these at the store or you can also create your own solution.  A simple saline home solution can be made with 1 cup of water, 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of sea salt.  Mix them and keep them in a spray bottle with a dropper.  It can help reduce nasal congestions and other issues associated with a stuffy nose.  It can help to moisten nasal passages and remove blockage which will help open the passageway and make it easier to breathe through your nose.

c. Eat onions.

Eating onions is a good way to reduce nasal congestion.  Onions act as a natural anti-inflammatory so if you’re nasal passages are congested, onions might be just what the doctor ordered (onions are also a good source of antioxidants).  We’ve even seem some folks say that just chopping an onion in half and putting it on your night stand will help to do the trick.  We’re not really sure we’d suggest this as it may create some interesting odors in your bedroom.  Other food items that will help to clear the nasal passages include horseradish and wasabi.

5.  Stop Eating 2-3 Hours Before Bed

There are a variety of reasons as to why this will lead to better sleep, but here’s one reason.  Any lingering stomach juices can regurgitate up into your throat.  This can cause swelling and inflammation which can lead to airflow obstruction as the passageway starts to shrink making it harder for air to pass through.  Again, this can result in the vibration at the back of the throat that causes snoring.  Here’s another tip to end snoring.  Stay away from dairy products.  Dairy products will increase the mucous in your nasal passage and as a result block the airway.  This can restrict airflow and has the potential to create snoring.

Still Snoring? Find A Sleep Center

These are just a few snoring solutions that may work for you.  There are lots of others and some of them are just plain common sense – such as try to keep a steady sleep routine and go to bed at the same time every night; don’t use mobile devices, laptops or watch TV before going to bed – they act as stimulants; try to keep a comfortable room temperature; keep the dust out of the room; do something relaxing such as reading before bed; and the list goes on and on.

While these are some of the best snoring solutions, you may have a more serious problem and should not hesitate to visit a sleep center or other medical professional to seek help.  Your health may be at greater risk than you think.