How to Stop Snoring

The night begins with a quiet noise that sounds like a puff or grunt. The noise grows louder. Your partner nudges you, maybe even wakes you up. “You’re snoring again,” they say. The situation makes you laugh but you feel irritated by it underneath. Snoring takes place during sleep because airflow through your nose and throat becomes blocked. When the soft tissues inside your throat create vibrations they produce a loud sound. Sleeping people often produce snoring sounds which can interfere with restful sleep for themselves and their bed partners. Many people can stop snoring through simple solutions. The four measures including sleeping on your side alongside nasal clearance and weight loss and avoiding alcohol before sleeping help reduce snoring. A slight increase in pillow height could produce an improvement. Loud and persistent snoring requires medical evaluation. Snoring serves as more than an annoying sound because it signifies your body needs medical assistance to improve nighttime breathing. (WebMD).

Why Do People Snore?

When you sleep your body creates snoring sounds because air cannot travel easily through your nose and mouth passages. The airway becomes obstructed which triggers your throat tissues to produce vibrations. The vibrations produce the loud snoring noise which people commonly experience. Many individuals experience snoring which stems from various health-related conditions and sleeping positions (Healthline).

1: Blocked or Narrowed Airways

The condition where people possess reduced airway space leads to breathing difficulties. The breathing difficulty occurs because of nasal structural problems such as a deviated septum or nasal polyps and sleep apnoea which interrupts breathing during sleep. Large tongues together with short jaws and big tonsils create blockages that reduce airflow. Your airway will close up when you sleep flat on your back which produces snoring sounds. (MedicineNet).

2: Nasal Congestion

During a cold or allergy-induced nose blockage your body shifts to mouth breathing when you sleep. This can lead to snoring. Many people snore more during allergy season or when they have a stuffy nose. Keeping the nose clear with medicine or nasal sprays can sometimes help reduce snoring caused by congestion (Sleep Foundation).

3: Being Overweight or Obese

People who carry excessive weight or obesity develop additional fat deposits in their neck region. The accumulated fat in the throat area creates pressure which reduces airway dimensions. As a result, air can’t move smoothly, and snoring begins. People who are obese are also more likely to have sleep apnoea, which makes snoring worse and more dangerous (Cleveland Clinic).

4: Relaxed Muscles During Sleep

When we sleep, our muscles naturally relax. This includes the muscles in the throat. If they relax too much, they make the airway smaller. During REM sleep which is a deep sleep phase snoring occurs most often particularly in early morning hours. The consumption of sleeping pills together with alcohol and antihistamines causes muscle relaxation which increases snoring production.(Health).

5: Swollen Tissues in the Throat

The mouth and throat tissues sometimes experience swelling. Your mouth contains the uvula which is a small hanging tissue that dangles from the back of your throat and the roof of your mouth also swells. The swelling of these tissues creates a blockage that prevents airflow. Pregnancy is one reason why tissues swell and why some women snore more during this time

Ways to Stop Snoring

Once you know the cause of your snoring, you’ll find several at-home lifestyle changes and medical treatments that can get you to stop snoring immediately and over time. These treatments include (Sleep Foundation):

1: Stop Smoking

The best health-related thing you can do is quit smoking. Your blood pressure will drop and your energy will rise when you stop smoking and this will also reduce your snoring. How? It improves your nasal congestion, which has a ripple effect on your snoring.

2: Reduce or Eliminate Alcohol

Avoid drinking alcohol during the hours before bedtime because it can cause your airway muscles to relax. When it comes to sleep quality alcohol should be avoided completely because it interferes with sleep in various ways even though you want to improve sleep quality.

3: Use Nasal Strips or Dilators

If you wear adhesive nasal strips on the bridge of your nose, you can lift your nostrils open to improve airflow. Another option is nasal dilators, which you insert into your nostrils to expand the nasal opening and stop snoring. Both strips and dilators are inexpensive and easy to find at the drugstore

4: Maintain a Healthy Weight

During sleep your neck fat tissue creates pressure against your throat which blocks airways when your throat muscles become relaxed. Losing weight through nutritional improvements along with regular exercise and guidance from a weight management professional will relieve the pressure leading to reduced snoring. 

5: Try an Oral Appliance

These dental devices function like mouthguards to push your lower jaw forward during sleep. The position maintains open airways which stops you from producing snoring sounds. People choose oral appliances instead of CPAP machines but Dr. Reisman recommends patients receive custom fittings from dentists or oral surgeons. The doctor warns that improper appliance fitting will cause jaw strain while exchanging one problem for another. (Health.com).

6: Avoid Sedatives

Melatonin and other sleep medicines can create negative effects when taken in excessive amounts. Excessive relaxation of your throat muscles and nasal passages can lead to increased snoring occurrences. If you depend on these medicines for sleep and your rest quality remains unchanged you need to see a healthcare professional to determine if insomnia or another sleep disorder exists.

7: Treat Your Allergies

Your allergies will cause you to breathe through your mouth during sleep which leads to increased snoring frequency. An allergist or primary care provider can help you find the right over-the-counter or prescription medications that might help you improve your ability to breathe, while also reducing the likelihood of snoring.

8: Consider Surgery

Surgery can be used to correct all kinds of structural issues, like a deviated septum, and shrink or remove the soft tissues in your throat and nasal passages. If your tonsils or adenoids are disrupting your ability to breathe because they’re enlarged, for example, they can be removed

9: Use a CPAP Machine

Your healthcare provider will determine if you need to use a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine for sleep apnoea treatment that will stop your snoring while improving your breathing during sleep.You wear a mask over your nose or mouth so pressurised air keeps your airways open while you sleep. “It can take a little time to get used to it, but it solves the snoring and sleep apnoea problem immediately,” notes Dr. Reisman (Healthline).

10: Relieve Stuffiness

People who experience chronic nasal congestion should use antihistamines or steroid nasal sprays together with lifestyle modifications and other treatment methods to achieve better breathing and eliminate snoring.(Sleep Foundation).

11: Change Your Sleeping Position

You should elevate your bed’s headrest or choose sleeping positions that avoid lying flat on your back. Doing so can help keep your airways open and keep your tongue from blocking the back of your throat so you don’t snore.

12: Consider Hypoglossal Nerve Stimulation

This surgical implant (Inspire®) is an alternative treatment for anyone who has difficulty with the CPAP approach. “The concept here is that the hypoglossal nerve, which controls the muscles of the tongue, is stimulated while sleeping to protrude the tongue, causing less airway obstruction and decreasing or suppressing the apnoea,” he explains (Sleep Foundation).

When to Talk to Your Doctor

Snoring occasionally emerges as a more significant health indication beyond typical annoyance. Snorers who experience gasping or choking at night along with excessive daytime tiredness and morning headaches and lack of morning freshness might have obstructive sleep apnea. A doctor needs to assess your condition before they can provide proper treatment recommendations. The treatment approach depends on your doctor’s assessment but surgical intervention may become necessary for some patients. (Cleveland Clinic).