As annoying as it can be, almost everyone snores. Some of us snore from time to time or after a night out or when we are sick.
However, for those of us who snoring is already part of their nighttime routine, it can be a sign of something more serious.
Snoring is a confusing symptom of sleep disorders like sleep apnea, and it can occur in people with heart disease, diabetes, being overweight, and other conditions.
Snoring is not only bad for your health, but it is also a problem for couples, as keeping your partner awake can be bad for your health as well.
Not only that, but many couples also have relationship problems due to snoring.
What can you do to stop snoring? The first step is to understand the cause of your snoring. Then treat them through a variety of techniques and lifestyle changes.
In this article you will learn more about snoring and how to avoid it.
What are snoring?
Snoring is a kind of snort or grunt in a person’s breathing while sleeping. This snorting is due to the soft tissue in the airways vibrating when air passes over it, which causes annoying snoring.
When the air passes through the soft palate, the base of the tongue , the tonsils or the uvula, that is when snoring occurs. However, air passes over this tissue all the time, so why do you snore during sleep?
Note: While you sleep, your muscles relax. This causes the tissue to become even more loose, making it more susceptible to vibrations, which are the source of noise.
In this way, relaxed muscles naturally reduce the size of the airways. This means that air passes through the airways more quickly. This also increases the vibrations, causing you to snore.
Points to note: Often a common cold or flu can make snoring worse by further restricting the airway. Also, snoring often worsens with age, as more tissue develops and muscles weaken.
home remedies to stop snoring
In addition to being a nuisance to your family or partner, snoring also affects your sleep. Snoring reduces the quality of your sleep as it could lead to sleep apnea or lead to chronic sleep deprivation.
Have you ever woken up in the morning tired, in a bad mood and not well rested? Snoring may be the cause. The good news is that there are natural and practical remedies to prevent snoring that can help you.
Below you will see some home remedies to stop snoring once and for all.
Eliminate dairy foods at dinner
Examine your diet and reduce inflammatory foods such as dairy products are known to cause the tissues in the nose and throat to swell.
Note: You don’t have to completely cut out dairy, but reducing the amount you consume can help a lot. Simply reducing intake can mark the changes.
dine lightly
Avoid eating too much, since going to sleep after a big dinner can cause snoring.
Also, experts recommend avoiding eating too much sugar as it can lead to snoring, especially because sugar-filled foods become acidic and cause an overproduction of mucus.
Strengthen the tongue with exercises
While snoring isn’t a cause for concern, when it does occur you can’t breathe well through your nose during sleep. People who snore have too much flaccid nasal and throat tissue.
The position of the tongue can also interfere with breathing, so changing the position of the tongue can help strengthen this area.
Tip: An exercise that you can do is to forcefully support the tongue on the palate, pressing lightly for a minute.
Reduce consumption of alcohol and sedatives
Consuming too much alcohol before bed will increase snoring because alcohol interferes with your breathing while you sleep.
Note: It is advisable to avoid alcohol, sleeping pills and sedatives because they relax the muscles in the throat and interfere with breathing.
Also talk to your doctor about any prescription medications you’re taking, as some encourage a deeper level of sleep that can make snoring worse.
Avoid smoking
It is important to reduce or eliminate cigarette smoking, especially before bed, as this can be the cause of snoring.
To highlight: Regular smokers tend to snore as smoking irritates the tissues in the throat and causes inflammation, which results in snoring.
Quitting smoking can significantly reduce your chances of snoring. While it is easier said than done, quitting smoking may be the best solution.
Avoid being overweight
Being overweight can increase the amount of soft tissue around the throat. It can also increase the weight on your throat during sleep, making it narrower, thus increasing your chances of snoring.
Note: Someone who is overweight generally has a larger neck, so they are naturally more likely to snore louder and more frequently than someone who is not overweight.
Here a couple of factors come into play: Weight and biology. In general, men have narrower airways than women and are therefore more prone to snoring.
try to sleep on your side
Changing your sleeping position may be the answer. Elevating the head four inches can make breathing easier and stimulate the tongue and jaw so there is room for air to pass without making noise.
Using a cervical collar
A cervical collar or special pillow can help you sleep on your back, which effectively reduces snoring.
Note: Wedge pillows or bolsters prevent lying completely flat on the bed in a position where the airway is more prone to obstruction and snoring.
Take an infusion of mint and nettle
Mint and nettle tea is an old recipe for snoring. This can be helpful in curing snoring as peppermint contains menthol which reduces the mucus in the lungs.
In addition , both mint and nettle help reduce inflammation of the respiratory tract. If nasal congestion is the cause of your snoring, try an infusion before going to bed to clear nasal congestion.
Rub baking soda with salt in the nostrils
Clearing the sinuses can have a big impact on night breathing. It is estimated that 30% of people suffer from nasal congestion throughout the year.
Tip: You can make your own nasal cleanser with a mixture of baking soda and water. Simply mix a teaspoon of baking soda with a teaspoon of water and apply it to the sinuses. Massage to loosen mucus and clean with a tissue, rinse with lukewarm water before going to sleep.
Place an onion next to the bed
Not only eating onions, which fight infection-causing bacteria to keep the airway clear of congestion, is good for preventing snoring. Its smell is also beneficial.
Have you noticed how you cry and runny nose when chopping onions , for example? This is because onions produce an irritating chemical that stimulates secretions. Believe it or not, this can help unclog your nasal passages, allowing you to breathe easier.
Doing physical activity
In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine , it was concluded that exercise can reduce snoring (1) .
The research was conducted by Douglas Bradley, director of the Sleep Institute Research Laboratory in Toronto, where researchers found that exercise reduces fluids that accumulate outside the vascular space in the body.
Point of note: When a person lies down, fluids can collect further up the neck, near the throat, which can cause airway collapse. Therefore, the area behind the tongue and palate is collapsed.
Exercising more may help reduce sleep apnea, as a 10% loss of body weight can lead to a 50% reduction in the degree of sleep apnea.
In addition, it should be noted that exercising helps us oxygenate and breathe better, which translates into less chance of snoring.
Key takeaways
- Although it is hard to believe, almost everyone snores. Some of us snore from time to time or after a night out or when we are sick. But, there are those who have snoring as part of their nightly routine.
- Snoring is a kind of puffing in a person’s breathing while sleeping. This is because the soft tissue in the airways vibrates when air passes over it.
- Snoring occurs during sleep because while you sleep, your muscles relax, causing the soft tissue to become even more slack, making it more susceptible to vibrations as air passes through.
- Fortunately, there are some techniques or activities that can help you avoid snoring at night, including: physical activity, avoiding dairy products for dinner, using a cervical collar, sleeping on your side, reducing the consumption of alcohol and/or sedatives, avoid smoking, avoid being overweight, etc.
- There are also other methods such as drinking mint and nettle tea, since both help reduce inflammation of the respiratory tract. On the other hand, you can eat onion and leave it next to your bed, since it produces an irritating chemical that stimulates secretions, which can help unclog the nasal passages, allowing you to breathe better.
