7 Effective Ways How To Beat Snoring And Sleep Comfortably

Overview

Snoring is the noise heard when the airflow is obstructed while sleeping.

Here is the good news, you can beat snoring and sleep better.

If you regularly snore at night, it can result in a disruption of the quality of your sleep and can make you lose an average of one and a half hour of sleep every night.

There are different types of snorers and hence different ways to beat their snore. Since people have a different cause for their snore, it is of utmost importance to understand the causes behind yours. Common causes include age, being overweight, alcohol, medications, smoking, sleeping posture, nasal, and sinus problems.

Today’s article on Effective Remedies will introduce to you some effective ways on how to beat snoring and sleep comfortably at night. However, let’s have a look at some different types of snorers first.

7 Effective Ways How To Beat Snoring And Sleep Comfortably

I. Types Of Snorers

Let us first discuss the types of snorers with different tips for each.

1. Mouth-breathers: They breathe with their mouths while sleeping. Most mouth breathers breathe through their mouths even during the day.

To reduce snoring in the mouth breathers, a simple mouth shield can be worn inside the mouth. This anti-snoring device will keep the mouth closed while you sleep. However, there are mouth sprays that can help, they stiffen up the soft palate, that is, the fleshy roof of the mouth.

2. Tongue-based snorers:

Snoring in these people occur when the tongue restricts the air flow when it sits too far back in the mouth during sleep.

To know if you are a tongue-based snorer, breathe through your nose with your mouth closed. Then try to snore, if you can then stick your tongue slightly forward and use your lips to seal your tongue. Try to snore again, if you cannot snore now, then most likely you are a tongue-based snorer.

There are plastic gum shields also called mandibular advancement devices which brings your lower jaw and tongue forward while asleep. It prevents snoring by opening up airways.

3. Nasal snorers: These snorers have small and weak nostrils. Most of the times, nasal snorer breath through their mouth while asleep. To know if you are a nasal snorer, hold one nostril closed in front of a mirror then breathe in. If you see your other nostril closing as you breathe in, then you are a nasal snorer.

There are nasal dilators, strips, and sprays which can help prevent snoring in the nasal snorers. Nasal dilators help to open up the nasal passage. They are small plastic hollow plugs that are put into the nostril. Nasal strips are similar to plasters that are stuck on the nose. They also open up the nasal ways. Sprays tighten the nasal lining to allow air to pass through the nostrils easily.

II. How To Beat Snoring Naturally

Here are some general tips to help you beat snoring and sleep better

• Adjust Your Sleeping Position

Most of the times, some sleeping positions favor snoring. Avoid sleeping on your back as this often makes your tongue falls back and cause airways blockage resulting in increased airway resistance.

You can use pillows as a support to maintain the side sleeping position. There are anti-snore pillows available to keep your head up to about three inches. It is higher than a normal pillow to ensure that your airways do not collapse while you lie flat. Its limitation is just that it is only effective as long as you don't roll off them. You can also try sleeping on a good and comfortable mattress, as this will help you maintain a good sleeping position.

• Humidify Your Bedroom

Having nasal congestion or reactions to allergies can cause snoring. Hence, try to get your bedroom to humidify.  Sleep in a well-ventilated with a humidifier.

• Quit Smoking

With smoking having a lot of side effect, thus it is not surprising smoking enhance snoring as well. Cigarette smoking causes irritation and inflammation of your nose and throat lining. This causes more difficulty in breathing most especially at night.

• Inhale Steam

Inhaling steam works just that it is a bit cumbersome as you will need like 10 minutes every night inhaling steam with your head over a bowl of hot water. You may add peppermint oils to the hot water

• Lose Some Weight

Most obese and overweight people are caught snoring as they have some fatty tissue and poor muscle tone that contributes to snoring. Try to lose excess weight if you are obese as you can really sleep better when you are moderately weighed.  Involve yourself in weight loss exercises which can reduce fatty tissue in the back of the throat. Losing weight and exercising can sometimes be all it takes to put an end to your snoring.

• Watch Your Meal

Some diets cause inflammation of the throat thus causing accumulation of mucus in the throat. Caffeine, heavy meals and dairy two hours before bed should be avoided. Also, milk and dairy products can cause an increase in mucus production.

• Medical Intervention

However, the above tips might not work for some persons and they may need to consult their physician or otolaryngologist. They may recommend the use of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), Laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP), palatal implant, or undergo some surgery like somnoplasty Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP), tonsillectomy, Thermal Ablation Palatoplasty (TAP), and adenoidectomy

CPAP is a machine which helps in keeping your airway open while asleep. It has a mask you wear over your face through which it blows pressurized air into your nose.

LAUP makes use of a laser to shorten the uvula and also to make small cuts in either side of the soft palate. When the surgery cuts heal, the surrounding tissues will stiff up and thus prevent the snoring vibrations that enhance snoring.

Palatal implants require the insertion of a small plastic implant into the soft palate. This will help in preventing a collapse of the soft palate that can cause your snoring.

Somnoplasty is performed under local anesthesia. It uses low levels of radiofrequency heat to remove the uvula and soft palate that is causing the snoring. The surgical procedure may take about 30 to 40 minutes.

Above are some useful tips on how to beat snoring naturally and sleep better. All content provided is for informational and educational purposes. We recommend you consult a healthcare professional to determine which method is appropriate for you. For other ways to deal with beauty and health issues, you can visit our How To page to learn more.

Author bio:

I am Dr. Omiete Charles-Davies, I graduated as a medical doctor from the University of Lagos with a degree in medicine and surgery (MBBS) in 2012. I am also registered and licensed with the medical council in my country. I have worked in private and government hospitals for years and observed a major problem- health education. People barely know much about their bodies and how they work. So, I started 25 Doctors, a brand that shares health information.