11 Ways to Prevent Snoring!

Snoring is a widespread problem that can range from merely annoying to quite dangerous to peoples health. The snorer can be at risk as the snoring interferes with the oxygen flow to the brain and often causes them to wake many times during the night disturbing their rest and making them less functional during the day. The other people in the household often suffer more as they cannot sleep with noises that can reach extremely high decibel levels; this also affects their daytime performance as lack of sleep kicks in.

Missing sleep is a major health risk and has been linked to problems with weight, mood swings, depression and heart disease. While people who do not have problems with snoring may think it is a minor condition those who suffer it know better.

So how does one stop snoring? There are many home remedies and old wives tales related to snoring and many of them are quite right. Most of them are band-aid solutions however and while they might reduce the severeness of snoring they may not eliminate it completely.

Here is a sample collection of tips and advice to help you get a good night sleep.

1. Raise the head of the bed. Use some old wooden boards or bricks or a phone book perhaps.

2. Stop sleeping on your back and start sleeping on your side. It is hard to stay in that position sometimes but hugging a pillow and putting another one behind your back to prevent you rolling back over. Again this is to stop your airway’s being blocked.

3. Do not eat a large meal or drink alcohol within about 3 hours of going to bed. Both cause your throat muscles to relax somewhat again adding to the air passage blockage.

4. If you have nasal congestion try taking a decongestant or antihistamine before you go to bed. Obviously this is just a temporary measure and any medication taken should be taken with caution and the right dosage.

5. Get some nasal strips from a pharmacy. They tape onto your nose and open up the nasal passage allowing more free flow of air. Not very stylish but hey … who is watching!

6. Get a few extra pillows and prop yourself up in bed. Laying flat on your back causes a lot of snoring problems as your air passages get obstructed. Propping yourself up will open up the airway allowing free flow of air. This is a bit like the first point but is a bit less permamnent as you can roll off your pillows

7. You can shrink the lining of your nose and throat by gargling with peppermint mouthwash. This is very useful especially if your snoring is caused by allergies which inflame the lining.

8. If you are a smoker this may be your chance to quit, smoking can irritate and swell the throat narrowing the air passage; smokers also have problems with nasal congestion.

9. On the subject of allergies, you may need to change your bed sheets often and vacuum your floor and curtains more often too. This can remove many allergens in the air which aggravate snoring.

10. Try drinking nettle tea. Herbalists recommend it for soothing the inflammation caused by pollen allergies. To make the tea:

- Pour a cup of boiling water over 1 tablespoon of dried leaf.

- Cover the tea and let it steep for 5 minutes.

- Strain and drink.

- Drink up to 3 cups a day, 1 cup just before your bedtime.

11. Lose Weight! Weight loss can reduce your snoring by easing any constriction of the upper airway. In fact losing weight has been proven to solve many cases of severe snoring!

Some of this advice is well known and others are good healthy living anyway!

Eating and living right also help your sleep patterns and will help you and others sleep better in the long run. If these ideas still do not stop your snoring there are more drastic measures such as surgery which can be a hit and miss affair and like all surgery can be dangerous no matter how small the procedure.

The condition sleep apnea can also be a cause of snoring and is a serious health risk as well.

Good luck and I hope you have a good nights sleep!