Imagine you are traveling, and the person beside you is snoring too loud. How annoying is it? And imagine how embarrassed that person feels if you wake him up for the disturbance.
Do you want to learn how to stop snoring? It is not just you; over 50% of people who use the internet look for remedies to stop snoring.
According to the American Medical Association, approximately 45% of adults snore occasionally, and 25% snore regularly. Additionally, many people are unaware of their snoring habits. Men have a higher prevalence of snoring compared to women, with a higher prevalence among postmenopausal women.
Hence, it’s crucial for adults to understand what snoring is, its causes, and how to prevent snoring effectively.
What Is Snoring?
The most common cause of snoring is an obstruction in the airway of our upper respiratory tract while we sleep, which narrows the airflow and causes the soft tissues of the throat, tongue, or palate to vibrate.
How Bad Is It?
It’s harmless until it is not associated with any underlying conditions or causes sleep disturbances for you and your partner.
Let’s understand how snoring happens exactly.
Causes of Snoring
Cause 1: Airflow and Tissue Vibration
- When sleeping, the muscle tissue in the throat relaxes, which narrows the respiratory tract and causes the turbulent and rapid flow of air through the throat.
- Soft tissue, including the tonsils, tongue base, and soft palate, vibrates as air moves through this constricted opening. This creates the sound of snoring.
Cause 2: Role of Sleep Position
- A gravity pull causes the tongue to fall back towards the throat, narrowing the airway and further increasing the blockage.
Cause 3: Anatomical Factors
- Nasal cavity anatomy plays an important role in snoring. Congestion in the nose and deviation of the septum resist airflow from the nose, causing air to pass through the throat and mouth, increasing the risk of snoring.
- Other factors like enlarged tonsils and tongue further obstruct the airway, contributing to snoring.
Cause 4: Lifestyle Factors
- Obesity causes the deposition of fat tissues around the neck, which can press on the airway and worsen snoring.
- Alcohol and the use of sedative drugs relax the throat muscles, causing a stretch in the tissues more likely to cause snoring.
Types of Snoring:
To learn how to stop snoring, one must be aware of the different types of snoring.
Primary Snoring:
Also known as simple or benign snoring, it is usually not associated with any underlying medical conditions. It doesn’t have a significant risk, as it is not associated with any restriction on air passage.
Types of Primary Snoring:
- Nasal snoring:
Causes: Temporary obstruction to the nasal cavities due to allergies, cold, or nasal congestion due to chronic cases like a deviated septum.
Symptoms: No sleep quality disturbances but have a rumbling or whistling noise.
- Mouth snoring:
Causes: Breathing through the mouth may be due to nasal congestion, or habitual mouth breathing causes mouth snoring. In situations where the palate is anatomically narrowed, it worsens.
Symptoms: Low rumbling noise without sleep disruptions. The symptoms are often accompanied by a dry mouth or sore throat in the mornings.
- Tongue snoring:
Causes: This is due to mild relaxation of the tongue muscles and falling back (e.g., after alcohol consumption). Secondary snoring occurs when the tongue completely obstructs, leading to obstructive sleep apnea.
Symptoms: High-pitched, inconsistent snoring sound without disrupting the sleep quality.
Secondary Snoring:
Snoring is usually associated with underlying medical conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS), and other sleep-disordered breathing issues.
Types of Secondary Snoring:
- Throat snoring:
Causes: Often associated with sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea, where the airway collapses during sleep, pausing air passage.
Symptoms: Loud, irregular snoring is often associated with choking or gasping for air during sleep and is also associated with headaches in the morning.
- Tongue-based Snoring (Severe Cases):
Causes: Obesity, use of sedatives, and alcohol consumption cause excessive relaxation of the tongue, obstructing the airway.
Symptoms: A very high-pitched snoring sound and difficulty breathing during sleep.
- Non-Apneic Snoring with Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (UARS):
Causes: Increased air resistance to the upper airway with significant disturbance in sleep.
Symptoms: daytime fatigue, frequent awakening due to effort for respirations.
Remedies to Stop Snoring:
Knowing the possible causes of snoring allows one to use effective snoring remedies.
Weight Management:
Obese people have fat tissue surrounding the neck, causing narrowing of the airway and leading to snoring. Even losing a small amount of weight can significantly reduce these problems.
Sleeping Position:
Sleeping on the back can cause gravitational pull of the tongue, causing it to fall back into the throat and narrowing the airway. To avoid this, sleeping on your side is the best position.
Avoiding Alcohol and Sedatives:
Avoid consuming alcohol at least two hours before bedtime. Sedatives should be used under the guidance of a medical practitioner.
Quit Smoking:
Inflammation due to smoking causes nasal congestion and irritation of the airway tract, worsening the snoring further.
Stay Hydrated:
Dehydration causes dryness of the nasal secretions, making it stickier and potentially increasing snoring.
Elevating the Head:
Raising the head to about 4 inches while sleeping can help keep the airway open, thus reducing the snoring. Consider using the right pillow.
Exercises to prevent snoring:
Effective ways to prevent snoring are strengthening the throat muscles and improving the airway. Below are a few exercises to help you stop snoring effectively.
Tongue Exercises to Stop Snoring:
1. Tongue sliding: Pressing the tongue against the roof and rolling it backwards. Repeat 20 times. Do this several times a day.
2. Tongue Suction: Suck your tongue against the entire roof of your mouth like a suction cup while slightly opening your mouth. Hold for 10 seconds, and repeat 20 times.
3. Tongue Pressing: Pressing the tip of the tongue against the back of your front teeth and then against the floor of the mouth. Do 20 presses multiple times throughout the day.
4. Tongue push-down: Place the tip of the tongue against the back topside of your front teeth, push your tongue down against the floor of the mouth, hold it for 10 seconds, and repeat 5 times.
5. Tongue Push-Up: Stick your tongue out and push as hard as you can into the roof of the mouth. Hold for 10 seconds and repeat it five times.
6. Nose touch: To touch the nose, extend your tongue out as far as you can and hold it there for ten seconds. If you are unable to touch the nose, that is okay; the goal is to properly stretch the tongue.
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Face Exercises to Stop Snoring:
1. Cheek Hook: Bend your index finger to create a hook shape. Put your finger in your mouth to pull your cheek outward, and then use your facial muscles to pull it inward. Repeat this back-and-forth motion for 10 times on each side.
2. Lip squeeze: Press the lips together tightly as if holding the straw in the mouth. Hold this position for 10-15 seconds and then practice repeating in short intervals.
3. Cheek Suction: Suck your cheeks in by making a fish face and holding it in position for 10 seconds, and repeat it several times in a row.
4. Smiling exercise: Smile and release by lifting and lowering the corners of the mouth with one side at a time and holding each side for a few seconds.
5. Lateral Jaw Smiles: Move the jaw to one side and try doing the smiling exercise above to increase the effectiveness. Hold the jaw to one side and continue alternating those smiles for a few seconds. Repeat the procedure by shifting the jaw to the opposite side.
Breathing Exercises to Stop Snoring:
1. Single Nostril Breathing: Use your right-hand thumb to close one nostril and take a deep breath through the other. Close your inhaled nostril with your ring finger, and open the thumb-finger nostril to exhale slowly. Repeat for 5 minutes daily during meditation.
2. Nasal Breathing: Breathing through the nose intentionally while closing the mouth and keeping the jaw relaxed helps stabilize the airway during sleep.
Vocal Exercises to Stop Snoring:
1. Saying Vowel Sounds: Repeat the sounds a-e-i-o-u to start, usually, and then stretch out the sound or say it rapidly to the extent you can. Repeat the same 10-20 times in a row. When performing this exercise, try to focus on your facial muscles and tongue.
2. Singing exercises: Singing can strengthen the throat muscles and reduce snoring. Sing your favorite song first, and then add more songs you enjoy to your playlist.
Dietary Remedies to Stop Snoring:
1. Honey: A natural way to reduce congestion in the airway, making it easier to breathe by reducing the phlegm due to its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties.
Usage: Mix it with warm water or warm milk before going to bed
2. Turmeric: Curcumin, a potent anti-inflammatory ingredient, helps to unclog the passage of the nasal cavities and improves blood circulation, reducing snoring due to blockages.
Usage: Turmeric milk before bedtime helps to reduce inflammation.
3. Ginger: Known for its anti-inflammatory properties, it helps in relaxation and reduces stress on the nasal muscles, clears airways, and improves blood circulation, thus reducing snoring.
Usage: Ginger tea before bed helps in reducing the nasal muscle stress
4. Onion: Has antioxidant properties, helps prevent infections, and clears nasal passages.
Usage: Include cooked onions in the meal.
5. Apples are rich in nutrients, causing improved blood vessel function and potentially reducing snoring.
Usage: Eating one apple before bed helps to maintain healthy blood flow.
6. Teas: Using chamomile, green, black, and mint teas also helps reduce congestion in blocked nasal cavities.
Usage: Drink tea before bed, but avoid strong caffeinated drinks at least 2 hours before bed.
7. Plant-based diet: A diet high in vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and fruits helps to reduce inflammation and maintain a healthy weight— both ways of reducing snoring.
Usage: Increase the plant-based diet in conditions with nasal congestion to reduce inflammation.
8. Olive oil: Reduces congestion in the throat by decreasing phlegm formation and improving air passage through the airway.
Usage: As a dressing over salads or for cooking vegetables.
9. Avoid dairy and red meat: The use of dairy products increases the mucus secretions, and red meat causes inflammation to worsen. Avoid these in case of increased inflammation in the body.
Usage: Consider alternatives such as soy milk or almond milk and choose fish instead of red meat.
Devices to Prevent Snoring:
1. Nasal Strips:
These help open the nasal cavities, make breathing easier, and reduce snoring caused by congestion.
2. Nasal Dilators:
Flexible strips applied outside on the nose to keep nasal passages open.
3. Mandibular advancement devices:
Devices that help to move the lower jaw forward create a passage for the airway without any obstruction. Examples of such devices include a chin strap, the Snore Rx Plus, and the ZQuiet anti-snoring mouthpiece.
4. Positional Devices:
Devices that encourage side sleeping and clear the airway, including AI-powered devices, adjust pillows to open the airway, thereby reducing snoring without needing additional tools. For example, the ApneaShield trainer helps maintain a side sleeping position, while AI devices like Smart Nora adjust pillows to reduce snoring.
5. Mouth tapes and chin caps:
This hypoallergenic silk fiber band helps to keep the mouth closed, promoting nasal breathing and reducing snoring.
Conclusion:
Snoring is a common issue that can be managed through lifestyle changes, exercises, and medical intervention. Knowing a few snoring remedies can help an individual address their specific underlying cause. Therefore, a thorough examination with a physician to identify these causes is necessary to reduce or prevent snoring.
A study journal like The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine shows a reduced severity of snoring in around 30–60% of people with dietary modifications. A study by Chest Journal shows that throat exercises help in reducing snoring frequency by 36% and total snoring power by 59%. Using devices like mandibular advancement reduces snoring by up to 70–90% in people with mild-to-moderate obstructive sleep apnea. Using nasal strips or dilators reduces 15–30% of snoring, especially in cases of nasal snoring.
Understand the types of snoring and the underlying conditions affecting your sleep quality. Get it evaluated thoroughly and use our effective snoring remedies so you and your partner enjoy a restful night’s sleep.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What foods can help in reducing snoring?
Foods like honey, turmeric, ginger, apples, and non-caffeinated tea help reduce inflammation, soothe the throat muscles, improve the airway, and reduce snoring.
- What changes can help in preventing snoring?
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle with proper weight management, incorporating a plant-based diet to reduce inflammation, and avoiding the use of alcohol, smoking, and sedatives.
- What is the most effective way to stop snoring?
Changing the sleeping position to side-sleeping is the most effective way. Additionally, lifestyle changes and avoiding alcohol and smoking before bedtime can significantly reduce snoring.
- When should I seek help from a medical professional for snoring?
If snoring is associated with sleep disturbances and breathing difficulty, these individuals must be evaluated by medical professionals to rule out any obstructive diseases or persistent infections, as those conditions may cause not only snoring but also be associated with daytime fatigue or breathing pauses at night.
- Can snoring be a sign of a serious health condition?
Not always. Sometimes, blockage of the nose due to a cold may also cause snoring. Still, most secondary types of snoring are associated with serious health conditions like obstructive sleep apnea, where breathing stops and starts during sleep.