Snoring happens when air gets blocked in your nose or throat, causing vibrations and noise during sleep. Snoring usually occurs due to fatigue after a long day of activity.
Many people often ignore this condition, even though it disrupts their family, making it difficult for them to sleep when they’re around you.
So, how do you get rid of snoring in your sleep?
Snoring can be a sign of sleep apnea
Technically, snoring is a sound produced by air resistance in the mouth and nose. As a result, the tissues in the nose, mouth, and throat vibrate and collide, resulting in a crackling and snorting sound. After waking, snoring can cause a dry throat, fatigue, and dizziness.
Medically, snoring is often associated with sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a respiratory disorder that causes sufferers to choke or stop breathing every time they fall asleep. If left alone for a long time, it will have an impact on specific diseases, such as hypertension, stroke, diabetes, and heart attacks.
What factors cause prolonged snoring?
According to the Sleep Foundation, in 2022, 40% of men and 28% of women snore. In people over 50, snoring is triggered by muscles relaxing, narrowing the airways.
Apart from that, what factors cause you to snore frequently while sleeping?
- Excessive consumption of alcohol or sedatives can cause muscle relaxation.
- Obesity is characterized by excess body fat that puts pressure on the respiratory system tract
- Pregnancy hormones cause inflammation of the nose
- Blocked nose due to flu, cold, or airborne allergies
- Structures in the mouth, nose, and throat can reduce the size of the respiratory tract
- Descendants of the family.
9 easy ways to get rid of snoring. How?
It turns out that snoring can be easily overcome. To avoid disturbing those around you while you sleep, follow these nine ways to stop snoring.
- Sleep in a tilted position
It’s essential to understand that sleeping on your back causes the tongue to move to the back of the throat, partially blocking the air flow.
Therefore, it’s recommended that you sleep on your side to prevent snoring. This position allows air to flow more easily while you sleep, which can reduce snoring.
- Get enough sleep
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society recommends that adults get 7-9 hours of sleep per night.
Lack of sleep causes you to snore more loudly and frequently. This is due to the condition of the throat muscles, which obstruct your breathing.
- Sleep with your head slightly raised
Sleeping with your head slightly elevated can reduce and prevent snoring by keeping your airways open. You can use an adjustable pillow to help reduce snoring.
- Using a nasal strip
A nasal strip is one of the tools that you can use to prevent snoring. You place an intranasal strip at the base of the nose to increase the space for air to enter.
There are two types. There are two options you can try: internal and external. Both are equally effective in reducing snoring, depending on your comfort level.
- Avoid consuming alcohol and sedatives before bed.
Besides disrupting sleep quality, consuming alcohol and sedatives before bed can cause frequent snoring. Alcohol relaxes the throat muscles.
Based on a study by Annie Britton published in Healthline in 2020, drinking alcohol before bed affects the REM phase (Rapid eye movement), which is shorter. REM itself is the sleep phase where memory formation and dreams occur.
- Quit smoking
Quitting smoking is one of the recommended efforts to maintain the quality of your sleep and avoid disturbing snoring sounds.
As mentioned earlier, smoking is one of the causes. Sleep apnea is related to your respiratory tract. Furthermore, parents who smoke and snore during sleep may pass this on to their children later in life.
- Healthy diet for obesity
If you are obese and feel like you snore often, this turns out to be the main factor because of the fatty tissue that blocks your airways while you sleep.
Studies show that weight loss can reduce snoring, especially with a healthy diet that includes nutritious foods and regulating your food portions.
- Do oropharyngeal exercises
Studies show that regular pharyngeal exercises, practiced for three months, can effectively help reduce snoring. This exercise involves repetitive movements to strengthen the muscles of the tongue, palate, and throat.
- Consult a doctor for a medical review
Frequent snoring or snoring while sleeping can disturb those around you. If simple methods like those above are ineffective, medical treatment is necessary.
If you or your partner are struggling with loud, chronic snoring, try these natural solutions first. And if symptoms persist, don’t hesitate to talk to a doctor; it could change your sleep (and life) for the better.
Meta description:
Tired of snoring disrupting your sleep (or your partner’s)? Discover nine simple ways to stop snoring naturally, from sleep position to diet and exercise.
