How To Stop Snoring

photo credit: sweet mandy kay

Snoring is the source of many a joke, but it’s really no laughing matter. It can kill romance, force spouses to sleep in separate rooms, and in extreme cases it can even destroy marriages, On top of these problems, heavy snorers aren’t really getting a good night’s sleep. This can have deleterious effects in several areas of a person’s life, such as their overall health, and their productivity at work. So all jokes aside, snoring is something you’ll want to deal with it if you or a loved one is suffering from it. Here are some snoring help ideas to consider.

One way to lessen the frequency of snoring is to sleep on your side. This can be a difficult transition for most people to make, as everyone has a favorite sleeping position, and it can be very hard to switch to a new one. But sleeping on your back is a one of the contributing causes of snoring, and if that’s how you sleep, you should really try to start sleeping on your side. (Sleeping on your stomach is not recommended; it can cause back problems.)

If you’re overweight, you’re much more likely to snore, and much more likely to be a heavy snorer (no pun intended). The fat tissue in the area of your neck and throat are one of the main causes of your snoring. Losing weight can be difficult, but doing so can reduce or eliminate your snoring problem. And with the added health benefits that come with dropping a few pounds, it’s even more of a good idea. Even losing 15-20 pounds can make a big difference in your snoring.

Another snoring help tip is to cut way back on the use of alcohol and certain prescription drugs, such as sedatives. It may seem strange that drugs you take to help you sleep can cause snoring, but anything that suppresses your bodies automatic breathing system will make snoring more likely, and sedative and alcohol both have this effect.

Try some of these suggestions to help with your snoring. They work for a lot of people, and they may work for you. If not, you should seek out additional resources for natural snoring help before you consider radical measures such as surgery.

Snoring can have a number of different causes.
The cause of the sound itself is when air passes through tissue that vibrates. That can be the tongues or other tissue in the throat. Those who are overweight have an increased chance to be a snorer due to more loose tissue in the throat and behind the nasal passages.

Here are some common causes for snoring that you can affect:

Change your sleeping posture. Many who snore do so only when laying on their back. Sleeping on the side or belly can be all that is needed to stop snoring!

Use a specially designed exercise program to end your snoring! Yes, toning the tissues around the airway have dramatic effects on snoring

Lose weight. Being overweight dramatically increases your odds of snoring. Losing weight is not so easy as most of us know, much easier is to do simple snoring exercises to remove the snoring.

Stop smoking. Smoking creates nasal congestion which will increase snoring.

Limit alcohol consumption. Alcohol is a relaxant, allowing muscles and tissues in throat and tongue to go soft and to vibrate. The result is a dramatic increase in decibel.

Doing exercises to stop snoring may not make sense unless one understands that snoring happens when tissue in or around the airways vibrate as the air passes through. The vibration can be due to tissue being to loose, or the passage being narrowed by tissue that is to tight.

Exercising the tissue then can make even the most serious snorers into a quiet sleeper.

The leading authority on snoring exercises is Christian Goodman who after many years of serious snoring and many unsuccessful attempts at at a cure, had the inspiration to develop an exercise program to firm and tone and correct the underlying causes of snoring. -loose tissue, untoned tissue or tissue that is too tight.

The inspiration came from his wife who has spent most of her life teaching people how to tone the muscles in and around the airways but in a different way and for a different reason, -she teaches people how to sing.

Christian’s easy to use program has become a bestseller -and for a good reason. it is easy and pleasant to use, very effective, and Christian offers a money back guarantee. With a satisfaction rate of 97% based on returns, Christians program is an intelligent choice.

About The Snoring Exercises

You’ll actually strengthen and open up the whole breathing passage, from your throat up to the nasal opening.

If you touch your voice box with your left hand (the big chunk, or Adam’s apple, on the front of your throat) and touch your forehead with your right hand the area between your hands is the area causing the snoring, AND it is the area you’re going to be training and removing any block from.

By doing simple and pleasant exercises for your throat your soft palate, including the entire area from below your voice box all the way up into your nose and everything in-between will be strengthened, toned and refreshed.

These are light, easy, simple exercises that get your breathing passage in top shape. Spending as little as 3 minutes per day can be enough for many.

• Training the tongue will strengthen it and by doing that, prevent it from dropping into your throat when you sleep -a very common cause for snoring.

• Loosening the Jaw, with the jaw exercises will remove any tension from it. You’ll be very pleasantly surprised at the increased ease of breathing after this exercise alone!

• The throat exercises will strengthen the throat and lift the soft palate, preventing it from vibrate and cause snoring.

Exercising the loose or too tight muscle and tissues causing snoring just makes plain sense.

In order to choose wisely amongst effective snoring remedies understanding some of the causes of snoring should be the foundation.

Snoring occurs when the tissue surrounding the airways vibrate as the air passes through. What causes the tissue to vibrate for some and not for others?

Causes for Tissue to Vibrate and result in Snoring:

• The tissue in throat may have lack of tone and close down when sleeping becomes deep.
• The tongue is moving back into your throat when you sleep and block the air.
• Jaw muscles carrying tension can put pressure on the upper airways.
• The soft palate can get loose and flop around like sheets in the wind.
• Muscle tension or muscle weakness around the breathing passage can put a pressure on it and make you snore. For instance muscles on the side of your throat, your neck, and even muscles in your shoulders.
• Anything that builds up in your throat such as phlegm or irritation from allergens etc. can work as a barrier for your breathing passage.

Snoring remedies fall into a few categories.

1. Preventing the person to sleep on their back.
2. Adjusting the position of the neck/throat with special pillows with the idea that certain positions will prevent, or minimize the tissues to vibrate when the air goes through.
3. Surgical. This is obviously your last resort. An operation to attempt to tighten or widen the part of the airway causing the problem. This could be the best option if there are physical abnormalities in the palate or nasal passages.
4. Exercising and training the muscles around the airways. This is not only an easy snoring solution but it can last a life time. The exercises are easy and pleasant to do, requiring only a few minutes per day. For most, in less than 2 months their snoring can be greatly diminished or gone all together.

Many snorers are completely oblivious to the amount of sounds they emit while sleeping. Many feel offended when those around them complain. The complaints can be very valid though. Being woken up numerous times throughout the night can make for one feeling tired and drained for much of the time. Lack of sleep obviously has it’s own set of problems, not only the, for many, growing exasperation and resentment at not being able to sleep undisturbed.

So what to do if your other half is a “melodious” sleeper? A quick and inexpensive way to get some quality sleep is to prevent your partner to sleep on his/her back. Most snoring takes place while laying supine. When the snorer turn on their side or belly frequently the snoring stops. Preventing the snorer to sleep while face up can go a long way in reducing or even eliminating the snoring.

If your partner wears pajamas, attaching an object into the back of the pajamas will prevent them from rolling over onto their back. A ping pong ball can work really well. So can a golf ball. Put the ball into a piece of panty hose, make a knot and attach the panty hose with a few stitches to the pajama.

A hair roller can work as well, provided it is not soo scratchy it irritates the person even without laying on it.

Experiment with items you already have in the house. Sometimes if the person sleeps very deeply the golf ball may not provide enough discomfort to make them turn over on their side, in that case you can use a larger ball, or something else that may be more of an irritant.

The most effective solution we have seen is the by now famous Snoring Exercises by Icelandic therapist Christian Goodman.

Next should be a visit to the snorers physician to rule out any physiological problems that may be at the root of the noisy sleeping.