How Do I Stop Snoring?
Snoring is one of the most common causes of sleep disturbance and/or deprivation for individuals and their spouses. Fortunately, there a few tricks that can be employed to reduce the occurrence of snoring and help you achieve an improved quality of sleep. Some of the simplest do-it-yourself snoring solutions include:
- Switch Sleeping Positions – Lying on your backside can cause the base of the tongue to relax and slump to the back wall of the throat, which often creates a vibrating sound as you breathe in and out throughout the night. Simply turning onto your side to sleep can help prevent the tongue from collapsing backwards, therefore enabling the air passages to remain unblocked.
- Avoid Alcohol Before Bed – While having a nightcap is how many prefer to unwind from a stressful day, alcohol can cause muscles towards the back of the throat to relax more than normal, often increasing the likelihood of snoring. If you have problems with snoring, try not to drink alcohol within four to five hours of going to bed.
- Lose Weight – Although people of all body types snore, weight gain can often be a contributor to snoring in individuals who never used to snore but have started doing so after adding a few (or several) pounds. This is particularly true for people who have gained weight around the neck, as this additional mass can constrict the diameter of the throat during sleep, triggering the occurrence of snoring.
- Get Enough Sleep – Failing to get quality sleep on a regular basis can be similar to drinking alcohol before bed. When your body is exhausted from working hard and/or staying up too late, you tend to sleep deeper than normal. While this may sound like a good thing, the muscle tissues in the throat tend to become way more relaxed during a deep sleep, significantly increasing the probability of snoring.
If you have tried all of these solutions and still find yourself snoring at night, you may want to consider getting tested for sleep apnea. If it is determined that you do have sleep apnea, our team of highly trained dentists can create a customized oral sleep appliance (similar to a mouth guard) that fits securely in your mouth and helps to keep your air passages unobstructed throughout the night. In the event you are not diagnosed with sleep apnea following a sleep study, our practice can also fabricate a custom-designed snore guard that works similarly to the oral sleep appliance and helps to significantly reduce—or even eliminate—snoring.
For more information, or for a referral to a local medical sleep study practice in our area to find out if you are suffering from sleep apnea, please do not hesitate to contact Dental Professionals of Fair Lawn today.
