Snoring can not only make you the butt of jokes at social gatherings and cause marital problems, but is also a major cause for various health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure and mental health issues. Knowing that your body makes weird sounds through your nostrils while you’re asleep is weird. Snoring could also indicate sleep apnea, a potentially life-threatening condition that requires immediate medical attention. Sleep apnea is a breathing obstruction, which prevents a person from having a peaceful sleep and requires him to keep waking up in order to start breathing again.
There are a variety of techniques and lifestyle changes that one can adopt, in order to eliminate snoring. Here is a list of some of the natural snoring solutions that one can inculcate –
1. Appropriate Sleeping Position
A person is less likely to snore when sleeping on their side rather than when sleeping on their backs. Lying on one’s back causes the base of the tongue and the soft palate to recline to the back wall of the throat, which produces a vibrating sound during sleep.
One must also avoid sleeping in the same position every day.
2. Say No to smoking, alcohol and sedatives
While smoking disturbs the membranes in the nose and throat, causing blockage of airways, alcohol and sedatives relax nasal muscles and interfere with breathing, making the snoring condition worse. In order to cure snoring, one must abstain from smoking and consumption of alcohol and sedatives.
3. Exercise and weight loss
When excess fat accumulates around the throat, it worsens the condition of snoring. It is important to carry out regular physical activity and maintain a healthy weight in order to get rid of the problem of snoring.
4. Clean nasal passage
The nasal passage should be kept clean and free of dust and allergy in order to facilitate breathing through the nose rather than the mouth. This would help to reduce snoring, as an unclean and blocked nasal passage obstructs easy flow of air and hence causing snoring.
5. Sleep
All work and no sleep make one unhealthy. It is essential to sleep for at least 8 hours to function efficiently and keep one healthy. Enough amount of sleep ensures that the muscles are relaxed and not over exerted or too relaxed, which can help overcome snoring.
6. Clean surroundings
Snoring is often caused by allergy from dust and unclean environment, which may tend to block the nasal passage. One must ensure that the environment of the bedroom is clean and dust-free. Pillows and bed covers must be replaced regularly with clean and fresh ones.
The key to efficient, sound and noise-free sleep lies in maintaining a healthy, normal lifestyle. One can easily get rid of their snoring problem by making certain simple but effective lifestyle changes. Nasal drops, decongestants and sprays often come in handy as a quick solution to the problem of snoring, but they must not be used without prior consultation from the physician.