Wake Up Call: Sleep Education

Snoring is oftentimes referred to as the loud and harsh sounds that can occur when a person is sleeping. You snore when the flow of air you breathe make the tissues in the back of your throat vibrate. Meaning that when we are breathing, air flows in and out in a steady stream between our nose or mouth and our lungs. Believe it or not, snoring is a common problem among all ages and both genders, and it affects approximately 90 million American adults on a regular basis.

Although people snore for different reasons, once you get to the bottom of why you snore, you can then find the right solutions to a quieter sleep. Observing your sleep patterns, for example, can help you pinpoint the reasons why you’re having this problem in the first place. It will also help you figure out what makes it worse, and how to prevent it in the future.

At some point and time, we will all experience this problem firsthand. Occasional snoring is usually not very serious, but it can be a nuisance for your partner. On the contrary, if for some reason you are a habitual snorer, you not only disrupt sleep patterns of those around you, but also impair your own sleep quality. Snoring has been linked to increase your health risk by straining the heart, causing chronic headaches, bad breath, and lowering oxygen levels in the blood stream.

Don’t Ignore The Wheezing

Causes of Snoring

Being overweight. Fatty tissue and poor muscle tone contribute to snoring. Even if you aren’t overweight, carrying excessive weight around part of your body can still cause snoring.
Consuming alcohol, medication or tobacco. Alcohol intake, along with smoking, and taking certain medications like Ativan and diazepam, can increase your chances of by causing muscle relaxation.
Age. As you continue to reach middle age and beyond, your throat will slowly become narrower, meaning that muscle tones will also begin to decrease. While we can’t do anything about aging, we can however, change our lifestyle by creating new bedroom routines like sleeping elevated to prevent snoring and other complications.
Nasal and sinus problems. As we all know, it’s no fun to have a stuffy nose. However, if you have blocked airways, you will find it difficult to breathe. Which could result in snoring.

With that in mind, here are some bedtime remedies to try that can help stop snoring:

Change positions. Sleeping on your back can actually worsen your snoring problem at night. Individuals who snore are told sleep on their sides rather than their backs. This is because if you are sleeping on your side, the base of the tongue will not collapse into the back of your throat, making it harder to breathe.

Sleep with your head elevated. There are a lot of benefits when it comes to sleeping in a recliner. For one, it makes it easier to breathe by allowing gravity to move freely through the nose and mouth. It also helps the body process food easier and prevents build up in the stomach. Keep in mind, this is often not comfortable or practical as a long-term solution.

Avoid dehydration. Dehydration can create thickened mucus in the mouth and throat, which can cause the surfaces inside the mouth to stick together causing or worsening snoring. Drinking enough fluids during the day can reduce snoring.

Exercise. This is especially important if for some reason your snoring started or worsened after weight gain. But losing weight is always easier said than done. For individuals who have a problem losing weight, don’t give up. Continue exercising, and drinking lots of water to keep yourself hydrated.

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Thank you taking for taking time out of your day to read my article. I would like to know, however, since there are a lot of different techniques to try in order to prevent snoring. What are some you would recommend? I’ll be checking for comments, so feel free to reply.

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