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Snoring: Tips to Stop Snoring

Between 20 to 40 percent of adults snore. Not only is snoring annoying, but it can also be indicative of a more serious, underlying physical condition.

Snoring occurs when the soft palate vibrates with the vocal chords. Those who tend to snore include:

children with weak musculature in the pharynx, generally caused by enlarged tonsils or adenoids
the elderly who suffer from loss of muscle tone in the oropharyngeal group, promoting vibrations of the soft palate
people with blocked nasal passages who have to breathe through their mouths.

How to Stop Snoring

Understanding why people snore can help stop this behavior. Some ways to stop snoring include:

Check your sleeping environment to see if it causes your nasal passages to become blocked during the night. Maybe you snore in the morning because your bedroom is dry and your nose gets blocked as you sleep. In this case, try putting a humidifier in the room and keeping some tissues close at hand.
Try wearing a small adhesive strip over the bridge of the nose as you sleep. These strips lift the nasal passages open. Since snoring is always related to mouth breathing, keeping your nostrils clear reduces snoring by promoting breathing through the nose.
Avoid alcohol before bedtime. Because alcohol relaxes muscles in your throat that vibrate, people who drink alcohol before bed are more likely to snore. Some snorers have reduced their disruptive breathing by reducing the amount of alcohol they drink at night.
Sleep on your side or stomach, instead of your back. Experts say when you sleep on your back, your tongue falls back into your throat, blocking full airflow and causing snoring.

While many of the above suggestions easily reduce or even prevent snoring, this sleep disturbance can be symptomatic of a more serious condition known as sleep apnea.

Sleep Apnea and Snoring

Sleep apnea, a condition marked by the cessation of breathing while sleeping, is characterized by long pauses between breaths, irregular breathing and snoring. This sleep disorder is particularly dangerous because during momentary pauses (as long as ten seconds) in breathing, oxygen flow to the brain is cut off. As oxygen decreases, carbon dioxide in the bloodstream increases. Although this increase usually wakes you up, your sleep will be constantly disrupted.

Sleep apnea has been linked to more than just fatigue. Occasionally, sleep apnea causes heart failure because the heart works harder to get oxygen when the airway is restricted.

Treatment for sleep apnea varies from person to person. Individualized treatment plans can include surgery. If you think you have sleep apnea, it is recommended you visit your doctor.

Resources

BUPA. (2006). Snoring. Retrieved January 15, 2007 from the BUPA Web site: http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/Mosby_factsheets/snoring.

html.

Encyclopedia Brittanica (2007). Snoring. Retrieved January 15, 2007, from Encyclopedia Britannica Online Web site: http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9068385.

Stop Snoring Tips. (2006). Causes of Snoring & Snoring Information. Retrieved January 15, 2007 from the Stop Snoring Tips Web site: http://www.stopsnoringtips.com/info.htm.

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