Home Remedies for Snoring
When someone snores a lot, loudly, or both, it can be disruptive to their sleep as well as the sleep of anyone else in the household - particularly the bed partner of the person who snores.
Snoring is common for almost anyone once in awhile, and there are a variety of simple things you can do to reduce the problems, and sometimes eliminate them as well.
Note however, there is a serious condition called Sleep Apnea which includes very loud snoring. But this condition actually blocks the airway completely so that the sleeper cannot even breath during the night. People with sleep apnea often wake up several times an hour during the night because they've stopped breathing, but they don't even usually know they've waken up. This condition needs to be treated by a doctor.
For standard snoring though, the problem is usually fairly simple. The muscles of the throat and roof of the mouth are too relaxed, and the airway is restricted to one degree or another. Snoring is most common in men, because they have narrower breathing passages than women do. There are many other things that can restrict this passage as well though, and these can be addressed easily.
1. Lose weight. Most chronic snoring is caused by weight gain and flabbiness. By losing a bit of weight, you often open the breathing airways so snoring is reduced.
2. Change sleeping positions. The majority of snoring happens when people are sleeping on their backs, because the airway is more restricted by the relaxed throat muscles and tongue being pulled back by gravity. Sleeping on your stomach or side usually relieves this problem.
Many people have a difficult time training themselves to not sleep on their back however, but there's an old remedy that works well: Sew a pocket or sock onto the back of your sleep shirt or pajamas. Put several tennis balls into that pocket. When you're sleeping, if you roll onto your back it will be very uncomfortable, so you'll automatically change to a different position. Over time it will become a habit to not sleep on your back, then you can remove the tennis balls.
Another way to change your sleeping position is to simply elevate the head of your bed. Place bricks under the legs, or place rolled up fabric under the head part of the mattress.
3. Avoid substances which relax your muscles. If you drink alcohol or take allergy medications which make you sleepy, these will relax your muscles and cause you to snore more. By simply avoiding these substances too close to bedtime, you'll often reduce or eliminate the snoring problems.
4. Avoid milk. Milk will create more mucus in your system, and this will in turn increase your snoring problems. This is also why many people snore more when they have a head cold or sinus problems, because the extra mucus blocks the airways.
A simple herbal remedy to cut down mucus is to make a GoldenSeal tea, and use that as nosedrops. You can also snuff it up into your nose to cut mucus deeper in your sinuses.
5. Exercise your mouth and throat muscles. A very easy way to do this is simply sing out loud for 15-20 minutes each day.
Statements made in this article may not be approved by the FDA, and should not be taken as professional medical advice
