Some may not want to hear this, but snoring is a serious health problem. It’s not only annoying for the people you’re sleeping with but it also complicates your own rest.
According to studies, 40% of adults occasionally snore, while 20% snore on a regular basis. In addition, 1 out of 10 children also snore.
Tips to Stop Snoring
People who snore are recommended to visit a doctor in order to carry out a sleep study. In addition, trying out the following recommendations can be a good way to avoid snoring while you wait for your appointment.
Sleeping on your side
A simple way to try reducing your snoring is to sleep on your side. This way, you stop your tongue from going back into your mouth, blocking the airflow and complicating your breathing while you sleep.
Losing weight
Overweight people can have additional tissue in their throats, making it difficult to breathe at night. Losing some weight might help with the problem.
Doing exercise
Maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle helps you improve your rest and reduces snoring considerably. Physical activity also builds up the muscular tone of your upper airways.
Elevating your head in the bed
Just add a little wedge in the head part of your mattress to elevate it around 10 centimeters (4 inches) and we guarantee that you will improve a lot.
Double up on pillows
If you don’t have anything to elevate your mattress with, use two pillows or bend the one you have to raise your head those few inches.
Avoid heavy meals at night
It’s best not to eat for at least two hours before going to bed. Also, the meal should not be too heavy. This way you will have time to digest it before you fall asleep.
Nose strips
These special adhesive strips are meant to be on the bridge of your nose and clear the area where the air is flowing. As such, they improve your breathing at night. However, people with obstructive sleep apnea won’t feel any improvements.
Avoid drinks
It’s best not to drink any alcohol at all, but especially two hours before going to sleep, you should try to avoid it. The drinks can affect your central nervous system, relax your muscles (including the ones in your throat), and provoke snores.
Drink a lot of water
Two liters of water a day helps your body to hydrate and avoid the presence of mucus which can be the cause of snoring. Have a bottle of water next to your bed, but make sure it’s closed to prevent you from pouring it all over yourself at night.
Humidifier in the bedroom
Putting a humidifier in your bedroom can increase the humidity of the room. When your throat is inhaling more humid air, breathing can become easier.
Check your medication
Certain medications can cause the muscles in your throat to relax. As such, they can worsen snoring.
Do not smoke
Apart from the many dangerous consequences of smoking, it can be the cause of your snoring. This harmful hobby congests your pharynx and nose, complicating your breathing at night.
Salt water
If the snores are caused by congestion and mucus, you can try to clean your nostrils by rinsing them with salt water. It’s easier if you use a syringe.
Rest is best
It’s important for you to respect your resting hours and give your body the sleep it needs. For adults, the recommended number of hours of sleep is 7-8 hours.
What about the little ones?
Preschool children should sleep 10-13 hours; primary schoolers need around 9-12 hours a day of sleep, and a teenager would need 8-10 hours of sleep.
Should people wake you up when you snore?
And what to do if the person next to us can’t take our snoring anymore? Should they wake us up? Some studies explain that when people wake you up or just touch you a bit, the brain starts working again and the muscles in your throat activate. It stops the snoring for a bit – until you are fast asleep again.