10 Easy Natural Tips to Stop Snoring

Sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout one’s lifetime.

But quite a lot of people have sleep issues. One among these sleep issues is snoring. Snoring is one of the most popular sleep issues that affect both men and women. This can be a sign of an underlying health condition.

Snoring however occurs during sleep when the muscles of the throat relax and the tongue falls backwards. The airway become floppy and narrow which make the throat to vibrate or rattle.

This makes an individual to make a hoarse or harsh sound as they breathe. Snoring therefore can lead to sleep deficiencies. There are several causes of snoring.

An individual with enlarged tonsils and deviated nasal septum or elongated uvula have a very narrower airways which give ways to snoring.

Inflammation from a respiratory infection can also contribute to snoring. Some lifestyle factors can also contribute to snoring.

Some of these lifestyle factors include drinking of alcohol, smoking, and excessive use of sedative among others. Snoring affects all most 90 million adults and about 40% of adult men and 20% of adult women chronically snore.

Despite all this contributory factors, there are natural ways or remedies to stop snoring and enjoy your sleep. These natural ways are:

1. Exercise

Exercise helps to lose weight and induces sound sleep. It can also reduce your snoring tendency.

This is owing to the fact that it helps to improve the muscle tone throughout the body which enable the soft palate and throat to maintain good shape while sleeping.

2. Good Diet

A very good diet should be maintained by individual to prevent snoring. For example, consumption of large meal late at night should be avoided especially if the meal contains fat.

Eating late at night will upset your digestive system and make sleep hard to come by.

Dairy products should also be avoided because it can leave a layer of mucus that blocks the airways.

3. Avoid Smoking, Alcohol, and Sedatives

Smoking contributes to snoring because it relaxes the throat muscles and causes congestion in the nasal passages and lungs.

Consuming alcohol before bedtime can cause snoring because it decreases the natural defense against the airway obstruction.

Sleeping pills however relaxes the throat muscles and increases snoring. Sedative also have some possible side effect on human health.

So, to stop snoring, you should stop smoking and avoid excessive intake of alcohol and sedative.

4. Good Sleeping Position

Poor sleeping position can expose you to snoring. If you normally sleep on your back, you are prone to snoring because the tongue is positioned towards the back of the throat thereby blocking airflow.

If this occurs, you need to change your sleeping position to side sleeping position which is often the first line of defense recommended by health experts.

5. The Use of Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is very effective for its therapeutic benefits. Good scents or smells help individual to feel great.

Research has shown that certain essential oils can open up the throat and reduce inflammation from allergies or sickness.

However, you can apply few drops of peppermint oil inside your nose before bed time or use the steam inhalation. This will reduce your snoring tendency.

6. Use of an External Nasal Dilator

You can try a nasal dilator which is a stiffened adhesive strip that is applied on top of the nose across the nostrils.

Doing this can decrease airflow resistance making it easier to breath.

7. Exercise of Tongue and Throat

It should not be shocking to know that giving your mouth and tongue a good workout can help you stop snoring.

This exercise helps to make the muscles in the tongue and throat stronger and as a result, enable you to protrude the lower jaw further than the upper jaw with the teeth showing.

You should repeat this 5-10 times a day. This will give the tongue a very good workout. Put out your tongue as straight as possible, move left and right so that it touches the sides of your mouth each time.

You should perform this exercise in front of a mirror to ensure the tongue stays straight. When you do this exercise properly, your tongue is less likely to drop back and block the airway while sleeping.

8. Weight Loss

Excess body weight especially around the neck can cause a narrow throat when asleep.

This creates a higher incidence of snoring because of the neck circumference which is more typical in those who are overweight.

Therefore, reducing the body weight can lead to healthier sleep in addition to other health benefits which will prevent snoring.

9. Treatment of Chronic Allergies

Allergies can reduce airflow through the nose of snorers and force them to breathe through the mouth.

This persistently increases the likelihood of snoring. Therefore, you should see their doctor for prescription allergy medications that may improve the condition.

10. Use of Eucalyptus and Peppermint

Eucalyptus helps with chest colds. When eucalyptus oil is applied, it provides a snore-free night of sleep.

Putting eucalyptus leaves in a steam inhaler and breathing it in through the mouth or nose help clear the sinuses.

Mix five drops of eucalyptus and five drops peppermint essential oils in a bowl; cover it with a towel in a way that you can inhale the steam.

This will help to clear the airway or air passage thereby reducing inflammation in the nasal passage.

Conclusion

It is very important to know that sleep contribute to a healthy lifestyle. But snoring can disrupt sleep patterns which may cause insomnia and lead to irritability in both the snorer and the one lying awake because of the snoring.

It is also very essential to note that snoring could also be an indication of sleep apnea: a potentially life-threatening condition that should receive medical attention.

Thus, individual snorer should therefore follow the above natural remedies or ways to stop snoring.

wellandliving