We are all familiar with snoring. If we are not the main culprits of this noisy nighttime problem, we know someone who is. Snoring affects about half of our population, and 25% of us are habitual snorers.
But why do people snore? When we go to sleep, our neck muscles relax. Sometimes they can be too relaxed. This causes your upper airway i.e. nose and throat, to become too narrow for enough air to travel to the lungs. When this happens the surrounding tissue vibrates and results in sounds we recognize to snore. The narrower your airway becomes, the greater the vibration and the louder the snores.
Asides from being a nuisance to your friends or your partner, snoring also affects how you sleep. It reduces the quality of your sleep, could result in sleep apnea , or lead to chronic sleep deprivation. Ever woken up in the morning tired, cranky, and not quite feeling like you got a good night time’s rest? Snoring might be the cause. The good news is there are natural snoring remedies that can help.
Why do I snore?
A couple of factors come into play here. One popular one is weight. Carrying excess weight around your neck and throat can cause snoring. Then there is good old biology. In general, men have narrower air passages than women and are most likely to snore.
A. Stuffy Nose
Anything that stops you from breathing through your nose can make you snore, like if you're stopped up from a cold, flu, or allergies. Over-the-counter medicines or nasal strips can help open up those airways, but talk to your doctor if you're stuffed up for weeks at a time.
B. You Sleep on Your Back
This can make you snore or make it worse. Sleeping on your side is better, and cuddling with your partner -- “spooning” -- gets both of you on your sides. You also could try sleeping with two or three stacked pillows so you're not flat on your back. If neither of those works, sew a small pocket between the shoulder blades of a shirt that's a little tight. Put a tennis ball in the pocket so it's uncomfortable when you roll onto your back.
C. The Shape of Your Nose
If the thin wall between your nostrils didn't form quite right, one side can be smaller than the other -- that's called a deviated septum. That can make it harder for you to breathe and make you snore. The same can happen if your nose was hurt in an accident. Talk to your doctor if you think something like this is going on with you -- surgery can sometimes fix it.
D. The Shape of Your Mouth
If the upper part of your mouth toward your throat -- your soft palate -- is low and thick, it can narrow your airway and make you snore. That also can happen if the small piece of tissue that hangs from your soft palate -- the uvula -- is longer than usual. You may be born with these things, but they can get worse if you're overweight. Surgery can sometimes help with this, too.
E. Is It Your Medication?
Drugs that make you sleepy (called sedatives), muscle relaxants, and some antidepressants can relax your tongue and the muscles in your throat. Some of the meds can also contribute to weight gain, which can exacerbate sleep apnea. Talk to your doctor if you snore and take any of those -- they may be able to change your meds.
F. Sleep Apnea
Snoring can be a sign of a more serious condition called obstructive sleep apnea. That's a condition in which a person repeatedly stops breathing for brief periods of time during sleep. It may make you gasp for breath or wake you during the night. Signs of it include dry mouth, headache, or a sore throat in the morning. It's linked to stroke, high blood pressure, and heart disease, so see your doctor if you think you might have sleep apnea. They may recommend a device that helps you breathe while you sleep or, in some cases, surgery.
G. If Your Child Snores
It's not unusual for kids to snore now and then, especially if they have a cold or allergy. But in some cases, it can be a sign of an infection in the sinuses, throat, lungs, or airways, or possibly sleep apnea. If you've noticed that your child snores loudly most nights, talk with their pediatrician about it.
H. If You're Pregnant
Moms-to-be are likely to snore because their nasal passages can swell and make it harder to breathe. Weight gain during pregnancy also can push on the diaphragm, which helps move air in and out of your lungs. But pregnant women should tell their doctors if they snore because it can be linked to health issues like high blood pressure.
I. What You Can Do: Watch Your Weight
You're more likely to snore if you're overweight, especially if your neck is more than 17 inches if you're a man or 16 inches if you're a woman. Losing a few pounds may help keep it in check. Talk to your doctor about a plan that would be right for you.
J. What You Can Do: Cut Back on Alcohol
Like some medicines, adult beverages can relax your tongue and throat muscles, and that can make you snore. It helps to watch what and how much you drink, especially close to bedtime.
How do you even know you snore?
If you sleep with a partner, we are pretty sure you must have gotten more than a complaint or two about your snoring. But what if you sleep alone? It’s simple, record yourself while you sleep. Apps like sleep cycle have a great snore tracker feature. The tracker measures the sound of your snores and the effect they might have on your sleep quality.
Natural snoring remedies that can help
There are a couple of ways to deal with snoring. Some medical and some natural. Medical treatment is usually recommended for extreme scenarios. Like when your snoring results in sleep apnea. But before turning to medical treatment try out these ten natural snoring home remedies that work like a charm.
- Lose some weight.
- Change your sleeping position. Sleeping on your back can cause your airways to become blocked or narrowed. If you notice that you snore while sleeping on your back it is time to switch up your sleeping position. Sleeping on your side is usually recommended.
- Get to know your own snoring patterns.
- Quit smoking and avoid alcohol.
- Drink more water.
- Treat yourself to a humidifier. While dry air might not be the main cause of your snoring, it can certainly aggravate it. So get a couple of humidifiers to keep the air in your room nice and moist. The added moisture in the air will help lubricate your throat. Making it easier for air to flow in and out without causing any noisy vibrations.
- Exercise to prevent weak tongue and throat muscles. You snore when your tongue and throat muscles are too relaxed. Strengthening them would help you stop. There are a couple of exercises which could help you strengthen you do this. A great and easy hack to get some throat exercise in is singing.
- Examine your diet and cut down on inflammatory food.
- Get some steam in. Use a facial steam bowl to open up your airways just before you go to bed. This comes in especially handy if a stuffy nose from a cold or allergies is the cause of your snoring.
- Get enough sleep.
- Elevate your head while you sleep. If sleeping on your side instead of your back doesn’t stop your snoring, you might need to prop up your head a little bit. This will ease breathing and open up your airways. Using a pillow or two should do the trick. You could also slightly the front of your bed by a couple of inches.