Simple Snoring Solutions

Millions of people snore every night in their sleep. In fact studies show 25% or adults are habitual snorers. It can shatter their sleep, their partner's sleep and throws the body out of rhythm. Yet oftentimes the snorer is not aware of their snoring and only find out when someone tells them, usually a partner kept awake. To keep a happy house and a snorer off the couch, it is time to understand the causes of snoring and treatment options.

Snoring itself is a restriction of the airways and may be a symptom of other possible medical issues like Sleep Apnea, which causes you to stop breathing while you sleep. Highly dangerous, It is always best to consult a doctor or sleep specialist. However, there are a lot of causes and self help techniques for the average light snorer.

To understand how to stop snoring, you need to understand its causes. Snoring is fundamentally a breathing issue caused by your airway narrowing. However, there are many different issues that can lead to a narrow airway and figuring out the cause can help with the solution. The main focus should be on your mouth and nose as one of these two is causing the air passages to be restricted and thus triggering the snoring. Here is a brief description of most causes of snoring:

• Overweight / Obese - Gaining weight does not affect just the belly and other areas of the body. Fatty tissue in the neck and nasal cavity also grows and obstructs the airway, making it too narrow for air to flow freely.
• Enlarged Tonsils / Adenoids (Glands) - Tonsils and adenoids are glands in the mouth that are part of the body's immune defense to help fight infection. More common in children, the problem is if they swell and remain severely swollen, they block the airway.
  
• Allergies / Colds / Sinus Infections - Anything that causes a stuffy nose and makes breathing difficult means less air is flowing properly.
  
• Deviated Septum - The tissue and cartilage that separates the two nostrils in the nose could be crooked causing air to flow improperly.
  
• Alcohol / Medications - Alcohol and certain medications that relax the body can relax the tongue and throat muscles enough to cause them to fall back and block your airway.
• Smoking - Smoking has been proven to cause lung cancer and other health issues so it should not be a surprise that it can cause swelling in the airway which reduces the amount of air you breathe.
  
• Sleeping Posture - Due to gravity, sleeping on your back can cause the tongue, tonsils, uvula, etc. to fall back and restrict the airway.
  
• Sleep Apnea - Snoring is merely a symptom of sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is where the airway becomes completely blocked and you cannot breathe causing the body to wake up just enough to breathe again. It ruins your sleep even though you do not realize it is occurring. It is a life threatening condition that needs treatment and diagnostic tests by a doctor.

If you can figure out what causes your snoring, then it become much simpler to find a snoring treatment. Here is a list of common snoring solutions to the above causes:

• Overweight / Obese - The easiest solution is to lose weight whether it is by exercising, proper diet or even drinking many cups of green tea. Besides the multitude of health benefits associated with weight loss, the fatty tissues that restrict the airway should also shrink. Avoid eating a big meal before bed.
  
• Enlarged Tonsils / Adenoids - A doctor may recommend antibiotics if the glands have swollen due to an infection or a tonsillectomy or adenoidectomy, which would be removal of the glands.
• Allergies / Colds / Sinus Infections - Snoring can be cured by getting over the allergy or other issue. Snoring will just be an annoyance until you find a way to unclog your nose.
• Deviated Septum - A doctor can perform a simple examination to see if a deviated septum is the culprit and may prescribe medication like antihistamines or nasal decongestants, nasal strips or for serious issues nasal surgery.
  
• Alcohol / Medications - If you can avoid it, do not take any sort of relaxant right before going to sleep.
• Smoking - Try a nicotine patch or one of the many other treatments to get over your smoking addiction
• Sleeping Posture - Sleeping on the side or elevating your head is recommended to avoid gravity's affect on your airway.
• Sleep Apnea - Has to be tested for by a doctor. May require sleep studies and other diagnostics followed by a specific treatment option recommended by the doctor or specialist.

If you have tried the above and have not found success, then there are a number of other solutions and products on the market today that may help.

• Stop Snoring Pillow - A stop snoring pillow usually elevate the head, encourages you to sleep on your side and realigns your head and neck with your spinal cord in proper sleep posture to maximize air flow. Some pillows also support sleeping on your back. This product is best for posture related snoring.
  
• Mouth Piece - Designed to prevent soft tissues from collapsing and restricting the airway, a mouth piece should be molded to your particular teeth and mouth so that it maximizes the benefit for you. The devices are designed to bring your lower jaw forward and/or lift the soft palate (soft tissue at the back of the roof of the mouth). Will not do much for snoring caused by nasal issues.
  
• Nasal Strips - Working best for nasal congestion from allergies and sinus issues or even a deviated septum, nasal strips are placed on the exterior of the nose and apply gentle pressure to pull the nostrils open. The increased airflow should decrease snoring.
• Chin Straps and CPAP - For those suffering severe snoring and diagnosed with sleep apnea, it will probably be recommended to use a chin strap or a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device. The chin strap is designed to keep the jaw in place to encourage nasal breathing instead of mouth breathing while the CPAP fits over the nose to feed air as needed to the body.
• If none of the methods presented here work, it may be time to consult your doctor and consider snoring surgery. You should only consider surgery on the advice of your doctor or other trained medical professional.
  

This advice on snoring is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It is not designed to replace the advice of a trained doctor or specialist. It is recommended to see a doctor if you are concerned about your snoring or may believe you have sleep apnea or another serious sleep condition.

The sampling of products presented here is for convenience only. I make no guarantee that any of these products will work for you or your particular snoring issue.