You’re fast asleep and suddenly, you hear a low, rumbling noise that gets louder and louder as the night progresses. Nothing helps keep the sound away, even holding your pillow over your ears won’t help. If you’ve got a sleeping partner who snores to high hell, you know how uncomfortable this can be, but what if you’re the culprit? See why snoring is caused and how to stop it.
First, let’s get a little technical and explain what happens in your body that makes you snore. When you inhale while sleeping, the air you breathe enters and passes through the roof of your mouth and goes to your lungs. Now, if the area where your tongue and upper throat meet the soft palate is narrow, has collapsed for some reason or gets blocked, it disturbs the flow of air into your system. This makes them knock and vibrate against one another – we call that sound snoring. It can cause quite a few health problems if it gets too bad, so make sure you arrest the problem or find the cause early.
Sleep specialist from the University of Michigan Medical School, Lynn A. D’Andrea explains that snoring is not an illness like some people think but actually a symptom and it could be one of obstructive sleep apnea. She adds that sometimes you may not be able to do much about it because it can be caused by your mouth anatomy – having a thick soft palate that’s lower down can make your airway narrow, causing you to snore.
Ifyou or someone you know has had a few bouts of the grunting noise while you sleep, read on to see what you can do about it.
Because the resting tone of the muscles in your throat are reduced when you drink, you’re more likely to snore. So, avoid too much alcohol!
We’re sure you’ve read about how turning a snorer onto his side will help stop him from snoring. Changing your sleep position can prevent a snore because sleeping on your back makes your tongue and palate touch the wall of your throat, making a vibrating sound that comes out like a snore.
Another cause for that terrible snore could be your expanding waistline. Losing weight can help stop everything in your neck from getting squeezed and compressed – giving you more breathing room and stopping you from snoring.
Make sure you sleep for an adequate amount of time in order to avoid snoring. Also make sure that there are no allergens in your room – they can make you sneeze but also snore! Change your bed linen and keep your room clean.
Did you know that when you’re dehydrated, your nose secretions get thicker? It’s a bit obvious because of the lack of fluid entering your system, which makes everything dry up – causing you to snore.
If you’ve got a history of blocked noses and congestion, you know how this can mean bad news for your snoring problem. If your nose gets blocked when you sleep, you may want to use a nasal spray. You can also sniff something like eucalyptus to open it up.
If nothing helps your snoring, remember to visit a doctor to get to the root of the problem!
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Sources
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-do-people-snore
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/snoring/DS00297/DSECTION=causes
http://www.medicinenet.com/snoring/article.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-jordan-pritikin/how-to-stop-snoring_b_3690939.html
http://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/sleep/basics/tips-to-stop-snoring.htm
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/snoring/Pages/snorertest.aspx
http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/snoring-cause
http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/tc/snoring-what-happens
