Are you a snorer? Wondering how to reduce snoring?
Since almost half of Australian men and almost a third of Australian women are habitual snorers, the answer could well be “yes”.
Snoring happens when the soft tissues of the mouth, nose, or throat vibrate during breathing when you are asleep. In most cases, the muscles of the oral cavity and neck become too relaxed and the airways narrow too much as a result of this. The air you breathe is forced to flow through a much smaller airway and the snoring sound is the result.
Snoring isn’t just annoying – it’s a sure sign that the brain and body are not getting enough air while you’re asleep. It disrupts your sleep enough to reset your sleeping position to try to improve airflow – causing ramifications in your day-to-day life.
Snoring might be common, but it’s certainly not “normal”.
Do you want to know how to reduce snoring?
The Importance of Understanding Why You Snore
The first step to resolving your snoring is to understand why you snore in the first place. After all, how are you going to fix the problem if you don’t know what’s causing it?
There are different types of snoring (nasal, oral, tongue-based, and deep throat-based) and each has its own causes.
Some things that may be contributing to your snoring include:
- Sleeping on your back.
- Being overweight or obese – especially if you carry a lot of fat in your neck.
- Sleeping very deeply.
- Having weak muscle tone in the mouth or throat
- You have narrow airways due to your bone structure and soft tissue anatomy
- You have enlarged tonsils/adenoids or a large/floppy uvula
- You have a large tongue
- You have a deviated septum
- You breathe through your mouth
- You suffer from allergies
- You have an upper respiratory tract infection
- You consume too much alcohol
- You smoke cigarettes or cannabis or you vape
- You use sedative medications
- You suffer from obstructive sleep apnoea
To address your snoring properly, you need to know why you snore.
How To Reduce Snoring – Finding the Right Treatment
Finding the right way to reduce snoring relies on understanding its cause for you. The treatment you choose must be dictated by the cause and severity of your snoring. Some people will find a solution simpler to identify and implement than others.
Your approach to reducing snoring may include:
- Lifestyle Changes
The first way to reduce snoring is to make some positive lifestyle changes:- Maintain a healthy BMI – lose some weight if necessary
- Exercise regularly
- Eat a healthy diet
- Drink plenty of water
- Don’t smoke or vape
- Consume alcohol only moderately
- Avoid caffeine after 4 pm
- Don’t use sedatives or illicit drugs
- Avoid muscle relaxants if you snore
- Surgery
If your snoring is caused by anatomical issues, surgery may be the key to treating it. This requires a specialist ENT consultation and possibly a second opinion, as it is an invasive solution to a problem that may be adequately managed medically. If you are deemed to require surgery, it may be to:- Correct a deviated septum (septoplasty) or reduce the turbinates
- Remove the tonsils/adenoids to open up the airways
- Remove or shorten the uvula.
- Stiffen the soft palate with palatal implants, via radiofrequency/laser treatment, or via injection snoreplasty
- Other surgical alternatives
- Drug/Pharmacological Solutions
Medicines can be used to treat inflammation and swelling in the airways caused by allergies, dry air, viruses, smoking, and other environmental triggers. They include:- Antihistamines
- Nasal Lubricant Sprays
- Nasal Steroids
- Nasal Decongestants
- Positional Changes
Most snoring occurs when sleeping on the back. Techniques to prevent back sleeping and limit snoring include:- Anti-snore pillows or wedges
- Raise the head of the bed
- Electronic devices which vibrate or ring an alarm if you roll onto your back
- Medical devices
These may help reduce snoring, with varying levels of effectiveness and depending on why you snore:- Nasal strips to open the nasal passages
- Oral Strips to promote nasal breathing.
- Mandibular advancement device worn in the mouth to gently push the lower jaw forward and open the airways.
- Tongue retaining device to prevent the tongue from relaxing back into the throat.
- CPAP
This is prescribed by doctors and sleep specialists for people with obstructive sleep apnoea. It pushes air into the mouth during sleep and keeps the airways open, via a face mask and machine.
Do You Need Professional Help?
Signs you need to seek professional help for snoring include:
- Others tell you your snoring is constant, very loud, or otherwise disruptive
- You snore even in light sleep – or if you’re not even aware you’ve dozed off
- You snore even when you are not sleeping on your back
- You wake gasping or choking (a sign of obstructive sleep apnoea)
- You stop breathing throughout the night (a sign of obstructive sleep apnoea)
- You are chronically tired or irritable during the day
- You wake with morning headaches and/or a sore throat frequently
- You have trouble concentrating or staying alert during the day
- Your relationship is suffering – your snoring is causing conflict, or you and your partner are sleeping separately as a result of your snoring
The Right Treatment for Snoring – SnoreMD
The easiest way to address your snoring issues quickly and effectively is by using SnoreMD. It is a fully adjustable, mandibular advancement device, worn in the mouth at night while you sleep, and is the key to breathing more easily, sleeping better, and being more productive in your day-to-day life. You’ll also feel better!
As a leading mandibular advancement device, SnoreMD is clinically proven to be an effective treatment for snoring and is widely recommended by doctors, pharmacists, and sleep specialists. It is a Class 1 registered Medical Device that is used successfully all over the world.
It can also be effective for people diagnosed with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnoea.
Discover the difference for yourself – purchase yours today and reduce snoring more easily than you ever imagined was possible.
Buy SnoreMD now or call us on 07 5370 9323.
