Many people are not aware of how they can stop snoring but today, we now have the technology that can provide immediate relief for those who snore and have sleeping conditions that can cause us to snore.
So, how to stop snoring immediately? Check this list of helpful methods that can help stop the snoring immediately!
- Nasal Strips
- Nasal strips are one of the earliest tools used to treat conditions like sleep apnea and its symptoms such as snoring.
Nowadays, there are newly developed nasal strips that you can try. It provides instant relief after one night of use and it will continue to work as long as you use it.
- Nasal strips are one of the earliest tools used to treat conditions like sleep apnea and its symptoms such as snoring.
- Oral Appliance
- Oral pieces can help with sleep apnea and snoring, they are custom made to make sure it prevents the obstruction in the airways and counter sleep apnea and snoring.
Just like nasal strips, it also provides immediate relief once you get one of these. Consult your physician or a dentist to get yourself an oral appliance.
- Oral pieces can help with sleep apnea and snoring, they are custom made to make sure it prevents the obstruction in the airways and counter sleep apnea and snoring.
- CPAP Treatment
- The CPAP or “Continuous Positive Airway Pressure” is a commonly used treatment and proven to be effective for sleep apnea patients and stopping snoring.
- Lose weight
- Being overweight or obesity can be a cause of snoring. You can potentially get rid of snoring by getting plenty of exercises and maintaining a healthy, balanced diet.
- Stop or avoid smoking too much.
- Excessive smoking can cause or worsen snoring. Reducing your smoke intake per day will also reduce the risk of snoring. If possible, quit smoking to potentially get rid of snoring.
Not only those who smoke, but also anyone who is exposed to secondhand smoke may tend to snore as well. Stay away from smoke as much as possible for your own health.
- Excessive smoking can cause or worsen snoring. Reducing your smoke intake per day will also reduce the risk of snoring. If possible, quit smoking to potentially get rid of snoring.
- Avoid excessive alcohol consumption
- Drinking too much alcohol before sleeping can cause and worsen snoring just like smoking. The contents in the liquor will relax the muscles and cause us to snore.
- Avoid sedatives before going to sleep
- Certain sedatives can cause snoring. Consult a medical expert to determine what type of sedative may be the cause.
- Maintain a proper sleep routine.
- Sometimes, we end up getting exposed to snoring since we simply don’t sleep at the right time. Try to avoid staying up late and sleep early.
You should also keep a proper sleeping position. Try to sleep with your head elevated or sleeping in a recliner chair.
There are also anti-snore pillows that can be bought from the market that you might want to try. The pillow will keep your head in the right position to stop you from snoring.
- Sometimes, we end up getting exposed to snoring since we simply don’t sleep at the right time. Try to avoid staying up late and sleep early.
- Don’t overwork yourself all the time.
- Going to sleep exhausted can make us a lot more prone to snoring. It’s important to relax a little bit at first before going to bed to lessen the risk of sleep apnea and snoring.
- Treat chronic allergies
- Some allergies can trigger obstruction in your body’s airways and may cause you to have sleep apnea and cause you to snore. Treat or avoid triggering your allergies to avoid snoring.
As you can see, some of these methods can be simple lifestyle changes but it can definitely contribute a lot to your health and stop you from snoring immediately.
Now, as you read on, you will learn more about snoring and how to stop it with other ways and what else you need to know about it.
What causes snoring?
To stop snoring immediately, knowing what also causes it can help you out.
There are plenty of reasons why a person may snore but mainly, it’s when the person is experiencing difficulty in breathing.
When the body is unable to breathe properly, the surrounding tissues may vibrate which causes the sound called snoring.
This can happen because of chronic conditions or natural anatomy formation. It can be because of a narrow throat or such which can be fixed through surgeries.
If not, there are also other reasons why a person will snore. Check out this list to see if it may be applicable to your situation.
- Being overweight
- Body fat can get in the way of the body’s ability to stretch its airways open making it harder to breathe which will cause snoring.
- Airway obstruction
- Anything that can obstruct the airways will make breathing difficult and cause the tissues to vibrate and cause snoring.
- Sleeping position
- Sleeping on your back may cause the tongue to fall back and the muscles to relax which can block the airways.
- Drinking liquor
- Drinking excessive liquor especially before going to sleep will relax the muscles and create difficulty in breathing
- Smoking cigarettes
- Similar to drinking liquor
- Taking medications
- Certain medications can make the body relax as well
- Sleeping exhausted
- Sometimes, going to bed overworked or completely exhausted can cause snoring since the body is too tired to help your breathing stay normal.
- Anatomical build
- Your physical attributes can obstruct your airways and some of this can be hereditary.
- Age
- As we age, our throat will become narrower which is beyond our control. However, proper sleep routine and a healthy, balanced diet can prevent snoring or sleep apnea.
Some of these cannot be prevented, but it’s still important that you know of it.
How to know if you are snoring
- Excessive daytime sleepiness.
- Snoring can disrupt our sleep at night and cause us to still be sleepy in the morning.
- Difficulty in concentrating.
- If you are snoring, you’ll find a hard time concentrating since your body couldn’t rest well as it should at night.
- Gasping or choking at night.
- You may or may not notice it, but if you did, it’s a sign that you might be snoring.
- Waking up with a dry mouth.
- Snorers will end up breathing through their mouths, leaving it dry as we wake.
- Waking up with a headache.
- Snoring can also cause headaches in the morning that will gradually fade away on its own after waking.
- Sudden weight gain or loss.
- If your snore is caused by a sleeping condition such as sleep apnea, there’s a chance that you might experience uncontrolled and sudden weight gain or loss.
- Uncontrolled irritability.
- Lack of sleep due to snoring can cause mood swings and decreasing our control over our emotions which can lead to unwanted irritability
- Experience pauses in breathing during sleep.
- You may or may not notice it on your own but if you do, it’s a major sign that you might be snoring and have sleep apnea.
- Feeling tired even though you just woke up.
- Restless sleep is a sign of snoring and sleep apnea, this is because your body is worked up at night while you are sleeping, causing you to have less energy when you wake.
If not signs and you want direct confirmation, here are two ideas to try and confirm if you are snoring.
- Schedule a sleep study.
- A sleep study is a formal “test” where health experts will monitor your sleep to determine what sleeping condition you might have. This can be done at a sleep center or at home.
- Try to record your sleep.
- If you live alone or anything similar, you can try to take a video of yourself while you are sleeping with the audio on. You can decide to just use a voice recorder to hear if you do snore.
What worsens snoring?
Now that you already have an idea about what can cause snoring, it will be easier for you to determine the answer for yourself. Now, let me tell you about what worsens it.
- Hypothyroidism
- The condition wherein your body does not produce enough thyroid hormones, which is needed to control how to use energy received from food through metabolism. Bad metabolism can affect heartbeat and breathing.
- Acromegaly
- Opposite of hypothyroidism, acromegaly produces too much growth hormones which can affect your overall health including breathing.
- Obesity
- Can make breathing difficult even while asleep or not moving, resulting in snoring
- Allergies
- There are certain allergies that can worsen sleep apnea or snoring. Allergies that result with difficulty in breathing are the likes.
- Smoking cigarettes
- Excessive smoking can damage your body which may make it harder to function or relax properly, increasing the risk of sleep apnea and snoring.
- Drinking liquor
- Too much liquor and drinking before going to sleep can cause sleep apnea and snore.
- Drug usage
- Sedations or other types of drugs especially when being abused can result in sleep apnea and snoring or worse.
- Being male
- Observations reveal that males tend to have sleep apnea and snore more than females
- Though this factor cannot be avoided, knowing about it will help you understand the reason why you are prone to sleep apnea and snoring because of it.
- Being old
- Observations also revealed that older adults are more prone to sleep apnea and snoring than younger ones due to more complicated health issues that may trigger loud snoring.
When sleep apnea is the cause of snoring
If you suspect that the cause behind your snoring is sleep apnea, then here are other signs that it might be the sleeping condition. Check out these symptoms that may show you have sleep apnea.
- Gasping for air during sleep
- The feeling of drowning without knowing it and suddenly you’re out of air.
- Insomnia
- Having trouble going to sleep because you have breathing problems that you may not notice
- Sudden weight gain or loss
- Sleep apnea can cause our body to lose control of our hormones, causing us to eat less or more
- Hypersomnia
- Having trouble staying awake in the morning because you were unable to sleep well due to your sleep apnea
- Waking up with a headache
- Sleep apnea can disturb your body’s “charging” state. Since you can’t sleep well, your body will use energy for means that can help you breathe which may lead to headaches.
- Waking up with a dry mouth
- With sleep apnea, the person tends to snore and keep their mouth open when gasping for air which leads to a dried up mouth once we awaken.
- Decreased ability to focus
- Sleep apnea can give lack of sleep which will also result in difficulty to focus on anything
- Feeling uncomfortable
- Your lack of energy due to sleep apnea can make you feel uncomfortable and irritable without your knowledge
- Suddenly stop breathing during sleep
- Your housemates should notice this and tell you about it. Sleep apnea can disrupt breathing that may last for up to 10 seconds which is already risky.
How to stop snoring caused by sleep apnea
If using some of the treatments did not work for you in stopping the snoring, then you or the snorer might have sleep apnea that requires surgery. Here’s how you can permanently stop the snoring sounds.
- Rapid Maxillary Expansion
- For children with obstructive sleep apnea. This process places an expandable brace on the roof of the mouth that increases the width of the upper jaw (maxilla).
- Over time, parents can adjust the brace using a special key to increase the amount of pressure for the teeth.
- Jaw Advancement Surgery
- For teenagers and adults. This process will surgically break the jaw bones, moved forward and then fixed properly with screws and plates and will change the person’s facial structure or profile.
- It might take months to recover.
- Surgical Airway Advancement
- Similar to the 2nd example. Bones of the upper and lower jaw will be repositioned in a way that will relieve airway obstruction.
It’s important to consult a health expert to determine the proper surgery suited for your condition. After all, sleep apnea can be a complicated condition and needs careful analysis before doing anything else.
Related Questions
Do tongue exercises stop snoring?
Yes, tongue exercises can help stop snoring. It can help strengthen your muscles in the throat, which is where your air passage is. The strength given by exercises can help keep your airway open, preventing snoring.
Why am I snoring all of a sudden?
If you have suddenly begun to snore or have only just started to notice, it is likely to be due to a recent physical change in your mouth or throat.
This could be caused by putting on weight, especially around the neck. Being sleep deprived can also cause your airways to become more relaxed and close your throat which leads to snoring.
