How to Stop Snoring Naturally

by | | Sleep Disorders

How to Stop Snoring Naturally

Snoring can truly be a nuisance as it can disrupt your sleep or your partner’s sleep. Today, there are many people who snore and still don’t know how to stop it which is what we are going to solve right now!

So, how to stop snoring naturally? There are plenty of ways to stop snoring naturally, check this list below that can help you out.

  1. Try to avoid overworking yourself.
    • Sometimes, simply going to sleep while totally exhausted can make our muscles relax too much to the point that it can lead to snoring.
  2. Avoid drinking liquor before bed.
    • Excessive liquor can also relax the muscles that will lead to snoring. Limit alcohol consumption or avoid drinking too much before going to sleep.
  3. Sleep with your head elevated.
    • When the head is not properly elevated, the tongue can fall back and block the air passage, causing the tissues to vibrate and snore.

      You can also use an anti-snore pillow which will keep your head in proper place that can prevent you from snoring. Sleeping in a chair or a recliner chair is also an option.
  4. Try to sleep on your sides.
    • Sleeping flat on our backs can cause the tongue to fall back and block the airways. It can also make the muscles relax and cause snoring.

      You can read about: “How to prevent sleeping on my back” to learn how you can keep sleeping on your sides.
  5. Get plenty of exercises.
    • Lack of physical activity can cause our body’s functionality to drop. This means that we need the right amount of exercise to keep our body “awake” and functioning even as we sleep.

      This is important so we can stop snoring “naturally”.
  6. Stop or limit smoking.
    • If your body inhales the smoke, it can cause the muscles inside to swell or become irritated, potentially blocking the airways and causing you to snore.

      Those who are also exposed to secondhand smoke can be prone to snoring, so avoid getting near smoke as much as possible.
  7. Drink enough water.
    • When we are dehydrated, the throat becomes dry which makes the vibrating tissues sound louder and produces snoring. Stay hydrated to prevent snoring!
  8. Eat a healthy diet.
    • Our diet plays a huge part in our health! You should also avoid eating heavy before sleeping, if you go to sleep on a full stomach, your muscles may not work as it should.

      Focus on eating healthy foods!
  9. Sleep on time.
    • Not getting the right amount of sleep and not sleeping early can cause the body to become dysfunctional and snore.

      Avoid depriving yourself with sleep and you can stop snoring.
  10. Lose weight.
    • Being overweight or obesity will cause difficulty in breathing. The excess fat will get in the way of the air passages, causing tissues to vibrate and cause snoring.

As you can see, most of the “natural ways” to stop snoring only involve basic lifestyle changes. If your snoring does not stop, there must be a deeper reason why you do, read on to learn more what causes it.

How to stop snoring unnaturally

But what if you’ve tried these natural methods and still didn’t work? You can check these tips that can probably help you stop snoring.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. CPAP Treatment
    • The CPAP or “Continuous Positive Airway Pressure” is a commonly used treatment and proven to be effective for sleep apnea patients and helping snoring.
  4. 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.
  5. Surgeries
    • If your snoring is caused by your anatomical build, it can only be fixed through surgeries. Usually, people who snore that need surgeries have sleeping conditions like sleep apnea.

The surgeries mentioned in this list are the following.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.

What causes snoring

To stop snoring, it’s important that you know what can cause it.

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.

  1. 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.
  2. Airway obstruction
    • Anything that can obstruct the airways will make breathing difficult and cause the tissues to vibrate and cause snoring.
  3. Sleeping position
    • Sleeping on your back may cause the tongue to fall back and the muscles to relax which can block the airways.
  4. Drinking liquor
    • Drinking excessive liquor especially before going to sleep will relax the muscles and create difficulty in breathing
  5. Smoking cigarettes
    • Similar to drinking liquor
  6. Taking medications
    • Certain medications can make the body relax as well
  7. 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.
  8. Anatomical build
    • Your physical attributes can obstruct your airways and some of this can be hereditary.
  9. 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.

Why you should stop snoring

There are many reasons why you should stop snoring any way you can, whether it is unnatural or natural. Snoring can be a sign of major sleeping conditions like sleep apnea which can lead to the following…

  1. Heart failure
    • May lead to fatal conditions such as brain damages or even death
  2. Heart attack
    • Can also be severely life-threatening
  3. Irregular heartbeat
    • Worsens the ability to breathe
    • Can trigger anxiety
    • Can lead to other heart diseases
  4. Stroke
    • Can leave permanent damage
    • May lead to paralysis
    • Can cause death
  5. Depression
    • Not an easy condition to treat
    • Can lead to self-harming
  6. Weight gain or loss
    • Sleep apnea can cause uncontrolled weight gain or weight loss that can lead to complicated health conditions
  7. Diabetes
    • Leaves you prone to more heart attacks
  8. High Blood Pressure
    • Aside from your physical health, this can also affect your mental health and relationship with people around you including your work
    • Can lead to other life-threatening conditions
  9. Increases ADHD
    • Sleep apnea reduces your ability to focus which is what happens when you have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
    • Having a lack of control to focus can lead to frustration and risk of other danger
  10. Headaches
    • You may wake up with a bad headache which will lead to other problems listed here
    • Can lead to brain problems
  11. Lack of daily energy
    • As mentioned, your energy will be reduced since you are unable to sleep well. This can lead to risky conditions that may put someone in danger
  12. Seizures
    • Sleep apnea patients are more prone to seizures during sleep compared to epilepsy patients without sleep apnea.

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.

  1. 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.
  2. Acromegaly
    • Opposite of hypothyroidism, acromegaly produces too much growth hormones which can affect your overall health including breathing.
  3. Obesity
    • Can make breathing difficult even while asleep or not moving, resulting in snoring
  4. Allergies
    • There are certain allergies that can worsen sleep apnea or snoring. Allergies that result with difficulty in breathing are the likes.
  5. 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.
  6. Drinking liquor
    • Too much liquor and drinking before going to sleep can cause sleep apnea and snore.
  7. Drug usage
    • Sedation or other types of drugs especially when being abused can result in sleep apnea and snoring or worse.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.

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.

Will sleeping elevated stop me from snoring?

Yes, sleeping with your head properly elevated can stop you from snoring since it will help keep your airways open and avoid blocking it when sleeping flat on your back.

Can a healthy diet stop snoring?

Yes, a healthy diet can possibly stop snoring and sleeping conditions like sleep apnea and if not, it can reduce the risk of being threatened by sleep apnea.

Being overweight can potentially cause snoring and sleep apnea, so if you keep a healthy diet, you can avoid snoring or being diagnosed with sleep apnea.

If you have always been snoring and your diet is potentially causing it, then changing your diet will definitely solve the problem.