There are different ways that can help stop snoring such as mouth related exercises. It’s healthy and natural and comes with no cost at all! Let me tell you about the most common and effective exercises out there.
How to stop snoring exercises? Check these six common snoring exercises that can stop the snoring.
- Vocal exercise
- Pronouncing words loud and clearly can help strengthen your throat. Try to repeat the vowels (A, E, I, O and, U) and say it out loud for three minutes a few times a day.
- Tongue exercise
- Position the tip of your tongue behind your top front teeth then slide your tongue backwards for three minutes each day.
- Mouth exercise
- Close your mouth and purse your lips, like zipping your mouth. Hold on to that position for at least 30 seconds and repeat a few times a day.
- Jaw exercise
- Open your mouth then move your jaw to the right and hold for a few seconds, 30 seconds at least. After 30 seconds, move to the left side the same way you did to the right. Repeat a few times.
- Throat exercise
- Open your mouth and tighten the muscle at the back of your throat, do this in front of the mirror to see your uvula (or the hanging ball) moving up and down to see that it works.
- Singing exercise
- Singing casually can increase your muscle control in the throat and soft palate, reducing snoring caused by muscles that are relaxed.
There are also other “exercises” that can help stop snoring. It’s important to get plenty of exercises and keep a healthy body weight. Being overweight or obesity can actually cause snoring!
So if you are physically active, there’s lesser chance for you to snore.
The main point of the mouth related exercises is strengthening your throat, which is where your airway passage is.
When your throat is strengthened, your airways will not be easily blocked because your muscles won’t relax more than it should.
Snoring happens when there is an airway obstruction, such as when the muscles around the throat ends up relaxing and does not keep the airway open.
The surrounding tissues will vibrate and cause the sound of snoring.
It can be avoided when you strengthen your throat, the exercises can also help widen your throat. People with narrower throats end up snoring since it is more difficult to breathe with the narrow airway.
There is still more to learn about snoring such as the relevant details about it so read on to learn more!
Why you should exercise to stop snoring
There are many reasons why you should stop snoring any way you can, whether it is through exercises or not. Snoring can be a sign of major sleeping conditions like sleep apnea which can lead to the following…
- Heart failure
- May lead to fatal conditions such as brain damages or even death
- Heart attack
- Can also be severely life-threatening
- Irregular heartbeat
- Worsens the ability to breathe
- Can trigger anxiety
- Can lead to other heart diseases
- Stroke
- Can leave permanent damage
- May lead to paralysis
- Can cause death
- Depression
- Not an easy condition to treat
- Can lead to self-harming
- Weight gain or loss
- Sleep apnea can cause uncontrolled weight gain or weight loss that can lead to complicated health conditions
- Diabetes
- Leaves you prone to more heart attacks
- 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
- 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
- Headaches
- You may wake up with a bad headache which will lead to other problems listed here
- Can lead to brain problems
- 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
- Seizures
- Sleep apnea patients are more prone to seizures during sleep compared to epilepsy patients without sleep apnea.
How to stop snoring aside from exercises
But what if the exercises just aren’t enough? Well, don’t worry. There are still plenty of other casual ways that can help you stop the snoring.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- When the head is not properly elevated, the tongue can fall back and block the air passage, causing the tissues to vibrate and snore.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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”.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
- 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!
- 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.
- 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.
- Not getting the right amount of sleep and not sleeping early can cause the body to become dysfunctional and snore.
- 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.
What causes snoring
To stop snoring, it is also important that you know what causes 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.
- 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.
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.
- 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.
- 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
- Sedation 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.
- Observations reveal that males tend to have sleep apnea and snore more than females
- 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
Can snoring cause irritability?
Yes, snoring can cause irritability once you wake up. This is because you are not getting the proper sleep when you are snoring, making you feel extra tired in the morning and cause you to feel irritable.
Does snoring cause headaches?
Yes, snoring can potentially cause headaches. Snoring happens when you are experiencing difficulty in breathing. When you cannot breathe well, there won’t be enough oxygen in your brain.
The insufficient amount of bloody oxygen levels in your brain can possibly lead to headaches.
Will snoring go away?
Yes, snoring can go away. There are different methods that can make snoring go away and sometimes, it also goes away by itself, depending on what causes it in the first place.
To accurately pin point the reason behind snoring if it has been going on for a while, conducting a sleep study is recommended. Consult your doctor for more information or read our article about sleep studies.
