How to Stop Snoring?

If you snore, you make a raspy, rattling, snorting sound while you breathe during sleep. Snoring is a fairly common affliction, affecting 40 percent of men and 25 percent of women. Older people are particularly prone to snoring: About one-third of people ages 55 to 84 snore.

Snoring is caused by a narrowing of the airways during sleep. When we sleep all our muscles including those in the throat and neck relax. The problem occurs when the muscles relax too much causing them to flop around and block the airways. These muscles include the tonsils, uvula, and tongue. If you are overweight, the neck and throat will be much more fleshy and as a result liable to cause the airways to become blocked during sleep.

The best way to tackle this problem is to use methods to stop snoring naturally. This is easily achievable with some simple changes to lifestyle, diet changes and regular exercises. It is important to take care of this problem fast because the blockage of airways can even lead to life threatening problems. Following tips will help you:

• Lose weight: People who are overweight tend to snore more than those who are at a healthy weight. Of course, you don't necessarily have to be overweight to be a snorer, but if you are a snorer and overweight, dropping the pounds via exercise and healthy eating will curb it. If you're not active in your daily life, there's a very good chance that you will be a snorer, so get out there and try to walk for at least an hour a day.

• Don't drink alcohol: If you habitually have a glass of wine with dinner, that may increase your chances of snoring at night. When you drink, it relaxes the tongue and throat muscles, resulting in partially blocked air movement as you breathe, which leads to snoring. If you already snore, this will make the situation worse and if you don't usually snore, drinking can contribute to this new sleep behavior.

• Quit smoking: There's a good chance that, if you're a smoker, you'll likely be a snorer as well. Well, because of the effects cigarette smoking has on the nasal passages and sinuses. If you quit smoking, all your problems with snoring (among other things) would resolve themselves. And if you don't smoke, you'd do best to avoid exposing yourself to secondhand smoke; it has the same detrimental effect when it comes to sleepy time.

• Change your sleeping position: Avoid sleeping on your back, you should try sleeping on your side and use a firmer pillow to avoid relaxing your throat and narrowing your breathing airway.

• Clear your nasal passage: If you have allergies, sinus infections, a cold or the flu, try running hot water in the sink. Inhale the steam from the running water and you may find that your nasal passages open up and improve your breathing. This will help you to have a better night's sleep.

• Avoid pillows: Some people tend to sleep on a bunch of pillows, but anything that elevates your head and neck, and throws off the natural line of your spine, tends to make you snore.

• Sleep regularly: Sleeping for few hours each night can cause snoring. Unbalanced sleeping patterns develop into respiratory instability while asleep. And there is nothing good about respiratory instability because it can lead to unstable breathing. Hence, you need to regulate your sleeping patterns. Set a specific time of sleeping. Wake up in the morning on the same time, every day. Sometimes, 7 to 8 hours of sleep is all you need.

• Steer away from snore-triggers: If you are taking sleeping pills and products that contain antihistamines, then you are most likely a snorer. These are sedating medicines that relax the muscles and nerves. As a result, the muscle tone in the tissues of the throat relaxes and collapses. This triggers snoring just like the effect of cigarette smoking.

Snoring is a major problem for not only the person who snores, as it is a major health risk, but also for others who go through sleep disorder because their bed mate thunders away. This is something that should be addressed immediately. Sleep silently for the sake of yourself and for your bed mate.