1. Change Your Sleep Position.
Lying on your back makes the base of your tongue and soft palate collapse to the back wall of your throat, causing a vibrating sound during sleep. Sleeping on your side may help prevent this. A body pillow (a full-length pillow that supports your entire body) provides an easy fix. It also enables you to maintain sleeping on your side and can make a dramatic difference.
2. Lose Some Weight
Weight loss helps some people but not everyone. Thin people snore, too. If you’ve gained weight and started snoring and did not snore before you gained weight, weight loss may help. If you gain weight around your neck, it squeezes the internal diameter of the throat, making it more likely to collapse during sleep, triggering snoring, medical research has revealed.
3. Avoid Alcohol.
Alcohol and sedatives reduce the resting tone of the muscles in the back of your throat, making it more likely you’ll snore. Drinking alcohol four to five hours before sleeping makes snoring worse. People who don’t normally snore will snore after drinking alcohol it can be seen.
4. Practice Good Sleep Hygiene.
Poor sleep habits (also known as poor sleep “hygiene”) can have an effect similar to that of drinking alcohol. Working long hours without enough sleep, for example, means when you finally hit the sack you’re tired. You sleep hard and deep, and the muscles become floppier, which creates snoring.
5. Open Nasal Passages.
If snoring starts in your nose, keeping nasal passages open may help. It allows air to move through slower. Imagine a narrow garden hose with water running through, the narrower the hose, the faster the water rushes through. Your nasal passages work similarly. If your nose is clogged or narrowed due to a cold or other blockage, the fast-moving air is more likely to produce snoring. A hot shower before you go to bed can help open nasal passages, Also, keep a bottle of saltwater rinse in the shower. Rinse your nose out with it while you’re showering to help open up passages.
6. Change Your Pillows.
Allergens in your bedroom and in your pillow may contribute to snoring. When did you last dust the overhead ceiling fan? Replace your pillows. Dust mites accumulate in pillows and can cause allergic reactions that can lead to snoring. Allowing pets to sleep on the bed causes you to breathe in animal dander, another common irritant. If you feel fine during the day but obstructed at night, these things may be contributing to your snoring.
Put your pillows in the air once every couple of weeks and replace them every six months to keep dust mites and allergens to a minimum. And keep pets out of the bedroom.
7. Drink Plenty Of Fluids
Secretions in your nose and soft palate become stickier when you’re dehydrated. This can create more snoring. According to the Institute of Medicine, healthy women should have about 11 cups of total water (from all drinks and food) a day; men require about 16 cups.
Overall, get enough sleep, sleep on your side, avoid alcohol before bedtime and take a hot shower if nasal passages are clogged. These simple practices can make a huge difference in reducing snoring.
Culled from www.webmd.com
