Snoring is a common issue and can often be a nuisance to the individuals around you. Not only can it impact the quality of sleep for both you and the people around you, but it can also be a telltale sign of a condition called obstructive sleep apnea, which increases the risk of you getting diabetes, obesity, hypertension, heart attack, and other cardiovascular problems. Fortunately, there are ways to combat this and get yourself or your partner to stop snoring.

Lose Weight

Snoring is often caused by the vibration of soft tissues in your airway, and by losing weight and decreasing excess body fat, you’re making it so that there is less tissue to vibrate and thereby reducing the risk of you snoring as well.

Clear Your Sinuses

Congested sinuses can also contribute to you or your partner snoring. You can clear your sinuses through home treatments like using a nasal saline spray, a hot shower before going to bed, drinking lots of fluids, using a humidifier or a vaporizer, or just propping your head up when you sleep to make breathing more comfortable. All of which clears your sinuses and reduce the risk of you snoring.

Sleeping on Your Side or Stomach

Lying on your back when you sleep can make the base of your tongue and soft palate collapse to the back wall of your throat and result in excessive snoring. Sleeping on your side can help to reduce the compression of your airways and prevent snoring.  

Use Nasal Strips

Nasal strips can help with snoring by opening your nasal passages to allow you to breathe better, this can aid in either reducing or eliminating snoring altogether.

Seek Medical Treatment

If the above methods do not curb your snoring at night, it might be indicative of a larger problem, possibly of a condition called obstructive sleep apnea. In that case, it is important to seek medical treatment to eliminate snoring. Your physician will advise you to use a CPAP (continuous positive airway press machine) which includes a mask that patients have to wear over their face when they sleep. This helps to inflate the airway open to eliminate sleep apnea and snoring.

Treat Sleep Disorders at Head Pain Institute

Here at Head Pain Institute, we help to treat sleep disorders like sleep apnea where a person’s ability to breathe is impaired and can often result in snoring as well as restless sleep. However, instead of the CPAP machine that is commonly used, we treat it with an oral appliance that can play a crucial role in managing sleep apnea for a huge amount of patients. Though CPAP machines might be effective, it is not tolerated by more than half of the patients for whom it is prescribed. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, a dental sleep appliance is the number one alternative treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. Contact us now to manage your symptoms of snoring and sleep apnea.