How to Fix Loud Snoring
Almost half of today’s adults deal with snoring issues, many on a regular basis. While there may not be a serious problem with light snoring in certain cases, loud snoring can really be a nuisance to a sleeping partner, not to mention the fact that it might indicate a more pressing medical concern. If you or your loved one has a loud snore, there are several ways on how to fix loud snoring.
Why are You Snoring in the First Place?
When you sleep, the muscles in your throat and face relax, your tongue then falls to the back of your mouth, and your throat narrows. Every time you inhale, vibration happens in the walls of the throat, and once this channel gets narrower, that distinctive vibrating sound associated with snoring becomes louder and more pronounced. This is the reason why weight gain, particularly in neck area, can aggravate snoring since the buildup of tissue in this part of the body can constrict the throat, reduce airflow and cause snoring.
Aside from weight gain, there are some other factors which can lead to snoring. First, since the muscles in the throat relax more when a person gets older, snoring can in many cases get worse with age. There are also instances when anatomical abnormalities in the throat and nose can be blamed for constricted breathing while sleeping. During the season of allergies, inflammation in the throat and nose can make you snore as well.
What Kind of Snorer are You?
It is important to understand where your snores originate from, either from the throat, nose, or mouth, in order to determine the most successful and ideal form of treatment:
Nose Snoring
Nasal congestion or collapse – This is when nostrils are either congested or collapse which causes the airway to become blocked. A simple test for nasal restriction and congestion is to press one side of the nose closed using your finger and try breathing in with mouth closed using your other nostril. When the nostril collapses, you can get the help you need from using some kind of nasal dilator. If you cannot breathe because of congestion, it might be best to check and see if allergies may be causing this blockage. There are allergy tests you can use to help in this area.
Mouth Snoring
Tongue-based snoring – This is when your tongue falls to the back of your throat and blocks up the airway. The simple test here is to stick out your tongue as far as it can go then grab this between the teeth. When the snoring noise lessens in this particular position, chances are you are a tongue-based snorer. It will help if you sleep on your side or use a Mandibular Advancement Device for moving your tongue and jaw forward while you sleep.
Mouth-based snoring – This is when you are breathing through your mouth while you sleep instead of through the nose as is recommended. The simple test here is to check if you produce snoring sounds when your mouth is closed. If you do snore when your mouth is open, the use of devices like chin straps which help keep your mouth closed every night can help lessen the snoring.
Throat Snoring
Palatal flutter – In case none of the tests above work, it is possible that your snoring is the result of the vibration of the throat’s soft tissue. This tissue may have loosened due to age or it may be swollen or enlarged from allergies or weigh issues.
Steps on How to Fix Loud Snoring
If loud snoring is becoming a concern for you, there are some self-treatment methods that might provide results. Through certain physical or behavioral changes, most people will be able to sleep better.
1st Step: Change Your Position When Sleeping
Since the tongue collapsing to your throat’s back section causes snoring, sleeping on the side and preventing the tongue from falling backwards from gravity could make a huge difference. Full-length body pillows are available to support you throughout the night as you begin to start sleeping on your side. They can effectively retrain your body no to sleep on your back. You may also attach some tennis balls to the back of your nightshirt. Several beds also provide various incline positions and sleeping with your head elevated might also relieve snoring.
2nd Step: Avoid Dehydration
If you are dehydrated, the secretions in your throat and nose become much more viscous and that can make snoring much louder. See to it that you’re getting the recommended amount of water on a daily basis. The ammount of water you require is often dictated by your level of thirst, however you should ideally aim for the following ammounts; for males 3.7 litres or 15 cups and for females 2.7 litres or 11 cups. Staying hydrated means also avoiding alcohol, particularly before the time you go to your bed. Even those who do not typically snore generally snore after drinking some alcoholic beverages before bed time. Aside from dehydrating yourself, alcohol serves as a sedative, this sedative effect makes the muscles in back of the throat floppier and the sound when snoring gets a noticeably louder.
3rd Step: Use a Quality-Made Snoring Mouthpiece
Mouth guards and snoring mouthpieces are a cost-effective and quick way on how to fix loud snoring as they hold your mouth in a single position all night, which reduces the occurrence of snoring. You will have to do a little research to determine what type of mouthpiece to buy. Luckily we have selected some fantastic anti-snoring mouthpiece examples to help you make a wise and simple decision.
When to Seek for Medical Attention
There are times that you will not be able to know how to fix loud snoring by yourself. It is important for you to know that snoring can be a symptom of a more serious sleep disorder and once you suspect you’re suffering from more than an artificial snoring problem, you must look for help from the best medical professional or indeed sleep or snoring specialist.
If taking some measures at home or changing your position when sleeping doesn’t prove successful in getting rid of your snoring, you might be suffering from obstructive sleep apnea. It’s a serious condition, which occurs when the upper airway is completely or partially blocked during sleep time. Muscles in the stomach and chest work extra hard by pulling in excess air to compensate and this results in the loud snoring.
You may determine the presence of sleep apnea in certain cases, through a loud snoring pattern. Snoring might get very loud until the point where a loud snort or gasp causes it to stop for the moment. During the time of the silence that follows, a person’s body isn’t breathing, which stops the flow of oxygen to the blood and brain. As your body stops breathing several times throughout the night, the combined effects of sleep apnea can have serious detrimental effects on one’s health and increases the risk of having an occurrence of heart disease. Quick fixes at home won’t be effective against obstructive sleep apnea and this is why you will need confirmation of its presence and take measures to treat the disorder.
Conclusion
So in conclusion can loud snoring be fixed? Well yes it can and the effectiveness of the solution can vary from person to person. Some easy things to try right away are to change your sleep position from lying on your back to lying on your side. Keep yourself well hydrated by drinking the correct amount of water daily. Avoid drinking water too close to bedtime to avoid waking up and needing the bathroom. If changing your snoring position failed to fully solve the issue you can try using an anti-snoring device like a nasal dilator if you are a nose snorer, or an anti-snoring mouthpiece if you are a mouth snorer.
If you or your partner stop breathing while asleep or the snoring is excessively loud and occurs frequently we recommend undergoing some tests with a qualified specialist in order to fully diagnose the cause of the snoring or indeed determine if sleep apnea is present.
Improving the quality of your sleep is actually just a matter of changing and tweaking a few things in many cases. By taking some simple steps to minimize snoring with easy fixes such as those that are outlined above, better sleep and reduced snoring will almost certainly follow.
However you should always consider playing it safe when finding solutions on how to fix loud snoring. Always follow instructions on product packaging and use the guidance of qualified sleep and snoring specialists where possible.
Also, if you’re worried about the health risks associated with sleep apnea and snoring it would be wise first step to consult a suitably qualified professional who will give you guidance. Hopefully this post will have provided some ideas for you to try in order to solve the snoring problem you are experiencing at the moment. Check out our other posts and articles to find even more products, tips and techniques and ideas that you might find useful.
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