Simple steps you can take to Eliminate or Reduce Snoring
Having a partner, a family member, or a friend who snores like a grinding machine can be very frustrating. And if you are the one who snores, it’s an embarrassing thing, sleeping beside another person for the first time can make you feel self-conscious. You can alleviate it, even eliminate it with surgery.
Why do people snore?
You snore when your upper airway tissue vibrates, and usually, it is not a health concern. For the person snoring, it is not really an issue, it is the person who sleeps by someone who snores that suffers.
It can make it very hard for you to sleep with such a person. Normally, the other partner prefers to sleep sooner to save him or herself from torture.
What you can do to reduce or stop snoring?
If you drink alcohol, stop
The wives of many men who snore say that it is manageable most nights, but on the days when their husband has a beer or two, it is unbearable.
Why is that? Alcohol is known to be a muscle relaxant, which can cause the tissue in your throat to become weak while you sleep. Apart from alcohol, there are medications that at meant to relax your muscles, like lorazepam Ativan and diazepam valium, these medications can make you snore louder if you already do. Stop drinking alcohol, especially at night.
Nasal congestions can make snoring worse
That is why it is important to treat common colds, rinse stuffy nose and sinuses with saline and other antihistamines. Buy a humidifier to fix swollen nasal tissues. This will help open your nasal passageways, that way, you can breathe better.
Even for those who do not snore at all, you notice there is this ringing sound they make when they sleep with a stuffy nose due to a common cold, which makes it worse for someone who already snores.
Sleep on your side
When you sleep on your back, your tongue drops and may cause the tissues in your upper airway to close up or constrict, causing you to snore.
Either you raise your bed a little bit or double your pillow when you sleep on your back or sleep on your side. If you are finding it difficult to sleep on your side for a long time, try to put a pile of books behind you or sew a few tennis balls in your pajamas.
Try losing some weight
Lean people also snore, but for someone who is overweight, you can try to lose a little weight to alleviate your snoring.
When you are overweight, extra fat tissue in your neck can narrow and constrict your airway. Losing weight can help melt that fat tissue. You know you are overweight when your body mass index is above 25.0, as an adult above age 20.
The methods above will simply alleviate your snoring, but if they don’t work, or you develop sleep apnea, you can go in for surgery. The doctors can do a Somnoplasty, Palatal Implants, or Laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty. These surgeries are not done here in Ghana.
You can also buy nasal strips that you can place on the bridge of your nose to help open nasal passages. If none of these methods work on your spouse, you can always choose to sleep first, that way you will not notice, especially if you are a deep sleeper.
Clean your room regularly, dust, insecticides, and pesticides are not your friends. Soaps, perfumes, and body creams with strong smells are not your friends either. Whenever you feel your nose is becoming stuffy, take antihistamines to help clear your nose. Take action to help with your snoring today. Not everyone can sleep by someone who snores like a moving trailer.
