Snoring can be bothersome, especially to those people around you. It’s a common condition that affects a lot of people, although most cases often happen in men and those who are overweight.
Snoring on certain occasions shouldn’t cause any alarm. Most of the time, it’s only your bed partner that gets affected by it. But if you’ve been a snorer for a long time, you’re not only disrupting the sleep pattern of those people around you, but you’re also hurting your quality of sleep, too.
Primary Causes of Snoring
There are several reasons why people snore. But it commonly occurs when the air passage through the person’s nose and mouth gets blocked.
Several factors can interfere with a person’s airflow. One of them is blocked nasal airways. Some people snore only when they have allergies or when they an infection in their sinus. Meanwhile, others snore when they have nasal polyps that block their airways.
Poor muscle tone in both tongue and throat can cause a person to snore, too. When a person’s tongue and throat muscles get too relaxed, it allows them to collapse down their air passage. Thus, blocking the flow of air through their mouth.
Being overweight also causes a problem when it comes to snoring. Obesity can cause a person’s throat to become bulky, hinders the air from flowing naturally. Some children who have large adenoids and tonsils also experience the same issue.
Alcohol, as well as drug use, can be at fault when it comes to snoring. Alcohol and muscle relaxers can make your throat and tongue muscles relax excessively, which blocks the airflow later.
How to Relieve Yourself from Snoring
There are several treatments out there that claim to treat snoring, utmost of them do not keep to their promises. Fortunately, there are ways to help address your sleeping concerns.
Aside from using orthodontics appliances, losing weight can also help you with your snoring problem. Back it up with healthier eating habits to achieve better results.
You should also avoid using sleeping pills and tranquilizers before going to bed, if possible. Antihistamines aren’t also advisable, too.
Eating heavy meals and drinking alcohol is also a big no-no if you’re an occasional snorer. If you can’t help it, then you should have it more than four hours before you go to bed.
It’s also best to establish regular sleeping patterns as best as you can. Try to go to bed at the same time for a week and see if you can adjust to it. When sleeping, try to sleep on your side instead of on your back. It would help if you also raise the head of the bed for up to four inches and not just the pillows.
These are only a few of the things that you should consider when trying to solve your snoring problems. If none of these things are helping, then it’s best to reach out to your doctor about it. Doing so will give you better medical treatments to help reduce or get rid of your snoring for good.
