Snoring may be a regular night time activity for you, and you may be at the point where you're wondering how to make it stop. If this is you, then you are not alone. Of adults between the ages of 30 and 60 years old, 44% of men and 28% of women snore. Over the age of 60, about half of all people snore regularly.

Snoring is the sound that happens when air passes through your airway when it's partially blocked. Tissues that are at the top of your airway, like you're arytenoids, can touch each other, vibrate, causing snoring.

Pretty much all adults snore occasionally. For most people, snoring is not really that embarrassing or problematic. However, for others, snoring can indicate a serious underlying health issue like obstructive sleep apnea. Different people snore for different reasons, but at the end of the day, each individual would probably rather learn how to stop snoring. Continue reading to learn what are some things that you may be able to do to help you stop snoring.

Make bedtime adjustments

Learning how to stop snoring is not always something that requires an expensive sleep study, sleep therapy, medications, and consultations with sleep health experts. Here are a few adjustments that you can make to help you stop snoring. If these fail, then it may be time to speak with an expert.

Sleep on your side

The chance of you snoring depends on what position you sleep in. People are more likely to snore when they are asleep on their back, which is also called the supine position. Opposite of that, people tend to snore less when they are on their sides, or the lateral position. This is probably due to head position more than body position, with people snoring less when their heads are turned to the side. And you know that you snore at night on the tribal to sleep on your side to see if that reduces the amount of snoring that you do. If you have trouble keeping your sleep position, you can consider using pillows to help you maintain it at night and keep your head and body in a side position.

Wear a nasal strip or dilator

Internal and external nasal dilators are great for helping to improve air flow as you sleep period as a result this may reduce snoring. The small devices are available over the counter and online for relatively low prices. Both types of nasal dilators are small, flexible strips that can use tension to open the nasal passages. External dilators stick to the nose with adhesive and tries to retain its shape, pulling outward and lifting the skin on the nose to open the nasal passages. Internal nasal dilators operate similarly but from the inside. And instead of pulling on the outside of the nose, it pushes outwards. Studies show that both dilators reduce snoring, but the internal dilators tend to be a little bit more effective than the external dilators.

Use a mouthpiece for snoring

There are many dental devices that are available to reduce the amount of snoring. These anti snoring mouthpieces are a little bit more cumbersome than the nasal strips, and sit in your mouth all night. Anti snoring mouthpieces are a type of mouth guard that is sold over the counter and can come in one of two varieties.

One of these is called the mandibular advancement device, or MAD. They are a common type of anti snoring mouthpiece. These are normally molded to fit your teeth, then adjusted so that they move your lower jaw forward. The alignment helps reduce the snoring by creating more space in the back of your throat while you're breathing.

A tongue retaining device, or tongue stabling device is another type of anti-snoring mouthpiece. It also fits the teeth however, instead of adjusting the lower jaw, it just holds the tongue in place. A small part of the mouthpiece can use suction to keep the tongue from falling back into the throat. One study saw that a tongue retaining device reduced snoring intensity by 68%.

Besides reducing snoring, anti-snoring dental devices can positively impact mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea so that way one does not have to use a continuous positive airway pressure device, or a CPAP. Sleepers should not self diagnose or self treat sleep apnea as its ramifications can be severe. However, using a dental device for your sleep apnea can be a great alternative if you and your doctor decide that it's the best choice for you.

Making lifestyle changes

Some people try to sleep on their sides and wear nasal dilators, or anti-snoring mouthpieces, but still find themselves snoring at night. This could be very frustrating, but it's not time to throw in the towel yet. Something else that you can consider doing is making more significant lifestyle changes. Below are a few examples:

Reduce body weight

Experts recommend weight loss as one of the most important initial treatments for snoring. This recommendation mostly applies to individuals who are overweight or obese as wide necks, large tongues, and fatty necks can lead to increased blockage of the airway at night. Nearly 75% of Americans are overweight or obese, and could consider reducing their body weight to reduce the amount of snoring that happens at night.

People with obesity tend to snore more and have higher rates of obstructive sleep apnea. On the flip side, those with obstructive sleep apnea that is untreated are more likely to gain weight and experience excessive daytime sleepiness and metabolic disorders. This is why it's so important that it you suspect that you have sleep apnea that it is properly diagnosed and treated.

If you are considering weight loss, make sure that you go about it in a healthy way. Crash diets normally do not work long time and can even be dangerous period there are some suggestions of how to lose weight from the Centers for Disease Control, and your physician can also help point you in the right direction.

Begin mouth exercises

Although this sounds kind of goofy, consider using mouth exercises to stop snoring. These exercises are known as oropharyngeal exercises, and they have been found as a way to effectively reduce snoring. Mouth exercises involve repeatedly moving your tongue in parts of your mouth in ways that strengthen muscles in the tongue. This prevents your tongue from becoming floppy and heavy, blocking the back of your throat. In one study, three months of mouth exercises led to a 60% reduction in snoring.

Quit tobacco

Cigarette smoking is associated with increased snoring. Quitting smoking can help you with improving snoring as well. Children of adults who smoke are also at risk for increase snoring. Quitting smoking can not only help you improve your snoring, but also those around you. Snoring, of course is one of the more minor consequences of smoking. Cigarettes cause nearly a third of coronary artery disease and deaths, and are the cause of 90% of lung cancers across the United states. Smoking can also take on average 10 years off of a life span of each smoker.

Avoid alcohol before bed

Alcohol increases snoring and can even induce obstructive sleep apnea and people who don't have the disorder regularly. Alcohols affect on snoring is dose related, so this means the more you drink the more you snore. If you drink a lot, starting by cutting back may help improve your snoring symptoms gradually as you reduce the number of alcohol drinks that you consume each day. If quitting alcohol does not reduce your snoring, try to stop drinking a few hours before bed or consider quitting alcohol altogether.

Surgical treatments

When you have tried the behavioral and lifestyle adjustments and nothing works, it may be time to consider surgical treatments. This is obviously a conversation to have with you and the health professional, but might be the only thing that provides you with permanent reduction and snoring. Continue reading to learn more about the different types of surgical treatments:

Laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty

And laser assisted uvulopalatoplasty, a surgeon can use a laser to remove tissues from the uvula in the back of the throat and the soft palate. This results in increased air flow through your throat as the soft palate stiffens where tissue was once there. This surgery has been performed for nearly 30 years, and some doctors will consider it to be beneficial, although has become controversial in recent years due to a high occurrence of negative side effects. Therefore, many surgeons no longer offer this surgery.

Palatal implants

Another option outside of laser-assisted uvula palatoplasty, palatal implants are minimally invasive surgery option that can stiffen the soft palate. They are much less controversial and can improve snoring in certain people. In addition to snoring, doctors can suggest these implants as obstructive sleep apnea treatment.

Somnoplasty

Somnoplasty shares characteristics with both laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty and palatal implants in the sense that it can be used to remove tissue from the uvula and stiffen those soft palatal muscles. However, instead of lasers and implants, somnoplasty uses radio waves to alter tissues in the mouth and throat. This has been shown to successfully reduce snoring and certain people, but is not nearly as effective as palatal implants.

If you are struggling with snoring, and feel like you have tried everything, then please click the orange button below to take a free online sleep test and talk with one of our sleep health experts.

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