Most modern adults are familiar with snoring, but not every one of those adults realizes the risks of constant snoring. In fact, up to 45% of men and women regularly experience snoring. Many patients laugh it off, considering it to be nothing more than a possible nuisance for their spouse. However, snoring poses a serious threat to your health. Find out what causes snoring and how to get rid of this bad habit with our helpful tips.
Symptoms of snoring
If you live alone, you might not even not know you snore until it’s too late! The most common symptom of snoring at night is, of course, that loud and annoying sound we all know and hate. If you have no one to tell you about the sounds you make, here are some other symptoms you may experience:
- Dry mouth
- Sore throat
- Fatigue
- Failure to concentrate
- Headaches
Reasons why you snore
Everyone’s reasons for snoring are different; some snore from the youngest age, others experience snoring later in life. Of course, in order to determine why exactly you snore, you need to see the doctor. Anyway, here are some possible reasons for the disorder:
- Excess weight
- Alcohol consumption
- Smoking
- Older age
- Health problems (allergies, nasal diseases)
- Pregnancy
If you relate to one or more of these factors, they may be the reason why you snore. Any of these symptoms, apart from pregnancy, should only be treated by a medical professional. However, you can still take some measures to make your health better, and who knows – maybe the snoring will go away with those health problems. Additionally, you can try some of the tips below – they work great for lowering your chances of snoring.
Find the solutions for snoring on page 2
Experiment with sleeping positions
It is generally believed that sleeping on your back increases the possibility of snoring, so if that’s your favourite sleeping position, it might make sense to switch it – for example, start sleeping on your side, preferably on the left. A lot of adults find themselves trying to roll on their back while sleeping on their side. If this is true for you, then a pillow behind you or some other obstacles will likely help.
No alcohol before bed
The correlation between consuming alcohol and snoring during sleep is clear, so if you want to avoid snoring tonight, try not to consume any alcohol at least 4-5 hours before sleep. Ideally, you should give up alcohol altogether, but if you can’t help but have a glass of wine or a bottle of beer after work, make sure no alcohol is consumed 4 hours before bed.
Stay hydrated
Consuming enough water and keeping your body hydrated is one of the best things you can do to lower the probability of snoring. We all know about the importance of regular water intake during the day, and now there is one more reason for you to drink plenty of water. Plus, the air in your apartment might be too dry, which may contribute to your snoring. Solve this problem by getting an air humidifier and turning it on every day before sleep.
Make sure your nasal passages are open
One of the common causes for snoring is blocked nasal passages, which not only make you snore, but also have other negative effects on your body. If you’re prone to blocked nasal passages – for example, if you suffer from allergies or have a cold – try to unblock them before sleep by taking a hot shower, using a nasal spray, cleaning your nasal passages with water, or using any other way to unblock the passages and let the air come freely through your nose.
Regular exercise
Doing exercise at least once a day tones up your whole body, including the muscles in your throat, which are partially responsible for causing you to snore in case they are untrained and likely to collapse. The more trained your throat muscles are, the better your chances of never snoring again are. Besides, exercising is one of the best ways to get rid of obesity, which is also known to trigger snoring. So, exercise solves two problems at once: eliminates the snoring and makes your body look fantastic!
