By now you’ve probably realized that your snoring may be a cause for concern. Perhaps you feel that it has gotten out of control and is interfering with you getting a full night’s rest. Or perhaps your bed partner is fed up with losing sleep every night as a result of your nocturnal tuba impersonations.

For whatever reason, you’ve decided to search for solutions, and we here at The Alaska Sleep Clinic are more than happy to provide you with all the answers you could possibly need.

How to Treat Your Snoring

First off, it’s important to identify possible causes to your snoring. You may find it helpful to check out our list of common causes of snoring and associated health risks that frequent snoring can lead to.

For some of you snorer’s with mild to moderate snoring problems there are a few Do It Yourself (DIY) tips, tricks, and techniques you may want to try before contacting your physician, sleep clinic, or dentist for a consultation.

Do it yourself Snoring Solutions:

1. Maintain a healthy weight with diet and exercise. If you are overweight you are naturally more predisposed to snoring. Excess fatty tissues build up in your throat, narrowing your air passage. By routinely dieting and exercising you can cut back on these fatty throat tissues and have a freer air passage.
2. Cut back on alcohol. Alcohol can cause muscles in the body to relax, and it includes the muscles in the throat and jaw. If you think your snoring may be related to alcohol consumption, try not drinking at least 3 hours before bed.
3. Cut back on smoking. Smoking irritates the tender lining of the throat causing it to become inflamed which narrows the air passages. And this isn’t only true for smokers themselves, but for non-smokers as well who may be exposed to secondhand smoke.
4. Keep your bedroom humid. Purchasing a humidifier for your bedroom can be very helpful if you’re snoring. The added moisture in the air helps lubricate your throat making breathing through the night easier.
5. Treat allergies. You may notice that you snore more often during allergy season. When your nasal passages close up, your respiratory system is forced to breathe more through the mouth. Treating your allergies with antihistamines before bedtime can help free your nasal passages back up.
6. Try changing sleeping positions. Lying on your back at night causes your tongue and soft palate to collapse back into your airways causing you to snore. If you’re having difficulty maintaining sleeping on your side you may want to try the “The Tennis Ball Trick.” With this trick you can tape, sew, or use an ace bandage to secure a tennis ball so that it rests against your back. As you roll onto your back while unconscious, the pressure will cause discomfort making you roll back onto your side during the night. Within a few nights, your body may be trained to stay sleeping on your side.
7. Consider purchasing an anti-snore pillow. There are dozens of different anti-snoring pillows on the market, and they come in all different shapes and sizes. The main purpose behind the majority of these pillows is to help elevate your head at night. Elevating the head helps to align the spine and keeps the airways from becoming blocked.
8. Ask your doctor if your medications may be causing you to snore. Similar to alcohol, some medications may relax your muscles including your throat muscles causing you to snore. If you believe your snoring may be caused or intensified by medications, you may consider asking your doctor for possible medicinal alternatives.
9. Try throat and tongue exercises. Some of these may seem a little silly, but they have been proven to work in many cases. As you’ve already read, the muscles of the throat begin to relax and lose muscle tone over time. Strengthening your throat and tongue muscles can help reduce the probability of frequent snoring. Trying singing more often or playing the didgeridoo (yes, that bizarre Australian aboriginal wind instrument). Singing or playing the didgeridoo a few time a day has been proven to strengthen and tone the throat muscles and soft palate, reducing the chances of snoring.

If none of these solutions appear to work, it may be a sign that your snoring is of a greater medical concern than you may have thought. It might be time to speak to your physician or sleep clinic for medical intervention. Here are some of the solutions to your snoring that might be recommended to you:

Medical Treatments for snoring:

1. CPAP machines. If your snoring is out of control it may be a good indicator that you have sleep apneaand you may want to talk with your physician about a sleep study consultation. CPAP, or Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, is a device that uses mild air pressure to keep your airways open. There are a variety of devices that come in all shapes and sizes to accommodate your comfort level including nasal pillows, nasal masks, and full face masks.
2. Oral appliances. You may want to speak with your dentist about getting fitted with an oral appliance. Oral appliances push your lower jaw muscles and tongue forward, keeping them from becoming too relaxed, and in doing so, prevent your throat muscles from collapsing back into your airways.
3. Chin straps. For those you who may be snoring as a result of breathing through your mouth, a chin strap might be a helpful solution. Chin straps hold your jaws shut making you breathe through your nasal passages thus reducing the chances of obstructed breathing.
4. Surgery.  If you have a deviated nasal septum, large tonsils and adenoids, or other upper airway narrowing, an Ear Nose and Throat specialist may be helpful in providing a surgical alternative.

We hope these tips have been helpful in getting you back on track to a restful, snore-free sleep. If you have any further question regarding snoring or any other sleep related inquires, feel free to contact us here at The Alaska Sleep Clinic by calling toll free 855-AKSLEEP (855-257-5337).