How to stop snoring? | Health Magazine

Snoring affects more than 40% of adults over the age of 50 on a regular basis. Different lifestyle factors influence the frequency and thesnoring intensity, including some major disorders such as sleep apnea. If your doctor hasn’t diagnosed a physiological cause to treat, try these tips for better sleep.

“In an adult, change some habits life is often enough to reduce snoring. Take the time to put some advice into practice and assess the benefit for yourself, ”indicates the Health Insurance (source 1). Here are some tips to follow:

• Stop smoking: it has been proven that smokers have a higher risk of snoring and sleep apnea than non-smokers. Likewise, if you are prone to snoring, beware of passive smoking;
• Sleep on your side : Sleeping on your back can cause your tongue to slide down your throat and block airflow. If you tend to roll over on your back at night, you can sew a tennis ball to the back of your pajamas. You can also add a big pillow under your head to open the airways;
• Get enough sleep : in case of fatigue, sleep is deeper and can cause muscle relaxation which increases the risk of snoring;
• Ventilate and clean your bedroom regularly : snoring can also be due to allergic reactions; dust mites and pet hair which can promote airway obstruction;
• “If you have insomnia, try to gradually stop taking medicines that help you sleep. Ask your pharmacist for advice,” advises Health Insurance;
• “If you are on antidepressant or anxiolytic treatment, talk to your doctor, he may be able to modify it,” she adds.

If you snore, alcohol should be avoided. If you do not stop your daily consumption, try to reduce it and avoid alcohol-based drinks at least two hours before bedtime. By playing on the nervous system and relaxing the muscles, these first of all promote falling asleep, but actually disturb sleep during the second part of the night.

Food also influences snoring. Eating too heavy before bed and abusing dairy products, as well as soy milk, would be harmful to sleep. And think about hydrate yourself correctly throughout the day to prevent the mucous membranes of the nose from drying out.

Finally, thehe weight can influence snoring. “Lose weight if you are overweight by changing your diet and increasing your physical activity,” recommends Health Insurance.

A few natural solutions and remedies can help reduce snoring. Their effectiveness depends on the cause of the snoring and its level of severity.

• The seawater spray to clear the nose : nasal congestion related to colds, allergies or a deviated septum of the nose can limit the passage of air, which forces you to breathe through your mouth and, in some cases, to snore. To clear the nostrils, take a hot shower before sleeping, regularly clean the nose with a seawater spray, and test the anti-snoring nasal strips available in pharmacies;
• Wearing gutters in the mouth to prevent the tongue from falling backwards (contraindicated in the event of poor condition of the teeth or gums): “these gutters mold the teeth of the two jawbones and rest on them to advance the lower mandible (jaw). The mandibular advance widens the space at the back of the tongue and puts tension on the soft palate, reducing its vibration”, underlines the Health Insurance;
• The nasal retractor : interesting if the problem comes from the nose, it is effective in those who have pinched nostrils while breathing, i.e. 5 to 10% of snorers according to ENT specialists;
• Nasal strips: less annoying but less effective, they provide a feeling of fuller breathing and are supposed to reduce snoring;
• The anti-snoring belt : effective for those who snore, especially when they sleep on their back (but the anti-snoring belt forces you to sleep on your side).

A tongue and throat rehabilitation helps reduce decibels and even stop snoring.

“If the snoring persiststhe attending physician directs his patient to an otolaryngologist (ENT) doctor, to carry out an assessment and seek a cause that could benefit from a surgical treatment »says Health Insurance.

“This surgical treatment makes it possible to correct otolaryngological abnormalities obstructing the passage of air: correction of deviation of the nasal septum, removal of adenoids, tonsils, etc.

If these measures are not sufficient, it is possible to resort to snoring surgery by anatomical correction :

• Intervention on the soft palate by surgery;
• Laser (to treat snoring without surgery);
• Radiofrequency (somnoplasty), etc.

If sleep apnea has been diagnosed, the patient may be offered to sleep with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, which keeps the airways clear during sleep.