Snoring Aids - Do They Really Work?
Wednesday. September 17 th 2008
Before you run down to the local pharmacy and plunk down your hard earned cash on a bunch of snoring aids that claim to cure this habit in overnight, pay attention to what real people have to say about which are the best and which seem to really work. After all, you can spend literally hundreds of dollars on those snoring aids, and some will work while some really won’t. Wouldn’t you really rather know the difference beforehand?
Snoring Aid #1: Nasal Strips
These spongy little strips that go over the top of your nose are one of the most advertised snoring aids out there. There are commercials on television and internet ads touting the effectiveness of them. Do they really work?
It seems that nasal strips are some of the more effective snoring aids for many people. If your nasal passages are clogged you’re going to naturally breathe through your mouth, and this will cause you to snore. By forcing your nose to stay open, you’re giving your nose more room to breathe. Many snoring aids are meant to open nasal passages, and some work like the nasal strips - they force your nose to stay open by pulling the sides of it just a bit wide. Even though this sounds a little weird, this isn’t anything to be afraid of, as even professional athletes wear these strips while on the playing field in order to enable their breathing more readily. Nasal strips are also preferred among the snoring aids because they require you to take nothing into your system; they are non-narcotic and you don’t need to worry about allergies, drug interaction, and so on.
Snoring Aid #2: Throat Sprays
Many throat sprays that are advertised as snoring aids work by keeping your throat hydrated and coated all through the night. If your throat is coated, you’ll snore less even if you do breathe through your mouth. Even throat sprays that are advertised for sore throats, cough, and allergies can work well also. They do pretty much the same thing, by coating your throat and providing some relief from the scratchy feeling.
Snoring Aid #3: Snore Pillows
Also popular as snoring aids are the so-called snoring pillows. These help to keep your head and neck propped up; if your head is in alignment, your mouth is less likely to drop open. Snore pillows are also preferred as snoring aids for the same reason as nasal strips - they involve no medications or anything that you take into your system. They are also usually very affordable, the basic models starting at only about $20. For most persons who use them, snoring pillows are reportedly very effective and work to keep you sleeping on your side or stomach, and even when you do sleep on your back, your mouth stays closed.
If none of these basic snoring aids seem to work for you, it may be time to talk to your doctor. There are prescription medications, dental devices, and even outpatient surgeries that can be recommended.
Three Easy Ways to Stop Snoring
Friday. September 12 th 2008
If you snore, even if it’s a chronic habit or problem, before you run off and see your doctor and sign up for the latest surgery, there are 3 easy ways to stop snoring that you should consider trying first. We call them easy because they don’t involve any fancy appliances or devices or cumbersome and torturous facial appliances. They can be done relatively easily and affordably, and have been shown to be successful for virtually everyone that has tried them.
The First - and Easiest - of the Ways to Stop Snoring
Some of the easiest ways to stop snoring are to keep yourself from sleeping on your back. When you sleep on your back, your head usually falls back and your mouth falls open, enabling you to start snoring. We’re not supposed to breathe through our mouths, but this happens when the mouth falls open. The first and easiest of the ways to stop snoring is to keep yourself from sleeping on your back, and solutions for this are usually pretty simple. You can prop up some pillows under your one side so that you can roll over. You can put a tennis ball in the waistband of your pajamas or back of your shirt, adhering it with a bit of Velcro. You can use a snore pillow, which is typically made of foam and shaped in such a way that you cannot roll over very easily.
You really don’t need anything special to keep you from sleeping on your back, making this one of the most affordable ways to stop snoring. A few new or extra pillows, or even some extra bed linens rolled up and put underneath you will do the trick. Some even find that a new throw pillow that you would normally use for the couch does the trick.
The Second of the Easy Ways to Stop Snoring
You need to add moisture and humidity to your environment to keep your throat from becoming dry. Putting a humidifier or vaporizer in your bedroom is also one of the easiest ways to stop snoring. The added moisture keeps your throat hydrated so that even if you do get caught breathing through your mouth, you’re not going to actually be snoring.
The Third of the Easy Ways to Stop Snoring
Keeping your sinus cavities open in order to facilitate breathing through your nose is another of the easy and affordable ways to stop snoring. How to do this? Use some eucalyptus or menthol oil under your nose. Add some to your vaporizer. Rub some on your chest. Try a mentholated cough drop before you go to bed, just making sure to finish it before you go to sleep so that you don’t choke.
So there you have it. None of these three easy ways to stop snoring are hard, expensive, or involve weird devices worn over your face or inside your mouth. As a matter of fact, you can try any of them today and get yourself a better night’s sleep tonight.
Snoring Cures Many Don’t Want to Talk About!
Monday. September 8 th 2008
Believe it or not, most people have the ability to apply their own snoring cures to their life and their sleeping habits, if they would just make a couple of lifestyle changes during the day. However, some of the most common snoring cures that even doctors recommend are ones that no one wants to talk about, think about, or even apply, no matter how effective they are! Let’s go through these in this article and then you’ll probably be able to understand why people are so hesitant to do so.
Snoring Cure 1: Lose Weight
One of the most common snoring cures that doctors will recommend is that their patient loses weight. Why is that? Because when you’re overweight and especially when your body weight can now be classified as obese, the fat tissue surrounding your neck cuts off your airway during the night and causes you to breathe much harder, making the sound we call snoring. Even though this is more common in the obese, you don’t need to be severely overweight to have this problem. Even twenty pounds overweight can make you more prone to snoring - and how many people today are a good twenty pounds overweight, if not even more?
Of course, losing weight is one of the more sensitive snoring cures that anyone can have recommended to them. No one wants to think of themselves as fat, and certainly not that they’re so fat that they make themselves snore! But when talking about losing weight as one of these snoring cures, it’s good to also talk about exercise as well. When you get adequate exercise, you’re strengthening your lungs and your entire respiratory system, which means that you’re better able to breathe even when at rest. Many of the sounds that we mistake for snoring, such as gasping, wheezing, snorting, and so on are really just sounds of someone trying to breathe when they have a respiratory problem.
Snoring Cure 2: Quit Smoking
There are probably no snoring cures in the world that are going to work if you smoke and especially if you smoke right before going to sleep. Smoking dries out the mouth, the tongue, the teeth, the soft palate, the tissues and membranes of the throat, and every part of your lungs. When you snore, air is causing that dry tissue to vibrate and make that noise. Smoking is counterproductive to most snoring cures because it is so damaging that it overrides virtually anything else that you can do to help your mouth and throat. All the sprays and inhalers and drops and syrups in the world won’t do a thing if you introduce cigarette smoke to your system.
So there you have it, the two most common snoring cures that no one wants to talk about. Nobody wants to quit smoking and lose weight, as these are very difficult things to do. But when you approach your doctor about your snoring, talk to him or her about these issues as well, as there is help available.
Are You Wondering How to Stop Snoring?
Thursday. September 4 th 2008
If you’re wondering how to stop snoring, this may be a search for yourself or for someone with whom you’re trying to share a bed. Either way, snoring can keep you up for hours and hours on end, and make you restless, irritable, and almost unable to function the next day. A chronic lack of sleep can also cause serious health problems and make you lethargic. Sometimes a person will fall asleep during the day when they shouldn’t because of someone’s snoring at night.
There are many things you might consider when it comes to how to stop snoring, and many homemade or simple remedies are just as effective as anything you’ll get from your doctor or dentist. Of course, if your doctor has told you that the only thing he or she can recommend regarding how to stop snoring for you is medication or a surgery, then or course you need to follow your physician’s advice. It’s not up to us to interfere with that! But for others, there are some simple plans and changes you can make to help you get past this bad habit.
How to Stop Snoring if Your Throat is Dry
For many people, snoring happens because their mouth and throat is very dry and scratchy. When they breathe through their mouth, the throat makes a very loud vibrating sound that we call snoring. Think about breathing right now - do you make that sound when you breathe through your nose? Not usually. Your nose is meant to be kept moist by all the mucus in there. It’s gross to think about, but a key in figuring out how to stop snoring is to figure out if your throat is very dry at night. Ask yourself if you wake up with a very dry mouth or a very sore throat. Does it feel scratchy and irritated in the morning? Is your mouth sticky with plaque buildup? Of course everyone’s mouth is dry in the morning, but if you have some pain and discomfort, you may have your first clue in how to stop snoring. You need to keep your throat moist and maybe even coated throughout the night. Having a humidifier in the bedroom can be a great help, as can using certain sprays or drops that will add moisture to your throat. Sore throat sprays can do the same job as some stop snoring sprays, as they usually contain the same ingredients.
How to Stop Snoring if Your Nose is Plugged
If you have sinus problems, chances are you’re going to snore. You should breathe through your nose when you sleep, but if your nose is plugged up, this is impossible. A good step in figuring out how to stop snoring with a plugged nose is to figure out why it’s plugged in the first place. If it’s not a simple cold or temporary condition, see your doctor. Asthma or allergies should be treated with medication, and chronic breathing problems need more serious help.
Who Else Wants to Stop Snoring Now?!
Saturday. August 30 th 2008
If the chainsaw noise has been keeping you up at night, chances are that you are just screaming that very ready to stop snoring now. Or maybe it’s someone in the bed with you that has the problem. Either way, how can this be done? Do the devices you see advertised really work? Is surgery your only option to get you or your significant other to stop snoring?
If your doctor has told you that you absolutely must have surgery, then you should definitely listen to him or her. But for many, there are other options to get them to stop snoring, long before it’s necessary to even visit your doctor. And yes, some of those devices you see advertised do seem to work well, for some people that is.
The real key to get you to stop snoring is to understand why it happens in the first place. For many people, they simply sleep in a position that causes their head to fall back and their mouth to fall open. When they breathe through their mouth, their throat gets dry and they begin to make the sound we call snoring. In this case, the best way to stop snoring is to keep the head from falling back. This might mean a so-called snore pillow, which cradles your head and neck and keeps it in proper alignment. You might also consider piling some pillows under one side of you so that you can’t roll over on your back and will be forced to sleep on your side or stomach.
Others cannot stop snoring because their nasal passages are constantly clogged, so no matter what position they’re in, they’re going to start breathing through their mouth when they sleep. If this is you, why are your sinuses clogged? If you have chronic sinus problems, you should probably see a doctor for asthma, allergies, collapsing nasal passages, and so on. You can’t stop snoring if you can’t breathe properly, and you can’t breathe properly if you don’t unclog your nose. It may not be as easy for someone with a medical condition or concern to unclog their nasal passages as it is for others. If you just have a cold or it’s very dry in your home, a bit of eucalyptus or menthol rub might do the trick, or a mentholated cough drop before you go to bed may be sufficient (being sure to finish it completely before you go to sleep so as to reduce a choking hazard). But if it’s allergies or some chronic respiratory problem, this needs to be addressed by a doctor.
For yourself personally, the only way that you’ll be able to stop snoring is if you figure out what’s causing it in the first place. Be honest with yourself about your respiratory health overall. If you can’t breathe during the day, of course you won’t be able to breathe at night. It may be time to see an allergist, or to try some menthol oil on your nose before you go to bed.