Sound Sleep Guide

Posts Tagged ‘causes of snoring’

The sound of snoring is caused by air struggling to pass through your nose and throat. If they are blocked or obstructed in some way, it can lead to snoring.

One of the more common reasons for snoring is when the muscles in the neck and throat are not well toned. With some simple daily exercises, you can firm up those muscles which will often help with your snoring. Exercises are known to be one of those snoring remedies.

Ask any professional singer and they’ll tell you how important it is to do exercise daily that will help keep their air passages clear. Singers do exercises that help to tone their jaws, their tongues and their throats. Strong muscles in these areas will help them perform better.

These same type of exercises can help with a snoring problem in many cases, by helping to keep the airways clear and breathing easier.

Besides, you never know – these exercise might just help you win American Idol some day!

Here are 7 easy exercises that you can do anywhere to help tone your muscles:

1. Slowly open and close your mouth, to its fullest. Do it in a controlled way and ensure that your lips meet when your mouth is closed.

2. Pucker up as if you’re going to blow someone a kiss, then hold it for 5 seconds before relaxing.

3. Practice your smile – make it big and exaggerated. Hold it for 5 second before relaxing.

4. Press your lips together and hold them tightly for 5 seconds, then relax.

5. Press your lips together and then make a sipping noise, as if you were sipping a drink.

6. Stick your tongue out as far as you can. Keep it straight and horizontal – don’t let it droop.

7. Stick your tongue out to it’s maximum and then move it side to side – touching the corner of your lips on both sides.

Practice these exercises for a few minutes every day and you may find your snoring problem will disappear before you know it.

Understanding what can cause you to snore is the first step in curing your snoring problem. There are quite a few different causes of snoring, each of them treatable in different ways.

Snoring is, generally speaking, brought about by insufficient airflow in the back of the nose and mouth, specifically in the area where the soft palate and uvula come in contact with the upper part of the throat and the back of the tongue.

When these tissues make contact, they vibrate which results in the sound of snoring.

Lack of muscle tone in the throat and tongue are one reason people snore. If the muscles are too relaxed, they can cause the airway to become restricted, which causes blockage and ultimately snoring.

Since alcohol is a depressant, drinking can relax muscles to a point that causes snoring.  If you stop drinking around four hours before you plan on going to sleep, you will be able to reduce the possibility that you will snore.

Other depressants that produce similar results include antihistamines and sleeping pills.

Obesity can lead to restricted breathing by leaving deposits of fat on the throat and neck and thus is another leading cause of snoring.

Some allergies bring about snoring, especially those associated with congestion of the nasal passages, since such blockage makes it difficult to breathe and can cause an individual to snore.

Nasal decongestants are a better option than antihistamines when it comes to dealing with allergies because the latter are a potential cause of snoring.  When it comes to nighttime allergy relief, try to use primarily decongestants in order to prevent both allergy symptoms and snoring.

These are a few of the more common causes of snoring. Whether one of these problems sounds like it might be what is causing your snoring or not, it’s best to discuss the problem with a health care professional to get their informed opinion.

The first step to stopping a snoring problem is to determine just what’s causing it.

Here are the 5 most common causes of snoring…

Alcohol

If you drink alcohol on a regular basis, check to see whether your snoring is a problem on those nights you don’t drink anything.

Alcohol is a depressant and can contribute to snoring because it relaxes the muscles in your neck and throat. This relaxation is more advanced than with regular sleep and this can cause your airways to become restricted.

If you find that your snoring is better when you don’t drink before going to sleep, the obvious answer is to stop drinking. But if that isn’t a viable option, you should make sure your last drink is at least 4 hours before you go to sleep.

Sleeping On Your Back

A lot of people with snoring problems only snore when they sleep lying on their back. The answer to this problem is to train your body to lie on its side while you sleep.

There are plenty of devices that help with this, but they’re mostly variations of a home-grown remedy.

Put a tennis ball inside a sock and pin it to the back of your pajamas with a safety pin. When you’re asleep, if you roll onto your back the discomfort from the tennis ball will make you roll back onto your side naturally.

Are You Overweight?

Being overweight is another thing that can lead to a snoring problem. If you’re overweight, fat tissue can build up in your neck and throat area, which puts a strain on your breathing by blocking your airways. The obvious solution here is to lose some of the extra weight.

Do You Use Sleeping Pills Or Antihistamines?

These items have a similar effect on your body to alcohol – they cause the muscles in your throat and neck to relax more than normal, which leads to blocked airways and ultimately snoring.

Do You Suffer from Allergies?

One of the symptoms of allergies is nasal congestion, which can make it difficult for your body to get the oxygen that it needs.

The problem is, antihistamines can also contribute to snoring so the best solution is to just take a decongestant rather than an antihistamine.

These are some of the most common causes of snoring, but it’s always best to speak with your doctor or other health care professional to get their opinion on the causes and best treatments for your particular situation.