Stop Snoring

You know you snore.  Someone has told you that you do.  And you’ve desperately been scouring for any possible cure for your snoring.  Prior to finding any solution, you need to get to the bottom of why snore – it’s a standard operating procedure and that’s how science experiments become successful.  Snoring is primarily caused by having an obstruction in the air passage.  This obstruction causes air to vibrate against the soft tissues, thus, producing the vibratory sound.

Five major types of obstructions that result to snoring

As people age, and even those who inherited an exceptionally bigger tongue, the tongue gets flabby and drops backward during sleep causing a partial or total block.  The soft palate, on the other hand, collapses or sags as the muscles around that area relax during sleep causing a blockade.  Obese people tend to snore than those who are in their ideal weights because fats that have been accumulated around the neck narrows the air passage.  Exercise cures for snoring of these types will be discussed below.

Also, the anatomy of one’s nose is also a cause of snoring.  Some people have a deviated septum (the cartilage dividing the nose) resulting to an uneven nasal passage that also contributes to snoring.  Enlarged (or inflamed) tonsils and adenoids is also a factor of why people snore.

Also, when people age the tongue and throat muscles tend to become flabby.  This causes the tongue to fall backwards during sleep or the throat muscles to narrow in.  Snoring is a common occurrence for men because they have narrower air passages than women.   Medications, alcohol, and smoking are also some of the culprits in snoring.

Excessive snoring leads to, or could be a symptom of, some serious health problems.  Excessive snoring in most cases has been associated with more serious health problems such as hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and sleep apnea.  Apnea means “want of breath” and a person in this condition actually stops breathing for 10-30 seconds and at several times over the night.

Sleep apnea is a life threatening condition.  A person suffering from sleep apnea becomes less productive during the day due to sleep deprivation.  Being deprived from a sound sleep results to fatigue, irritability, daytime sleepiness, morning headaches, obesity, poor mental and emotional health, poor short-term memory, lack of concentration, severe mood swings, and a slower reaction time.

Furthermore, if sleep apnea progresses, the person in this condition may suffer chest pains, high blood pressure, hypertension, stroke, type II diabetes, and choking or premature death.

Others may consider excessive snoring as harmless and may tend to make a joke out of it.  However, it is always best to find a cure for it early on before it becomes a life-threatening condition.

Let’s admit it, every one of us has snored even once in our lives.  Even babies snore but it’s most frequent in men (about 45% of the world’s population) while 30% of women are also snorers.  However, there has to be a demarcation line between mild snoring to habitual or excessive snoring.  Little babies may tend to snore because their nasal passages aren’t mature enough yet; they also haven’t learned to swallow excessive secretions in their throat that makes them produce the snoring sound.  It is also normal for pregnant women to snore especially at the later stages of pregnancy.  Snoring at a certain position is also normal.  Drunken individuals also tend to snore in their sleeps.

However, if snoring occurs every night, and becomes so loud (up to 80-90 decibels) that the person in the other room, or even the person snoring, can hear the sound, it might already be excessive snoring.  Excessive snoring is generally caused by an obstruction in the air passage and various reasons initiates this.  Heredity may be one cause of snoring by inheriting a narrow throat.  Obesity is another cause of snoring as obese people have fats accumulated around their necks narrowing their air passage.

Perhaps the most common device to stop snoring is the mouthpiece type. Dental gadgets or mandibular advancements have been sprouting up like grasses in spring. There are several versions, with every kind asserting to be better than the other.

Not all types of device to stop snoring can be obtained over the counter. Some have to be custom-made by dentists, and others have to require prescription from a doctor. There are some types that are readily available online though.

Every device to stop snoring has varied efficiency according to the person’s snoring problem. A person with a more sever snoring issue may be required to use a device to stop snoring along with therapy, like exercise. Also, those with extreme snoring problems are those with weight problems and unhealthy lifestyles.

It is essential that snorers see their doctors before making a purchase on any device to stop snoring. Sometimes, you don’t really need to load yourself with all the products in the market, and the answer may just be an extensive lifestyle change. Exercising (not overdoing it though) will also help you lose excess weight. Remember that snoring is closely related to hypertension, stroke, and other weight-triggered diseases.

Snoring, admittedly, is a lot more irritating than a mosquito buzzing in your ear. It’s because no matter how often you swat at the snorer, he will always unconsciously find a way to keep you up. If there is one device to stop snoring forever, the word “snoring” would be as passé as the dinosaurs are. Unfortunately, there is no single device that has been effective enough to cure all levels of snoring problems. Until then, “snoring” remains to be in every latest medical dictionary.