Back

Content

Chapter 9: Natural tips and tricks to help you stop snoring


In addition to everything that you read in the previous section, there are lots of tips and tricks that people utilize to help them stop snoring.

Many of the things that people do are based on superstition and ‘old wives tales’, the kind of things that have little or no practical use in reality other than making people feel that they are doing something to address their snoring problem.

This is not however the case in every situation.

What you will therefore find listed below are many practical tips, ideas and concepts that you can apply at home which should help to reduce the incidence of snoring in the household.

Stay off your back: If you try sleeping in a different position, such as lying on your side and you find that it works (you will have to ask others for their judgment, of course), then it obviously makes sense to stay in that position as much as you can.

But, that is not necessarily going to be an easy thing to do. After all, once you are asleep, you have no control over your movement, and we have all had those restless nights when you are ‘tossing and turning’, literally finding yourself in a different position on a different part of the bed every time you wake up.

That is why some people really do swear by the old (somewhat clichéd) idea of sewing something to the back of your night shirt or pajamas as way of preventing you rolling onto your back.

Traditionally, the idea was that you sew a tennis ball to the back of whatever it is that you go to bed in (I find that old cotton reels work better for me, but that is personal choice) so that every time you roll onto your back, it is immediately uncomfortable and you roll back on your side again.

This works, but be aware that in the early days especially, you are just as likely to wake up when you roll onto your ball/reel as you are to roll back onto your side. Hence, you should be ready for a few sleepless nights yourself until you get used to it!

Avoid dairy products before bed: Dairy products can cause mucus build up, which is that last thing that you need immediately before sleep, as it is likely to lead to a blocked nose.

Keep to a regular sleeping routine: A regular sleep regime that you can stick to on a consistent basis helps teach your body to follow regular sleep patterns, which augurs well for a good nights proper rest.

Take regular exercise: Regular exercise is always a good idea as far as your general health and well-being are concerned, but it does also have specific benefits for the snorer too. For example, exercise give you an outlet for your excess energy and aggression, which means that it is far easier to get that much needed full nights undisturbed rest. Plus it helps you to lose weight, and we have already seen how that can help solve the problem.

Avoid rich foods: Do not be tempted by a rich diet that is heavy on sugar and fat laden foods like cakes, pizzas, candies, chocolate and cookies. Be wary of eating too many of these foods at any time, but especially within the two hours before bedtime.

No full stomach: Even if your diet is super-healthy, you should still never go to bed on a full stomach, because the distended shape of your stomach can restrict your airways and breathing.

A warm drink and honey: A warm drink before bedtime helps many people to reduce their snoring tendencies, especially when honey in included in the drink. Not only does the warm drink relax you, but the honey helps to line the walls of your trachea. Some people swear by a mixture of honey, warm water and apple cider vinegar for a late night drink that is relaxing but not too much so.

Avoid antihistamines: Whilst antihistamine based drugs have many medical benefits, because one of the side effects is that they relax you and that includes the muscles of the throat, making you more likely to snore.

Get in training: One of the primary reasons that most people snore is because their throat muscles relax too much. One of the reasons that this happens is that those muscles are too flaccid and weak. They are not trained or kept in peak condition.

So, think of how you can train those muscles once again so that they become strong and therefore relatively controllable.

One idea is to take classical singing lessons, because that kind of training is all about learning how to control your breathing and the muscles of your throat, which are exactly the kind of disciplines you need to be able to master so that you can control your own snoring without external assistance.

Here’s a suggestion that I would be willing to bet every single cent that you have never before considered. Ever thought about learning to play the didgeridoo?

No? Oh, that is a shock!

But you should, because if you can master this instrument, there is every chance you will never snore again. The reason is the way that you play it, because it relies on you being able to breath in a circular motion, taking air in through the nose and breathing it out again through your mouth.

Now, as a snorer, you probably think that breathing through the mouth is the last thing you need to learn, but in this case, not so! The whole circular breathing concept is wonderful training for all of the muscles of your lower head and neck, so by the time you can didgeridoo to your friends, you will have marvelous muscle control of exactly the type that will help you banish your snoring blues forever (and try playing those on your didgeridoo!).

Section summary

• There are many ideas that you can try for yourself that could help you reduce your snoring habit.

• Even if they do nothing for your snoring, simple ideas like getting fitter and adopting a more sensible, regular pattern of sleep will be good for you in a more general way.

• Train yourself to breathe properly and ‘tune up’ the muscles of your throat by learning to sing or play a (wind) musical instrument.