So I figure you are either here because 1. Your significant other snores 2. You’re tired of hearing your significant other complain about your snoring or 3. You wake yourself up from snoring.  Either way you want to know how to stop snoring! You’ve tried sleeping on your side and adjusting your pillow but it’s just not working.  You want to get some relief from snoring so that you can wake up refreshed, or you’re significant other can wake up refreshed. However, a more important reason to address this issue is that it can be an indicator of a health condition called sleep apnea. For those of you that do not know what sleep apnea is, it is a sleeping disorder where you’re breathing stops and starts repeatedly.  If you snore loud and generally wake up feeling tired even after a full nights sleep you may have this disorder.  On that note, I want to clarify that I am just offering some at home tips on how to stop snoring. You should always consult with a professional.

So let’s dive into some easy tips to help you stop snoring today.

Do you ever have a tasty beer or alcoholic beverage at the end of the night?  Well you may just have to quit that.  Alcohol could be the cause of your snoring.  Alcohol relaxes your body and all of the muscles in your body.  Since you are more relaxed than normal when falling asleep the back of your throat can begin to collapse and limit the air that goes through your airway.

Maybe instead of an alcoholic beverage before bed you have a warm cup of milk?  You may want to stop drinking milk at least an hour or two before you go to bed.  Studies have been conducted in whether dairy actually causes more mucus production which can have an effect on the airway and they concluded that there was no significant increase in mucus. That being said, not everyone is the same and studies can be wrong.  It does not hurt to test it out and quit drinking milk or eating dairy for a week or two before bed and see if you notice any changes.

Basically snoring is caused due to a partially obstructed airway due to a narrow airway or too much nasal or throat tissue. Opening up your nasal airway can have a great impact on your goal of how to stop snoring. One of the easiest ways to open up your nasal passage is to buy some nasal strips. Currently the leading nasal strip is Breathe Right and this is an inexpensive method to use.

If you have a partner have them help you keep a sleep diary. Keep track of what you eat and do a few hours before you go to bed each night. What did you eat or drink? Did you exercise? Take any medications? Keep track of anything that you do and see if you notice a pattern. Keep track of how you felt each morning. After about two weeks of tracking your activities and sleep patterns, start to change the things that you see most often in your sleep diary and do a process of elimination. This will not only help you pinpoint any regular habits, good or bad, but it can also be very informative should you visit a doctor about this problem.

If you still feel like you don’t know how to stop snoring and it may be a bigger issue like sleep apnea. At this point you should consult with your ear nose and throat doctor. Sometimes surgery is the only option so that you can start to get a good nights sleep and so can your partner!