Affecting around 4 in 10 people in the UK, snoring isn’t something to turn your nose up to. Disturbing other people’s sleep is never a pleasant feeling but deep snoring can also affect your own. Whilst many disgruntled bed-partners have looked for help from doctors, dentists have a bigger part to play than you might think. Here’s a few tips from us on how to make snoring a thing of the past.
Mouthguards
Snoring occurs when the muscles in your mouth, throat and jaw start to relax, causing the tissue to vibrate. In turn, this forces your airways to narrow, with air vibrating the surrounding tissue and creating the snoring sound. Anti-snoring mouthguards can halt this vibration and stop the lower jaw from falling back while sleeping. This causes your airways to stop narrowing and allows you to get better quality sleep. Each of these mouthguards can also be custom-made to your mouth and provide a great way to stop snoring.
Stop drinking alcohol
As many tired partners know, drinking is one of the most common reasons for snoring. Alcohol helps to relax the muscles all over your body, which, unfortunately, includes your mouth. If you want to stop snoring, laying off on alcohol may be your best shot. To help fight that urge for a glass of wine or beer before bed, try replacing them with alcohol free bottles. While it may not be the same, it can have really positive effects on your snoring.
Sleep on your side
If you’re used to laying on your back during sleep, it might be time to move to your side. Facing upwards while you sleep can cause your tongue to move further back into your throat, blocking airflow and producing those snoring sounds. If you’re looking for solutions, there are various pillows and bed wedges out there that can force you to sleep on your side. Changing your natural sleeping position can be hard to enforce, but you’ll notice the differences immediately.
Lose weight
If you’re a little overweight, there will inevitably be more tissue in your throat, nose and mouth, which can significantly emphasise snoring. We’d recommend reducing your calorie intake, changing your diet and upping your daily exercise to at least 30 minutes a day. While snoring may not have any serious health implications, being overweight does and this is a great opportunity to improve your overall health (as well as your teeth).
Snoring itself isn’t harmful, but could still be a sign of other more serious conditions, such as obstructive sleep apnea. It’s always best to go for a check up if your snoring is still persisting even after these pointers.
