According to the NHS, in England as many as one in four people snore regularly, affecting both their sleep and the rest of the people sleeping in the same room.
In the simplest of definitions, snoring happens as a result of air being squeezed through a narrow or blocked airway.
“And the more you snore, the worse it gets,” says Dr. Martha Cortes, a New York City-based sleep expert and practicing dentist. “There is no such thing as snoring only — it’s a continuum.”
In fact, heavy snoring and sleep apnea may be linked to memory and thinking decline at an earlier age, according to a 2015 study published in Neurology. Since sufferers involuntarily stop breathing during the night, sleep apnoea is a serious disorder that requires medical attention. But if you’re ready to put an end to “simple” snoring, try these five lifestyle changes for a more peaceful slumber.
Monitor your weight
Once you doze off, the muscles in your throat relax. Then, the walls of your “floppy” throat begin to vibrate as you breathe in and out (and the narrower your airway, the more obnoxious the snore).
“In general, people who gain a few extra pounds will develop a little fat in the airway,” Dr. Cortes says. Her important dietary tip: Avoid food and alcohol at least three hours before bedtime because they can make the soft tissue more flaccid.
Sleep on your side
“It’s simple gravity,” Dr. Cortes says. You snore more when you sleep on your back than your side because the base of the tongue and soft palate collapse into the back of your throat.
Hugging a full-length body pillow may keep you (or your bed partner) snoozing the right way throughout the night. “That’s because it can hold your back and belly,” she explains.
Flush your nasal passages
Clearing your sinuses can have a huge impact on your nighttime breathing, and believe it or not, 30% of people have year-round nasal cavity congestion, Cortes says. She suggests using a nasal spray before hitting the sheets.
Chew sugar-free gum
‘As we get older, the tissues lining the throat become flaccid, especially if we are predisposed to sleep apnoea,’ Cortes says. She advises her patients with narrow airways to chew gum (she prefers sugar-free resin gums from Greece and Turkey) for 20 minutes a day, twice a day, in order to exercise the mouth, tongue, jaw and facial muscles.
‘When I come into the office, the first things I do are write my reports and chew gum,’ says Cortes. ‘I sound like a cow, but it makes my tongue stronger.’
Make funny sounds
Doing mouth or tongue exercises helped reduce the frequency of snoring by 36% in patients suffering from a mild form of sleep apnea, according to a 2015 study.
One workout that researchers found to be effective was pushing the tip of the tongue against the roof of the mouth and sliding the tongue backward. A second: Sucking the tongue upward against the roof of the mouth and pressing the entire tongue against the roof of the mouth.
