Struggling with Snoring (or being told you snore) – Here are some Tips for you!

It’s estimated that around 15 million people in the UK snore regularly however virtually all adults snore occasionally!

Snoring occurs when the air passing through your airways is partially blocked. This means the tissue at the top of the airway touches each other and vibrates making the snoring noise.

Here are our top tips to stop snoring… It should be noted that different techniques work for different people.

Sleep on your side 

• Your sleep position can affect whether you snore or not. It is known that side sleepers tend to snore less due to the positioning of their head.

Wear a nasal strip or dilator 

• These can be internal or external and help improve the nasal airflow, decreasing the chances of snoring.

Use an anti-snoring mouthpiece 

• These can take longer to get used to over a nasal strip.
• There are 2 varieties of Mandibular advancement devices that are a common type of anti-snoring mouthpiece. These mouthguards are usually moulded to fit your teeth, and then adjusted so that they move your lower jaw forward.
• A tongue retaining device or tongue stabilising device is another type of anti-snoring mouthpiece. Like a MAD, this mouthpiece also fits between the teeth. However, instead of adjusting the lower jaw, it holds the tongue in place. A small part of the mouthpiece uses suction to keep the tongue from falling back into the throat.

Try mouth exercises

• Mouth exercises include moving your tongue and mouth in ways that strengthen the muscles in the tongue, soft palate and throat.
• One way to do this is to slide the tip of your tongue backwards along the roof of your mouth as far back as it will go, or alternatively, just press your tongue to the roof of your mouth and push.

Quit Smoking

• Smoking has been associated with increased snoring hence quitting could help with your snoring problem.

Avoid Alcohol before bed

• Avoiding alcohol before bed can decrease your chances of snoring. How much you drink can affect your snoring so if you tend to drink multiple drinks try to have your last drink a few hours before bed or try to cut back.