Does Snoring Means Good Sleep?
Snoring can be a sign of a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, when comparing snorers and non-snorers, snorers without sleep apnea face thickening or abnormalities in the carotid artery.
This is due to the vibrations produced from snoring, causing trauma and inflammation in the artery.
These changes can cause atherosclerosis, the hardening of the arteries involved in several vascular diseases.
Secondly, snoring disrupts your sleep and can cause many uncomfortable complications, such as daytime sleepiness, concentration problems, and an increased risk of car accidents.
In a word, chronic loud snoring is not just annoying but dangerous and requires medical attention. Talk to your doctor in case you have a problem with chronic snoring.
Lifestyle Changes And Home Remedies To Treat Snoring
Some remedies for treating snoring are as follows:-
- Lose weight if you are obsessed: Obesity is one of the leading causes of snoring due to the throat’s extra tissue. Thus lowering your weight will decrease the excess tissue making your airway smooth even while sleeping.Try losing weight regularly and consume healthy food. If you face any difficulty, consult with your doctor, or you can refer here.
- Avoid sleeping on your back: Sleeping on your back can cause your tongue to move towards the back of the throat. This will partially block the airflow through your throat.In order to overcome this, try sleeping on your side. This will allow the air to flow easily and reduce or stop your snoring as the tongue will not interrupt in any way.
- Keep your head high on the bed: Elevating the head on your bed by four inches can also help you to reduce your snoring by keeping your airways open.
- Go for nasal strips or an external nasal dilator: Nasal strips, such as ‘Stick-on’, can help you to make you silent while sleeping. Placed the stick on the nose bridge, which will increase the space making a clear nasal passage.This will consequently make your breathing process more effective and silent.
You could also opt for a nasal dilator, a stiffened adhesive strip applied on top of the nose across the nostrils. This will decrease the airflow resistance, making it easier to breathe. - Treat chronic allergies: It is because allergies can decrease the airflow through your nose and force you to breathe through your mouth, increasing your snoring chance.Consult with your doctor about what kind of over-the-counter allergy drugs you will require to improve your condition.To treat different allergic conditions, here are some common antihistamines medicines for your reference: Cyproheptadine (Ciplactin), and Montelukast (Montair).
- Correct structural complications in your nose: Some people are born with or get injured, giving them a deviated septum. This causes the misalignment of the wall separating both sides of the nose, restricting the airflow.It can result in mouth breathing while sleeping or can cause snoring.Usually, in the case of misalignment, surgery is required to correct the condition. Discuss with your doctor if this is the reason for your snoring.
- Avoid alcohol consumption: Snoring can also occur because of consuming too much alcohol before going to bed.Alcohol relaxes the throat muscles and lowers the natural defenses against airway obstruction.
- Avoid consuming sedatives before bedtime: If you are habitual of snoring and consuming sedatives, discuss this with your doctor to see your options.Restricting sedative consumption before bedtime may ease your snoring.
- Quit smoking: Smoking is injurious to health and can worsen your snoring.You can also discuss this with your doctor and the therapies, such as gum or patches, that can help you.
- Get enough sleep: Sleep has its importance. It is also necessary to maintain an optimum weight or deal with obesity.Thus, make sure you take a good sleep of at least 8 hours every night.
Also Read: “Insomnia Causes- What is Disrupting Your Sweet Sleep?“.
Medical Helps To Cure Snoring
Here are some of the medicines that can help you deal with your snoring complication :-
- Oral appliance usage: Oral applications, such as dental mouthpieces, will help to keep your air passages smooth and open. This will prevent snoring and make you breathe easily. For using these applications, you need to visit your dentists.
- Continuous Positive Airway Pressure(CPAP) machine: A type of positive airway pressure where the air flows with constant pressure to open the airway continuously. CPAP is usually recommended for patients having symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea(OSA).
- Palatal implants: In this procedure, a braided strand is injected into the polyester filament(mouth’s soft palate). This helps to keep your airways open, reducing your snoring.
- Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty(UPPP) is a surgical procedure that reduces your snoring by tightening your throat tissue. However, in some cases, laser-assisted uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (LAUPPP) is more effective than UPPP.
- Radiofrequency tissue ablation (somnoplasty): In this procedure, low-intensity radio waves are used to shrink the tissue on your soft palate. It can also help with snoring problems.
Bottom Line
Snoring can not only disrupt your but your partners’ sleep. So despite being annoying, please take it as a severe health complication.
Try to early resolve such issues so that you don’t need surgical procedures.
Definitely, all the above procedures can help you resolve your complication but try focusing on non-surgical methods. Be smart; stay healthy.
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