What Are The Best Natural Remedies For Snoring?

Do you have trouble falling asleep due to your partner’s constant snoring? Or do you have problems staying asleep, thanks to your loud snore? Snoring is a problem you should not take for granted. While you may not exactly be at the receiving end of the unpleasant noise, your partner or whoever sleeps close to you during bedtime.

Not many people know that snoring could signify a serious underlying health problem. That’s why you should not ignore it. Interestingly, natural remedies are the best ways to deal with snoring. In this article, we will highlight several natural remedies that can be used to deal with snoring.

Causes of Snoring

Snoring is a sleep disorder that could become a nuisance to your friends, family, partner or anyone that sleeps close to you. Besides this, it reduces the quality of sleep you get. This is because when you snore, it suggests that you are struggling to pass air to your lungs, which can reduce the quality of sleep you get.

Before we go into some natural remedies for snoring, let’s quickly highlight some causes of snoring. Here are causes of snoring:

1. Weight

Naturally, men have a narrower air passage than women. This is why men have more tendency to snore than women. However, carrying an extra pound of flesh around the neck could narrow the air passage for both men and women.

When the air passage becomes narrow, it struggles to pass air comfortably. The tissue around the throat makes the annoying noise we call snoring.

2. Sleep Position

Sometimes, snoring during sleep could happen due to a wrong sleeping position. When you sleep flat on your back, it makes you vulnerable to snoring due to narrow air passage.

3. Cold

Other times, you could snore due to a stuffy nose due to the cold. When you have a cold, the nose becomes blocked, hindering the free flow of air down to the lungs. This can cause you to make unpleasant sounds while sleeping.

4. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)

Obstructive sleep apnea is a sleep disorder caused by a collapsed upper airway during sleep. This happens when the muscles surrounding the throat, tongue or soft palate relax.

Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common breath-related problem when sleeping. This condition is most common among older people, but it is also prevalent among young children.

This condition could be a symptom of other underlying health issues like Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

5. Tiredness

Lastly, stress or sleep deprivation can cause snoring. Typically, humans need five to eight hours of sleep to function well. When the reverse becomes the case, it can lead to snoring. Or when you go through rigorous stress during the day, it can lead to snoring at night.

When To See A Doctor

Don’t be afraid if you snore. Research has shown that half of the adults in the US snore, according to the American Academy of Otolaryngology.

Snoring can hinder you and your partner from having quality sleep time. That’s why you must see a doctor when you notice you snore. Also, it could be a sign of other health complications. But seeing a doctor in time might help improve your quality of sleep and treat any underlying health issue that may be the cause of your snoring.

You should reach out to your healthcare provider if you experience any of the following:

• If you have shortness of breath while sleeping
• Quality of sleep reduces
• Healthy lifestyle changes don’t reduce the snoring
• If you have a dry mouth or sore throat when you wake up
• If you wake up with a terrible headache

Natural Remedies For Snoring

12 Best Natural Remedies For Snoring

If snoring is caused by sleep position, it can be easily corrected with natural remedies. However, if an underlying health issue causes it, you may need to treat the cause of it medically to get rid of the problem.

Good to know benign factors like wrong sleep position cause most snoring cases. This can be corrected by adopting any of the natural remedies that are explained below:

1. Sleep on your side

Many people are found guilty of this. Certain sleep positions make the airways narrower than usual. And once air struggles to get out, it makes an unpleasant sound. For instance, when you lay on your back, your tongue moves directly to the back of the throat. This will block the airways of the throat, making it less comfortable for air to pass.

If your partner complains too often that you snore loudly when sleeping, you may consider making a conscious effort to change your sleep pattern. For the record, sleeping on the side is the best. With this, your airways are opened, allowing air to flow freely. This will reduce the snore.

2. Get enough sleep

Sleep helps repair the body. To some, it is a natural remedy to ward off pain and stress. The lack of good sleep is called sleep deprivation.

Sleep deprivation and stress can boost your chances of snoring. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, an adult must get between 7-9 hours of sleep to function well. When you are not getting enough sleep, it may cause the throat muscle to relax, and this can cause airway obstruction. An airway obstruction would make you snore because you are struggling to pass air while sleeping.

Snoring could also lead to sleep deprivation, as it can keep you up at night. So try as much as you can to get enough sleep.

3. Elevate The Head of Your Bed or Use a Pillow

Raising your head slightly above your body when lying down can help keep your airways open. You can resort to using bed risers or get a good pillow. This is to ensure your head is given a little more height to keep your airways open when you sleep. It helps reduce snoring.

4. Limit Alcohol

Alcohol has the potential to relax the throat muscles, which can make you snore when you sleep. That’s why it is advised that you do not drink alcohol for 3 hours to your sleep time. For your health’s sake, one should desist from taking alcohol altogether.

5. Stop Smoking

Quit smoking can be all you need to stop snoring. Smoking irritates the membranes in the nose and throat, and this can block the airways. And when the airways are blocked, you are susceptible to snoring when you sleep. If you quit smoking, it may reduce the way you snore.

6. Stay Hydrated

If you snore as a result of a cold, you may need to increase the amount of water you drink daily. Staying hydrated helps prevent mucus from forming in the nose. The mucus causes nose blockage, which could restrict airflow when you sleep.

Staying hydrated will help prevent mucus, thereby preventing you from snoring when you sleep.

7. Lose Some Fat

People suffering from obesity are susceptible to snoring and uncontrollably. Obsessed people have extra pounds of fat around their neck region. It makes their airways two times narrower than those who are not obsessed.

To curb this, you should shed some fat. There is no point carrying an extra pound of flesh when it hinders you from getting good sleep. You can lose some weight by doing exercises. The gym is particularly an excellent place to start.

Also, you can reach out to your dietician to devise a proper meal plan to help the process.

8. Treat Cold With Steam

If a stuffy nose from a cold causes your snoring case, you may treat that using a natural remedy. You don’t have to use a tablet to cure this. All you need is to get a bowl and pour hot water into the bowl. Drop your head over the bowl to let the water’s steam go into your nose.

If you cannot do it out of fear of getting a burn, you may resort to taking a bath. It works just as fine as using hot steam.

9. Exercise Regularly

Weak tongue and throat muscles may cause snoring. You can strengthen your tongue and throat muscles by indulging in regular exercises. Specific exercises would help strengthen your tongue and throat muscles to prevent snoring.

10. Reduce Inflammatory Food

You may need to reduce the amount of inflammatory food you consume. Records have shown that dairy and gluten products can cause the tissues in the nose and throat to be inflamed. This can lead to you having a stuffy nose or sore throat. A stuffy nose can make you snore when you sleep.

If you are wondering if you must cease completely from dairy products, no, you don’t. You need to have a meal plan to ensure you don’t feed on dairy products too often or anytime close to bedtime.

11. Garlic Remedies for Snoring

Research has shown that hot foods like garlic help control snoring. Garlic helps to prevent mucus from building up. When mucus builds up, it can lead to blockage in the sinus, which can cause snoring.

Garlic helps to keep the nasal passage and airways dry to avoid mucus buildup.

12. Get a Humidifier

Not many people are aware that dry air can also cause snoring. When the atmospheric condition of the room is dry, it causes the throat and nasal membranes to dry out, which can lead to congestion.

Congestion can disrupt the breathing pattern. This can cause the tissues around the throat to vibrate, leading to snoring. The purpose of a dehumidifier is to moisturize the air making it a conducive environment for breathing. With a dehumidifier, dry air will be eliminated, and snoring can be controlled.

What Snoring Natural Remedy is The Best For Me?

All the natural remedies listed and explained in this article are valid. Depending on the cause of snoring, you can pick any natural remedy on this d list and try it.

If you don’t know the cause of your snoring, you may try all the natural remedies listed in this article to find the one that helps you. When you do, stick to it.