How to stop snoring

Snoring. It's the grist of sitcom one-liners and jokes, but to individuals and couples dealing with the side effects of snoring, it isn't funny at all. In fact, whether it's the annoyance of a snoring partner disrupting your sleep or the personal effects of an interrupted night's rest, snoring represents a significant problem in many Canadian households.

Why do we snore?
The ragged, "raspberry" sound of snoring happens when the relaxed, floppy tissue of your upper airway vibrates. You're apt to snore when you're asleep because your muscles -- including those in your upper airway -- relax, creating a smaller opening of your airway and partially blocking airflow.

Dr. Brian Graham, chair of the chronic disease working group for the Lung Association, offers this description of why snoring sounds the way it does, "If you think about the sound a balloon makes if you blow it up and then let it go -- it makes that raspberry sound because there's a floppy airway at the end of the balloon and the air is trying to get out in a hurry. When the air is moving faster, you get more vibration and more sound."

Essentially, the same thing happens every night to millions of snorers.

Reasons you might be a snorer
There are a number of factors that could trigger your snoring problem, ranging from fairly simple, easily fixed issues, to more serious problems.

"One of the factors that increases your chance of snoring is the loss of elasticity in the tissue and, as we get older, we're used to that happening everywhere," says Graham. "It happens in our lung and in our airways as well."

Although there isn't much you can do to stop aging and its corresponding increase in snoring problems, there are things you can do to minimize other factors that lead to snoring.

Some easy possible solutions to your snoring problem
There may be some simple things you can do to reduce or eliminate your snoring, such as:

-Lose weight. "Fat, particularly in the neck region, can play a role in putting extra weight on the airway and partially blocking it off," says Graham.
-Address allergy problems that might provoke your snoring. If you're congested, you'll have a larger mucous lining and a reduced airway. Ergo, more snoring.
-Most snorers breathe through their mouths because nasal passages are congested or blocked. Sometimes increasing the nasal opening through the use of nasal strips (which hold your nose open so you're more likely to breathe through your nose), or nasal rinses can reduce congestion and may diminish or solve your problem.
-Practise good sleep habits.

Click to continue for tips on how to establish good sleep habits...

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