How To Stop Snoring: A Simple 3 Step Checklist
Snoring – it’s the not-so-silent scourge sweeping Australian homes every night. Snorers are often left feeling embarrassed or guilty, and their long suffering bedmates are left to struggle through their days under a haze of constant sleep deprivation.
And sleep deprivation is no laughing matter. Australia’s Sleep Health Foundation, estimates sleeplessness is responsible for $26.2 billion in financial costs and $40.1 billion in the loss of wellbeing in 2016-2017 alone. While sleep deprivation has many, many causes, this article looks at how we can reduce the snoring related portion of this huge issue. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering, in exasperation ‘How to stop snoring?!’, never fear, our simple 3 step approach can help!
How To Stop Snoring: The 3 Step Checklist
- Change Your Sleeping Position To Stop Snoring
We’ve put it first because it’s the simplest, but sometimes the simplest solutions are the lightbulb moment you’ve been looking for. Fact is, you’ll snore more if you sleep on your back. So you need to get off your back!
The easiest way to do this is to use a device that makes it physically impossible, or at least very uncomfortable, for you to sleep on your back. The simplest one? A tennis ball in the back of your pajamas! Check out ‘Tennis Ball T-Shirt’ to see what we mean.While this method has limited effectivity for very heavy snorers or those with more complicated sleep issues like sleep apnea, for some it’s the simple life hack that they need to say ‘Goodbye!’ to their snoring days. - Examine Your Diet To Stop Snoring
Both being overweight and having a blocked nose are acknowledged factors in raising the probability of you being a snorer.If you suspect that being overweight may be a contributing factor in your snoring, consult your GP, nutritionist, or other health specialist to determine what weight loss methods might work best for you. There is so much information out there on the topic of weightloss that we’re not even going to try to summarise it. But maybe the fact that losing weight is known to decrease the incidences of snoring will help you make those next steps towards weight loss and better health.As for having a blocked nose, many of us snore temporarily when we have a cold, but if your blocked nose is chronic and recurrent, it’s very much worth looking into. The blockage could very well be due to an undiagnosed dietary intolerance like wheat or dairy. If you suspect at all that this might be the case, chat to your preferred health professional or allergy specialist about being tested. Stopping snoring could be as simple as cutting one particular allergen out of your diet. - Consult Your Dentist To Stop Snoring
As mentioned in the first step, snoring can be a symptom of a much more serious health issue, typically sleep apnea. Diagnosing sleep apnea can be quite a process, but for those who have tried everything else and may have other unexplained health issues they can’t find the cause for, a positive diagnosis for sleep apnea may be the next step for you on the path to stop snoring.If you’ve already been diagnosed with sleep apnea and are now looking for treatments, McCloy Dental are highly qualified in the advanced treatment of this condition using custom made and fitted mouthpieces and oral devices. More information about our oral devices can be found in our previous article Sleep Apnea – The often undiagnosed health issue ruining many nights sleep.
So there we have it, the ‘How To Stop Snoring: 3 Step Checklist’ that will take you at least a few steps forward to well and truly stop the snoring. If you would like to discuss the options for oral sleep devices, please contact us for a consultation towards a good night’s sleep!
