What is Snoring
Snoring is a sound that occurs when there is a vibration of your soft palate (the back part of the roof of your mouth) while you are sleeping. Though the person himself is oblivious yet this can cause a great irritation to people around.
Snoring can be caused due to a number of factors. For instance the extra tissue in the palate and uvula, the fleshy piece between the tonsils-vibrates with each breath, and thus cause the sound of snoring. For many individuals, the air passage has a tendency to close at any point and the thus narrowing of the airway will cause noises of snoring.
Home remedies for Snoring
Some of the top and primary home remedies for snoring are:
- Olive oil: You can take a few sips of olive oil just before going to bed. This will reduce snoring substantially and will completely cure the problem if followed regularly.
- Sage: You can boil some sage in water, strain and let it cool. You can use this brew to gargle before you go to bed. If done regularly, it can be very helpful for this condition.
- Peppermint leaf, passion flower and valerian root powders: You can mix the three and have it every day. This is especially helpful for mild snoring as well as preventing the onset of snoring.
- Avoid heavy meals: It is better to avoid having very heavy meals as well as spicy food just before going to bed as this puts too much pressure on your system and aggravates the condition.
- Treat allergies: You should treat allergies that might cause blockages in the respiratory tract causing problems with breathing and resulting in increased snoring.
- Over weight people snore more. To lose weight and maintain a normal weight. This can greatly reduce or even end snoring as well as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
- Avoid smoking to stop snoring. Smoking causes increased nasal congestion and mucus in the throat area thus leading to snoring.
- Alcohol is also responsible for relaxation in the soft tissues and muscles in the throat resulting in snoring or sleep apnea. To reduce the intake of alcohol during bedtime.
- Sleep on your side and you will be sleeping less.
- Avoid going to bed too tired. Relax and read a book before you go to bed. When you sleep completely exhausted all your muscles in the oral cavity are relaxed leading to snoring.
What are the causes of Snoring
There are many reasons that cause snoring. These are
- During sleep the muscle tone in your tongue as well as your soft palate decreases and becomes soft till they collapse together. This causes snoring. The other soft tissues like tonsils and tongue can produce sounds similar to snoring. The position of the sleeping person also has an impact on snoring. Lying on your back usually makes your tongue to fall back toward your throat thus blocking it and causing you to snore.
- Any obstruction in your airway will also contribute to snoring. Enlarged tonsils and adenoids are the main cause of snoring in children
- Older people tend to snore more because muscle tone reduces with age.
- Over consumption of alcoholic beverages, certain medications, and sheer physical exhaustion may be associated with heavy snoring.