Snoring occurs when the air flow from your nose or mouth to the lungs causes the tissues in the throat to vibrate and which further causes you to make a raspy noise while sleeping. It is possible that you may not even know that you are snoring, but it can be suspected if you are tired the next day after a night's sleep or if your bed partner tells you. It is common for a snorer to wake themselves up throughout the night, whether they are aware of this or not. In any case, snoring can deprive you of good sleep, may indicate other medical problems, and can put a strain on your relationship with your bed partner.
Snoring occurs when the tongue, the muscles in the soft palate (the area in the back of the roof of your mouth), and the throat all relax while you are sleeping. If all these areas relax too much, then the airway narrows. When you breathe, the tissues of the throat vibrate, causing snoring. Some snorers can make frightfully loud noises when they snore, which can be disruptive for themselves or their bedmates.
A good place to start is to actually diagnose the cause of your snoring problem. With this information, you can properly identify a strategy to eliminate your snoring. There are at least four different problems that work alone or together to cause the snoring. First, a weak or tense throat will close up and cause irregular airflow, which causes snoring. Second, a common cause of snoring is due to the tongue falling back into the throat during sleep, which narrows the airway. Third, nasal problems such as associated with allergies or colds can also contribute to snoring. A fourth common cause is due to tight jaw muscles.
There are many common treatment options including surgery, mouth pieces, sprays, and C-PAP machines. Other strategies include losing weight, stopping smoking, limiting alcohol, and limiting certain medications. Often times, doctors prescribe a sleep study. While these strategies may work, the best one may actually involve doing daily exercises designed to open up the throat, strengthen the tongue, widen the nasal passages, and relax the jaw.
My own snoring problem was basically eliminated after only two days of performing a set of simple exercises that took about 5 minutes to perform. I had diagnosed what the cause of my snoring seemed to be and looked for an exercise program that would address my problems. Not only did my snoring stop, but best of all, my bed partner reported no snoring and has since moved back to our bed.
Jean Greene is an occupational therapist who provides therapeutic services to individuals with the wide variety of injuries, disabilities, and chronic conditions. Here is a link to an amazingly effective snoring exercise program that many (including myself) have utilized to solve their snoring problem within days: http://www.stop-snoring-in-days.com/.
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