Ways to Stop Snoring

Sleep Apnea Guide >> Why do People Snore >> Ways to Stop Snoring

There is good news for persons searching for ways to stop snoring. Much has happened in the last years to make it easier to treat snoring and other sleep problems.

Thanks to improvements in technology and a better understanding of the anatomy of the human body, sleep disorders are now more easily diagnosed in order to find the most effective snoring remedy.

New devices that could eliminate snoring received more attention than ever before.

There are also new improvements on oral appliances for snoring, on CPAP therapy and surgery for snoring - which is the last resort for sleep apnea and snoring patients.

This video will show you some ways to stop snoring, and it will also explain why do you have this breathing problem in sleep:

Surgery for snoring

The surgery should be considered your last option to treat snoring, because it does dramatic changes to your body.

However, if you have malformations in the face and airway, such as large tonsils or deviated septum, surgery may be the place to start.

The most useful types of surgery for snoring has the purpose to:

repair deviated septum
shrink or reduce swollen nasal turbinates
or to remove tonsils and adenoids.

Ways to Stop Snoring Through Surgery

UPPP or Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty - the surgeon removes the uvula and the tonsils. The bad news is that you will have a very painful sore throat for a couple of weeks.

If you have sleep apnea I recommend to avoid this type of snoring surgery. New studies show that UPPP has small impacts on sleep breathing disorders, including sleep apnea.

More importantly, when the surgeon removes the soft palate, CPAP treatment becomes more difficult and ineffective. The reason is that the soft palate is no longer in your mouth to guide airflow towards the back of your throat.

My advise is to obtain a sleep study before and after the surgery to see the changes in your sleep apnea.

LAUP or Laser Assisted Uvulopalatoplasty - this snoring surgery is usually done under a local anesthetic.

The surgeon uses a laser to shorten the uvula and make small cuts in the soft palate on either side of the uvula.

The advantage of this procedure is that it causes bleeding. You will usually have a sore throat for a couple of days.

However, after five weeks of healing, you need to repeat the surgery if your snoring persists. It's possible that you will need three or four procedures to eliminate snoring.

This type of surgery is not recommended for sleep apnea patients, because it removes the warning signal that you have a serious sleep disorder.

So, it's important to take a sleep test in a sleep lab to see what exactly is your problem, before going to snoring surgery.

Somnoplasy- or radiofrequency tissue volume reduction, is a new type of treatment for snoring.

The doctor will use - through a local anesthetic - radiofrequency waves through the tiny needles inserted into your obstructive tissue to shrink it.

The benefit of this procedure is that it doesn't cause bleeding and it only takes a few minutes to perform. However, you probably need repeated surgeries to eliminate snoring.

Oral Appliance Therapy

can be very effective for some snoring patients. With a dental appliance you'll wear a piece of plastic fit to your teeth to hold your jaw, in order to enhance breathing during sleep.

Some people have no problem wearing this device in their mouth, but the majority feel soreness in the back of their jaw. This side effect is a very important key that can decide if you can tolerate dental devices for snoring.

Anti Snore Shirt

is a new, easy and inexpensive remedy for snoring. Not only will improve the symptoms of snoring but it has good results in patients with sleep apnea.

This procedure is based on changing the position of your body while you sleep and is effective if you have:

a large tongue that falls into the back of the throat, blocking your airway during sleep.

or the anatomy of the oral or nasal cavity is crowded, causing resistance when you are trying to breathe in sleep.

The anti-snore shirt will help you to sleep on your side and not on your back. But how will you know that positional therapy can be an effective way to stop snoring?

Just experience in your bed different positions for sleep, then check out in which position you have the easiest breathing.

Interested in anti-snore shirt? Click here to learn more.

Nose Treatments for Snoring

In order to have a better sleep it's important that your nasal breathing be maximized. Just the slightest untreated congestion, allergy, or stuffiness of the nose can compromise your efforts to treat snoring.

If congestion is the problem, a humidifier placed in your bedroom may be helpful, mainly if you live in a hot climate.

If your snoring problem results from a narrowed nasal valve, nasal strips or mechanical dilators may work for you.

Nasal strips are placed across the nose, widening the nasal valve.

The mechanical dilators are usually made of plastic, and they are inserted just inside the nostrils and push outward.

Other Ways to Stop Snoring:

avoid drinking alcohol in the evening, because alcohol relaxes your throat muscles, narrowing the airway and worsening snoring.

If you are significantly overweight, losing weight is a very good choice which often eliminates snoring.

When you lose weight, the amount of fatty tissue from your neck and throat becomes smaller, making way for the air to pass through your airway.

Avoiding sleeping pills and smoking is another good way to stop snoring.