SPECIAL EDITION: PRAY OVER YOUR MARRIAGE and another love story

Snoring

Just about everyone snores occasionally, but if snoring happens frequently it can affect the quantity and quality of your sleep and that of your family members and roommates. Snoring can lead to poor sleep and daytime fatigue, irritability, and increased health problems. If your snoring keeps your partner awake, it can also create major relationship problems. Thankfully, sleeping in separate bedrooms isn’t the only remedy for snoring. There are many other effective solutions available.

Not all snoring is the same. In fact, everyone snores for different reasons. When you get to the bottom of why you snore, then you can find the right solutions to a quieter, deeper sleep.

• Snoring happens when you can't move air freely through your nose and mouth during sleep. Often caused by the narrowing of your airway, either from poor sleep posture or abnormalities of the soft tissues in your throat. A narrow airway gets in the way of smooth breathing and creates the sound of snoring. The position of your tongue can also get in the way of smooth breathing.  As you reach middle age and beyond, your throat becomes narrower, and the muscle tone in your throat decreases. Men have narrower air passages than women and are more likely to snore. A narrow throat, a cleft palate, enlarged adenoids, and other physical attributes that contribute to snoring are often hereditary. Fatty tissue and poor muscle tone contribute to snoring.
• Alcohol intake, smoking, and certain medications can increase muscle relaxation leading to more snoring. Sleeping flat on your back causes the flesh of your throat to relax and block the airway.

Evaluating how and when you snore will help you pinpoint whether the cause of your snoring is within your control or not. The good news is that no matter how and when you snore, there are solutions to making your snoring better.

Bedtime remedies to help you stop snoring

• Clear nasal passages. Having a stuffy nose makes inhalation difficult and creates a vacuum in your throat, which in turn leads to snoring. You can do it naturally with a Neti pot or try nasal decongestants or nasal strips to help you breathe more easily while sleeping.
• Dry air can irritate membranes in the nose and throat so do well to keep your bedroom air moist.
• Reposition. Elevating your head four inches may ease breathing and encourage your tongue and jaw to move forward. There are specially designed pillows available to help prevent snoring by making sure your neck muscles are not crimped.
• Avoid caffeine and heavy meals within two hours of going to bed, especially dairy products and soy milk.
• Sleep on your side. Avoid sleeping on your back, as gravity makes it more likely for your tongue and soft tissues to drop and obstruct your airway.

                                                                                                           By…Belinda Yeboah