Articles by Snoring-Aid.com Staff

Using Humidifiers to Relieve Snoring

Snoring is something that is common among most individuals. The throat, tongue, and soft palate tissues sag and vibrate with breathing during sleep thereby causing the snoring sound. In fact, there are numerous factors that instigate snoring, the quality of the air being one of the most prominent ones.

Dry air can cause the nasal and oral cavities to become dried up thereby worsening the snoring condition. Using a humidifier is one way to relieve snoring among individuals. A humidifier can increase the humidity of the room that makes it much comfortable to breathe when you are asleep, which help in alleviating the underlying causes of snoring.

Choosing a cool mist or warm mist humidifier is entirely dependent on your budget and the size of the room. Humidifiers are available in two types: portable and whole house humidifiers. Portable humidifiers are sufficient for reducing snoring as it can effectively humidify the air in a room. Whole house humidifiers, on the other hand, can humidify the entire house.

Humidifiers also differ in their functionality, such as cool mist and warm mist humidifiers. Cool mist humidifiers function by ejecting a steady stream of cool vapor from the water diffused using a wick. Warm mist humidifiers, on the other hand, contain a heating element that will produce a warm mist that will help in humidifying the room.

Cool mist humidifiers are more portable and easy to use. The cool vapor produced by them can alleviate snoring in most individuals. Conversely, warm mist humidifiers are more expensive and can consume more electricity due to the presence of a heating element. Nonetheless, the warm mist produced is much effective for reducing irritated airways thereby helping in relieving snoring much effectively.

Using Humidifiers

For relieving snoring, it is best to switch on the humidifier an hour prior to your scheduled bedtime. This will allow sufficient moisture to seep into the air thereby offering you a comfortable sleep. Place the humidifier at least five feet away from your bed and switch it on for the entire night or set timer if it has such features to turn off at a particular time.

The device will add more moisture to the air that will prevent the airways to become dried up. Moreover, using a humidifier will also remove any allergens inside your room that could lead to snoring.

Note that humidifiers are only a provisional solution to snoring. They only remove the dryness of the air, which will reduce snoring but not cure it completely. A permanent cure for snoring is only possible by using proper snoring devices available such as an anti snoring mouth guard. Combining the usage of a humidifier and stop snoring devices is the best way to fully cure snoring.

3 Natural Cures to Alleviate Routine Cases of Snoring

Several factors may lead to snoring, from the relaxation of tissues in the tongue, throat, and mouth, to a misaligned jaw. When the soft tissues in the mouth recede during sleep, they block the airway partially and that causes a vibration in the palate when the inhale hurries past. Below are some natural snoring aids that may help to stop snoring and bring about a peaceful sleep for the snorers and their bedfellow.

Herbal Remedies

Snoring is often seen lightly at times, but if left untreated, it can grow worse gradually. Herbal pills have natural enzymes that target nasal congestion and may alleviate the cause of snoring. Although herbal medications are not backed by all medics, they are worth trying especially when concurrent snoring occurs in the normal course of events.

Pranayama Breathing

Pranayama is a type of yoga exercise that includes several breathing techniques, which may be an ideal cure of routine snoring. Pranayama would help sleep apnea patients to reduce weight gradually and may even help to keep the airway open during sleep, thereby reducing snoring. Breathing techniques, with the help of professionals, would cure snoring in due course, but practice makes such snoring aids perfect.

Tongue and Throat Exercises

Stick out the lower jaw over the upper jaw with teeth shown and count to ten. Put the tongue out perfectly and as straight as possible and then move the tongue left and right and touch the corner of the lips while exercising.

With aging, our mouth palates tend to lose strength as well as elasticity, which mean that the breathing cessation will worsen more with age. Repeating tongue and throat exercise several times a day would alleviate swallowing difficulties as well as reduce snoring issues.

Mandibular Advancement Devices would stabilize the snorer’s lower jaw in the case of a receding jaw to counter the snoring problem. Sleep experts even say that using a Mandibular Advancement Device or an anti snoring mouthpiece is the best way to treat the condition. However, do consult a medic to pinpoint what exactly is the underlying cause of your snoring and then try the recommended snoring aids to cure your snoring issue.

Types of Remedies for Snoring and Sleep Apnea

Several factors cause snoring, but dentists say that one of the key factors for the issue is the position of the lower jaw. If the lower jaw is too far back, the tongue is further pushed back than what is optimal, causing vibration in the mouth palate, and thereby blocking the airway and leading to snoring condition.

Mandibular Advancement Device

An anti snore guard is a Mandibular Advancement Device approved by the FDA. People snore when the tongue blocks the airway during sleep and the Mandibular Advancement Device helps to stop snoring by advancing both the lower jaw and the tongue. The device works this way to cure snoring among sleep apnea patients or even standard cases of snoring.

Anti Snoring Guard for Jaw Pain

Only a few Temporomandibular Joint Disorders (TMD) patients whine about jaw hurting or temporomandibular joint pain worsening when they use a mandibular advancement device. If jaw pain persists in a TMD patient, they shall follow the below suggestions to get a relief.

  • Retrofit the anti snore guard with the help of a dentist if temporomandibular joint pain persists. However, you should give some time for the device to fit into the jaws. Usually, the mouthpiece adjusts as per the shape of your jaws after a week of prolonged usage or two weeks.
  • If the temporomandibular joint pain does not alleviate, use a tongue retaining oral appliance as an alternative to the anti snore guard.

How Anti Snoring Mouthpiece Works

The snore guard mouthpiece would hold the jaws in a forward position while you are sleeping, thereby negating the vibration of palates that cause snoring. With its simple functioning, the Mandibular Advancement Device would help you to breathe freely during sleep and ease the conditions of sleep apnea. As an anti snore mouthpiece is made of thermoplastic, you can simply follow a boil-and-bite method to custom fit the mouthpiece into the jaws.

How Tongue Retaining Devices Work

A tongue retaining device would pull and retain the tongue in a forward position during sleep and stop the tongue from blocking the airway against the pharyngeal wall. This block in the throat may happen due to reduced muscle tone, but by using the retaining device, the airway space increase in the throat, thereby helping to stop snoring.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends Mandibular Advancement Devices for patients suffering from snoring, and supports that the mouthpiece can be a joint pain remedy. Consult with a dentist or sleep specialist to diagnose your condition and draft a care plan accordingly.

Sleeping Positions to Help you Stop Snoring

A relentless, persistent, and endless snoring habit will certainly make life a lot more difficult for you and it deprives you off a good night’s sleep. This will in turn affect your performance at work or college and you may even find it hard to cope with everyday situations. If you are a regular snorer, you must immediately consult with a health care provider to get help.

If your snoring is not that serious, your health care provider will suggest a few lifestyle changes because that might help you to reduce snoring. On the other hand, if you are suffering from severe snoring and if it is affecting your sleeping patterns, health care providers will put forward an effective treatment plan for you.

Either way, it is wiser to invest in a reliable and efficient anti-snoring mouthpiece because it will help you to stop snoring without comprising your comfort while sleeping. Most of the anti snoring mouthpieces available in the market are convenient, affordable, and they do help you to get a peaceful good night’s sleep. You should also try to adopt the following sleeping positions when you are using an anti snoring mouth guard for better results.

Prop up your Chin

Tucking something right under your chin such as a pillow or even your hand will firm up the skin around your neck region. This will in turn firm up the tissues around your throat and significantly reduce the vibrations from these units when you are breathing. Carefully place the pillow and make sure you are not moving it away from your chin when you are sleeping.

Elevate your Head

Propping up your head when you are sleeping will alter the angle of your throat and neck, which will open the airways and help you to breathe a lot more easily. This is also an excellent way for easing nasal congestion, which is another major culprit in causing snoring issues. You can easily elevate your head by placing a thicker pillow or by using multiple pillows.

Sleep on your Side

People who sleep on their backs are usually the ones who experience more snoring problems. This is because the throat tissues get collapsed into the airways when are sleeping on your back, which will in turn increases the breathing difficulties. So, try to switch your sleeping position and sleep on your side to reduce snoring.

Three Best Essential Oils to Relieve Snoring

There exist various alternative treatments methods to cure and stop snoring. These methods have proven to relieve snoring and its associated conditions when used together with a sleep apnea mouth guard, and rule out the need of any direct intervention such as surgery.

Aromatherapy is one of the most effective ways to deal with snoring problems among individuals. It is an ancient system that uses certain oils known commonly as essential oils derived from specific natural substances to cure various ailments related to both the physical and mental aspects of the body.

Aromatherapy and the use of essential oils are effective in curing snoring as they act directly on the nasal passages and the throat. However, to stop snoring using essential oils requires knowledge about which type of oil to use for a particular issue. Besides, as there are so many types of essential oils available, you need to understand which one would work best for your case. Below are three of the finest essential oils that can be used for relieving snoring.

Thyme Oil

Thyme Oil is an essential oil that is often regarded as the best alternative cure for snoring. It has been proven by studies that Thyme Oil can be used to cure a host of diseases involving the respiratory system as well as in boosting the immune system and in treating muscular pain. Thyme Oil is used in combination with Jojoba Oil for application on the toes while sleeping. This is done according to the tradition of reflexology. Using a diffuser is also recommended as it will help spread the aroma uniformly across the room thereby offering quick relief from snoring.

Tea Tree Oil

Tea Tree Oil is known for its excellent therapeutic benefits and is proven to have numerous antiseptic, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. When implemented with a snoring mouthpiece, the Tea Tree Oil can relieve the ailment effectively within no time. It can assist with the normal breathing of an individual that can prevent many of the factors that cause snoring. Moreover, using Tea Tree Oil also improves the quality of air inside a room thereby alleviating the chances of snoring.

Marjoram Oil

Marjoram Oil is known for its numerous health benefits, besides helping in relieving snoring. It is a highly effective way to cure snoring as the Marjoram Oil directly offers support to the respiratory system of an individual. This enables one to breathe much easier during the night thereby eliminating any chances of snoring. Marjoram Oil quickly enters into the body during sleep and its effects are prolonging, thereby making it an ideal cure for snoring.

Which is Better – Sleep Apnea Mouthpiece or CPAP?

Both the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) have agreed that both Oral Appliance Therapy (OAT) and Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) can be prescribed as the first line therapy for the treatment of mild to moderate Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).

Using anti snoring mouthpieces has become an effective treatment method that can help treat primary snoring without OSA. Let us look what makes a snoring mouthpiece an effective solution in addressing the issue of snoring.

Snore Stop Mouthpieces and Oral Appliances

The Oral Appliances Therapy (OAT) includes using sleep apnea mouthpieces and other oral appliances and all of them offer similar advantage to the users. Some of the important advantages of using sleep apnea mouthpiece to control snoring include the following.

  • They are non-invasive
  • They are effective for mild snoring and OSA
  • They do not need electricity and is much portable for travel
  • They are easy to clean and maintain
  • They are noiseless
  • They are reimbursable via insurance

Some of the mouthpieces even allow users to eat, talk, and drink and can be helpful to those people who need to chew antacids in the middle of the night. Besides, snoring mouth guards are easy to wear and more comfortable than CPAP, meaning that the patients are likely to continue with the therapy

Use of anti snoring devices can improve daytime sleepiness, blood pressure, driving performance, and overall quality of life. Experts say that such devices also allow fast adjustment period to the user.

Efficacy and Effectiveness of Snoring Treatment

There is a difference between the effectiveness and efficacy of snoring treatments. Efficacy refers to the ability of the particular therapy to treat the snoring problem, whereas effectiveness refers to efficacy together with the overall compliance and comfort of the patient.

Studies show that CPAP is highly efficacious in treating snoring, meaning that treatment works well to correct OSA. However, many patients do not find the treatment comfortable, so the real world effectiveness of the treatment might be less when compared to the snoring mouthpieces, as many users will abandon the CPAP treatment in the long run. However, some anti snoring mouthpieces are less efficacious than CPAP in treating OSA, as many factors will affect the effectiveness of the treatment and it can change from person to person.

Causes of Snoring and the Precautions to Take

As a common condition, snoring may affect not necessarily a sleep apnea patient alone but anyone. Loud snoring may not be a symptom of sleeping disorders always, but certainly bothers the snorer’s bedfellow and disrupts the sleeping patterns of both. For habitual snorers, to get a good night sleep in bed means to undergo CPAP and use anti snoring devices as per the sleep specialists advice.

Causes of Snoring

Sleep specialists in America say that snoring tends to exist among people who are overweight or beyond their forties. It is also found that loud snoring in men may be an early symptom of sleep apnea. People snore when the airflow through the throat or nose gets hindered, due to the below-listed factors or the combinations of it:

  • A sinus infection or due to nasal allergy
  • Nasal septum deviation
  • Nasal polyps
  • Excess usage of sleeping pills, or alcoholism

In children, occasional snoring may come as an aftereffect of tonsillitis or adenoiditis. In adults, being overweight may cause bulky throat tissue that blocks free airflow and leads to loud snoring.

Health Risks of Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Habitual snorers and alcoholics tend to border on the verge of serious health hazards including Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Patients who suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnea tend to sleepwalk, experience hallucinations, and are seen to become mentally and physically weary. This sleep disorder can even cause blood pressure to rise up, lead to heart enlargements, and increase the risks of stroke.

Both snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea may cause drowsiness during the daytime. What’s more, if you have Obstructive Sleep Apnea, you may also face cessation in breathing during sleep for ten seconds due to partial or total hindering of the airflow into the lungs. In such cases, you would wake up from the bed and gasp for air.

Snoredoc sleep apnea chin strap helps to stop snoring and is both an anti snoring device as well as an apnea cure. Using apnea chin strap anti snoring device would definitely improve the quality of your life, but make sure you consult with a sleep specialist before you go for any anti snoring remedies.

What is Sleep Apnea and How to Prevent it

Obstructive Sleep Apnea or OSA is a condition of sleep disorder that is characterized by loud snoring and frequent cessation in breathing. The cessations are called apneas, they occur while people sleep at night, and obstruct normal breathing, hence the amalgam ‘Obstructive Sleep Apnea’.

There are obvious health hazards to having sleep apnea. When there is a cessation of breathing, carbon dioxide builds up in our bloodstream, and when that happens, the brain signals the sleeper the need to breathe and in effect awakens them. Once the awaken person starts to control breath and get things back in shape, they will fall asleep subsequently, even as the cessation repeats. Needless to say, OSA would make peaceful sleeping hard and that may cause fatigue in people felt immediately when they wake up in morning.

Sleep Apnea and its Primary Symptoms

Snoring itself is not a giveaway symptom of sleep apnea. Since your bedfellow won’t tell you to stop snoring at night, and daytime fatigue alone cannot be a clear symptom, the best way to diagnosis sleep apnea is always to consult with a sleep specialist.

If your bedmate happens to notice that you wake up several times at nights and gasp for breath, then there is a chance that you have Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Sleep specialists say that severe headaches that last well into the next morning and throughout the following day may also be a symptom of OSA among overweight people and in those who are above forty years of age.

Sleep Apnea in Children

Shockingly, sleep apnea pervades among children just as the condition does with more than eighteen million adults in the US. Symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnea among children include nighttime sweating, suffering from frequent nightmares, or wetting the bed. These symptoms may also be symptoms of other conditions, hence OSA is tough to diagnose in children than in adults – which is why consulting with sleep specialists becomes even more important.

Snoredoc specializes in a mouthpiece that helps to stop snoring and even clear sleep apnea. If you or your bed partner snores heavily and too often, then it can gradually turn worse and might even lead to Obstructive Sleep Apnea. As prevention is always the best cure, take the necessary steps to stop snoring and reclaim your peaceful night’s sleep.