Understanding Cause Vs Symptoms is First Step to Stop Snoring
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The first step in learning how to stop snoring is finding out what causes your snoring.
Snoring can be a horrible and embarrassing condition, disrupting sleep for not only you, but your partner, and jeopardizing your health. However, its important to understand that your snoring is only the symptom of another underlying condition, or combination of conditions. Every snoring remedy is different, and are each designed to deal with those underlying conditions. For example, buying nose strips to open your nostrils at night is not going to help very much if the cause of your snoring is in your throat.
Once you understand that you do snore, and have acknowledged that it is a problem you need to deal with, the first step should always be determining the cause of your snoring. Observing yourself as you drift to sleep can help with this, but so can your doctor or dentist.
A few of the possible reasons you snore could be:
− allergies, sinus infections, colds, or other breathing problems;
− taking sleeping pills, sedatives, or drinking alcohol before bedtime;
− sleeping on your back with your tongue falling to the back of your mouth, blocking your ability to breathe;
− being overweight, with a layer of fat around the neck making breathing more difficult;
− nasal deformity such as a deviated septum or other nasal problem;
− an anatomical issue obstructing your breathing like as a softened palate; or
− sleep apnea, a condition when you stop breathing for several seconds or more multiple times during your sleep.
A process of trial and error can help you find out the reasons for your snoring. For example, if you should lose weight anyway, why not begin that process and try not sleeping on your back for the next several nights?
Snoring can become more than a nuisance to yourself and your loved ones. Snoring and related conditions can cause major health problems when left untreated. Have you spoken to your doctor about the problem? Your doctor may suggest a sleep lab with sleep testing to get to the root of your snoring problem.
When you find out that you really do snore, its time to figure out why. While occasional snoring is normal, there is always an underlying reason for ongoing snoring. Finding that reason will help you stop snoring so everyone gets a peaceful sleep.
