If you snore, even if it’s a chronic habit or problem, before you run off and see your doctor and sign up for the latest surgery, there are 3 easy ways to stop snoring that you should consider trying first.  We call them easy because they don’t involve any fancy appliances or devices or cumbersome and torturous facial appliances.  They can be done relatively easily and affordably, and have been shown to be successful for virtually everyone that has tried them.

The First – and Easiest – of the Ways to Stop Snoring

Some of the easiest ways to stop snoring are to keep yourself from sleeping on your back.  When you sleep on your back, your head usually falls back and your mouth falls open, enabling you to start snoring.  We’re not supposed to breathe through our mouths, but this happens when the mouth falls open.  The first and easiest of the ways to stop snoring is to keep yourself from sleeping on your back, and solutions for this are usually pretty simple.  You can prop up some pillows under your one side so that you can roll over.  You can put a tennis ball in the waistband of your pajamas or back of your shirt, adhering it with a bit of Velcro.  You can use a snore pillow, which is typically made of foam and shaped in such a way that you cannot roll over very easily.

You really don’t need anything special to keep you from sleeping on your back, making this one of the most affordable ways to stop snoring.  A few new or extra pillows, or even some extra bed linens rolled up and put underneath you will do the trick.  Some even find that a new throw pillow that you would normally use for the couch does the trick. 

The Second of the Easy Ways to Stop Snoring

You need to add moisture and humidity to your environment to keep your throat from becoming dry.  Putting a humidifier or vaporizer in your bedroom is also one of the easiest ways to stop snoring.  The added moisture keeps your throat hydrated so that even if you do get caught breathing through your mouth, you’re not going to actually be snoring.

The Third of the Easy Ways to Stop Snoring

Keeping your sinus cavities open in order to facilitate breathing through your nose is another of the easy and affordable ways to stop snoring.  How to do this?  Use some eucalyptus or menthol oil under your nose.  Add some to your vaporizer.  Rub some on your chest.  Try a mentholated cough drop before you go to bed, just making sure to finish it before you go to sleep so that you don’t choke.

See?  None of these three easy ways to stop snoring are hard, expensive, or involve weird devices worn over your face or inside your mouth.  As a matter of fact, you can try any of them today and get yourself a better night’s sleep tonight.

In a word, yes!  Many of the snoring remedies that you read about or see on the internet really do work.  At least, they work for many people, depending on why it is that a person snores.  Snoring remedies are designed to address a variety of problems and issues that cause snoring. 

Snoring Remedies for a Dry Throat

For one thing, a very dry and scratchy throat is a common cause of snoring.  When your mouth falls open at night, air passing over the membranes of your throat dries out all that tissue and then it vibrates when you breathe, causing the sound we call snoring.  If you clear your throat, you hear something of the same sound – that scratchy, rough noise of air making the tissues and membranes vibrate.  Many snoring remedies are designed to add moisture to the throat and to coat it with a certain substance that keeps it moist all night.  Sprays and syrups are two such items.  By spraying the back of the throat or coating it with a syrup, you’re keeping that tissue soft and moist and enabling yourself to breathe without making that sound.

Snoring Remedies to Keep Your Nose Clear

Other snoring remedies work to keep the nasal passages clear.  We’re not supposed to breathe through our mouth, even when we sleep.  But sometimes this happens when our noses get clogged or stuffy.  This may be due to a medical condition that can only be addressed by a doctor, but sometimes it can be corrected by these snoring remedies.  Certain oils work to clear up the sinuses, such as menthol oil.  Think of the last time you ate a cough drop, even if it wasn’t to open your sinus cavities.  Didn’t your breathing become easier and clearer?  Menthol and eucalyptus oils do the same thing.  A lot of common snoring remedies are simply a menthol base with added oils or aromas to make your breathing easier.  If your sinuses are unclogged, then you won’t be as likely to breathe through your mouth and then snore.

Other Snoring Remedies

Some products work as a combination of the above methods.  For example, a throat spray may contain a syrup that coats the throat and contains menthol as well.  Some snoring remedies work by dissolving these oils in the air over time, so that your throat is moist and your sinuses are clear as well.  Some devices are designed to keep your mouth closed while you sleep, so that you have no choice but to breathe through your nose.  All of these snoring remedies typically work, if they are addressing the exact cause of why a person snores.  So if you snore, it’s a good idea to figure out why.  Does your throat feel dry and scratchy most days?  Is your nose typically stuffed up throughout the day?  By pinpointing the specific reason behind your own snoring, you can then choose just the right product and remedy for you.

If your doctor has recommended any type of snoring surgery to you, then chances are that this is your last and best option to eliminate this problem from your life.  Most doctors will recommend any type of surgery only as a last resort or when all other treatment methods have failed, and this includes treatments for snoring as well.

Many forms of snoring surgery are rather quick and painless, and are often done on an outpatient basis, so there really is no need to be afraid or apprehensive.  However, if you’re unclear on the various treatment options and need a bit more guidance, we’ll try to outline the major types of snoring surgery here and what they entail.  And remember, if you have any other questions or are apprehensive, you definitely should speak up and talk to your doctor about that.  He or she should be able to answer your questions clearly and directly and in a manner that you understand before you elect to have any type of procedure.

Purpose of Snoring Surgery

Obviously each patient is different in how or why they need surgery to help eliminate snoring.  However, most have certain issues in common, and the most popular types of snoring surgery work to eliminate these particular issues:

They may be designed to remove excessive soft tissue from the throat and the mouth to clear the airway through the throat.  This type of snoring surgery may involve the soft palate, which is the back portion of the roof of the mouth, the tonsils, adenoids, uvula, or other areas of tissue around the mouth and throat.

When you sleep, you shouldn’t be breathing through your mouth, but if you have a condition that blocks your sinuses and nasal cavities, this will of course happen naturally.  So, another type of snoring surgery is designed to correct an abnormally shaped septum, which is the wall between the nostrils, or to remove nasal polyps that block airflow through the nose. 

Another common type of snoring surgery is designed to correct the shape of the bony structures of the airway in the mouth and throat, however, this is one of the more invasive and time consuming types of surgeries.  More than one visit may be needed in this instance.

Methods Used

For any type of snoring surgery that is designed to remove tissue, many doctors today are finding that lasers do a much better job at cutting away this tissue than a scalpel.  Doctors are able to remove only a few layers of tissue this way, and because the laser cauterizes the wound immediately, there is less bleeding and a shorter recovery time.

For yourself, if you are considering a snoring surgery, speak to your doctor beforehand and make sure you understand everything that will be done and what will be expected of you, such as a soft foods or liquid diet for a few days.  Be aware of possible side effects as well, and then you will be better able to make your decision.