Can’t stop SNORING? Expert shares best ways to breathe easy

WE’VE ALL experienced the exhausted frustration from a disrupted night’s sleep.

The loud, abrasive and exasperating sound of someone snoring nearby is enough to make your blood boil.

Snoring is often the source of late night arguments and a contributing factor to marital disharmony.

According to the British Snoring and Sleep Apnoea Association, snoring is air turbulence vibrating the structures in the upper airway.

It can range in sound from 50 to 100 decibels, the equivalent of a pneumatic drill, which explains its comparison to ‘sawing wood’.

Snoring is often to blame for fatigue during the day, but this nocturnal habit has a host of health hazards that some may not be aware of.

High blood pressure and increased risk of stroke are among the risk factors for regular snorers.

But there are ways to prevent the dreaded habit, aside from a swift jab in the ribs, according to ENT surgeon at The Private Clinic of Harley Street, Dr Yves Kamami.

Below Dr Kamami, who is also an expert in the causes and treatments for snoring, shares his top tips for reducing the raucous sleep sound.

1) Limit the booze

We are much more likely to snore if we’ve had a tipple before we go to bed. This is because alcohol relaxes the muscles of your tongue which can lead to the narrowing of the airways, ultimately resulting in snoring. Avoiding that pint of beer before going to bed could therefore help to silence your snoring throughout the night.

2) Stop smoking

Smoking can enlarge tissue in the nose, called the turbinates, which makes breathing more difficult; both of these side effects from smoking are likely to increase the chances of snoring. Kicking the habit won’t just improve yours and your partner’s sleep at night, but it will also improve your overall health dramatically.

3) Avoid spicy food

Spicy food can result in acid reflux from your stomach and in a number of studies this has proven to increase the likelihood of snoring. If you’re unsure why you snore and like to indulge in an Indian takeaway at the weekend, why not test the theory?

4) Find the right sleeping position

If you’re prone to snoring, sleeping on your back is a bad idea. If you’re fed up of being jabbed in the ribs throughout the night by your partner, try to sleep on your side. Sewing a tennis ball into to the back of your pyjamas is a sure way to prevent yourself from rolling over. Extreme? Yes. Worth it, for a good night’s sleep? Absolutely.

5) Get to the root of the issue

There are different reasons why we snore. It could be an issue with the nose, throat, palate or a combination of two of three of these things. Unless you diagnose which of these is causing your snoring you will have no hope in correcting your night-time growls. Talk to your GP about the route of your snoring or, better still, consult an ENT specialist.

6) Find a permanent solution

If you’ve tried everything but your snoring persists, don’t despair as there are treatments available which can significantly reduce levels of snoring. For patients whose snoring is being caused by the throat, a non-invasive laser treatment could  help clear the airways on the soft palate in the throat. A similar treatment, meanwhile, can aid ‘nose snorers’ by opening up the nasal passage. Treatments such as these are carried out under local anaesthetic and take less than half an hour to complete.