National Stop Snoring Week: 9 Ways To Stop Snoring From An ENT Expert

Snoring: the cause of many rows and sleepless nights across the UK, where around a quarter of the population snore.

Ahead of Snoring Awareness Week, Dr Yves Kamami, ENT surgeon at the Private Clinic of Harley Street and expert in the causes of and treatments for snoring, is here to explain what makes you snore and how to fix it.

Now you – and any poor soul in the same vicinity – will sleep soundly.

Alcohol

We’re much more likely to snore if we’ve been on the drink. Alcohol relaxes the muscles of your tongue which can lead to the narrowing of the airways, ultimately resulting in snoring. Avoiding alcohol before going to bed could therefore lower your chances of snoring.

Smoking

Smoking can enlarge some tissue in the nose, called the turbinates, which makes breathing harder; these side effects also increase the chances of snoring. Putting down the cigarettes won’t just improve yours and your partners night sleep, it will also significantly improve your overall health.

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. Try opting out of Indian takeaway night for a few weeks and see if you notice a difference.

Overweight

Being overweight is one of the most common causes of snoring. The more you weigh, the more likely you are to snore. Losing just a few pounds, if you are relatively trim, can affect how often and loudly you snore.

Sleeping Position

If you snore, try not to sleep on your back. Sewing a tennis ball in to the back of your pyjamas is a sure way to prevent yourself from rolling over, reducing the nightly jab in the ribs from your cranky partner.

Bedding

Change your sheets at least once a week and vacuum regularly to avoid excess dust and other particles from building up and blocking the nasal passages, which results in our bodies creating swollen turbinates.

Find The Cause

There are three main medical reasons behind snoring: a partially blocked nasal passage by an elongated and thick soft palate or a partially blocked airway behind the tongue. Unless you diagnose which of these are causing your snoring you will have no hope in correcting your night-time window-rattling. Talk to your GP, and if they can’t help then find an ENT specialist for advice.

Find The Right Remedy

Once you know whether you are a nose, throat, palate or ‘combination’ snorer (a mixture of two or all three), then you can start trying to deal with your symptoms. Some over the counter products may help certain individuals, but obviously if you are a nose snorer, then you can avoid the throat spray. Equally if you are a throat snorer, don’t invest in the nasal strips!

Find A Permanent Solution

If you’ve tried everything but your snoring persists, don’t despair, as there are treatments available that will stop it for good.

A non-invasive laser treatment is available to help clear the airways on the soft palate in the throat and another laser technique which can help to open up the nasal passage. With the airways cleared, snoring can stop altogether. The treatments are carried out under local anaesthetic and take less than half an hour to complete. Simple.