Do you often get annoyed with the snoring sound of your sleeping partner? Or have you yourself just dealt with it? Whether it’s light or loud snoring, you should always get behind the reason, asking yourself what’s causing you or your loved ones to snore.
The reason can be anything, and maybe you can fix your snoring issue at the initial stage with some lifestyle changes. If not treated, it can lead to serious health issues, which can later be chronic. Snoring is not just a health-related concern; it also disturbs the quality of sleep of people sharing the room. Let’s understand the side effects of snoring and how it can be treated.
Table of Contents
Side Effects Of Snoring
● Disrupted Sleep
Sleep disruption is the major side effect of snoring. It affects not only the snorer but also the people sleeping in the same room. The loud rattling sound can disturb others and lead to frequent awakenings that can cause the person to feel lethargic the entire day.
● Feeling Fatigued
If you don’t get proper sleep at night, you will feel sleepy and tired the entire day. This may cause a lack of focus on your day-to-day tasks, which can reduce productivity at work. Since snoring causes tiredness, you might feel dizzy, which can be dangerous while driving.
● Relationship Strain
When your partner is a snorer, the continuous snoring sound can cause irritation, frustration, loss of sleep and mood swings. All of this can affect your relationship.
● Health Complications
Now that you’re aware of all the problems snoring causes, you should also know that it’s associated with many health risks, including high blood pressure and an increased risk of developing heart disease. If not treated, it can lead to sleep apnea.
How to Stop Snoring?
Though snoring may seem complicated to get rid of, fortunately, many remedies can help stop snoring. Simple exercises, anti-snoring devices, and lifestyle changes are all effective ways to stop snoring. Here’s how you can stop snoring rapidly.
● Change Your Sleep Position
Sometimes, a simple change in your sleep position can drastically reduce snoring. You might wonder how snoring and sleeping positions are related, but they are, especially when the cause of snoring is a blocked airway due to the tongue falling back. Sleeping sideways can reduce this problem, or use an extra pillow to elevate your head.
● Manage Obesity
Obesity can narrow the airway by increasing the fat around throat tissues. Therefore, maintaining a healthy weight through regular exercise and a healthy diet can reduce snoring. Avoid eating outside food, deep-fried food, packaged foods and foods high in sodium content as they can lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. Spend time doing some cardio exercise, walking at least 7k steps a day and light-weight lifting exercises.
● Avoid Drinking Too Much Alcohol
Alcohol can also be the cause of snoring. Drinking too much alcohol, especially before going to bed, can relax your throat muscles, causing heavy snores and worsening the situation. Therefore, limit drinking alcohol or completely stop drinking to live a healthy life.
● Use Anti-Snoring Sprays and Nasal Dilators
Many anti-snoring products are out on the market, but anti-snoring sprays and nasal dilators show effective results. You don’t have to consult a doctor before using them. They are harmless and effective for everyone.
Anti-snoring sprays can help you breathe better by lubricating the nasal passage for better airflow because a blocked nose can be the cause of snoring. Nasal dilators are placed in the nostrils to widen the airflow passage, which helps improve the breathing passage.
● CPAP Machine
If you’re in a worse stage where the snoring is too loud and disturbing, or if you’re dealing with sleep apnea, then you will have to consider taking the help of a medical professional who will treat the problem using a CPAP machine or surgery. If you’re dealing with sleep apnea, then a CPAP machine provides a continuous flow of air. These are the side effects of snoring and the remedies to stop it. It is a problem that is generally made fun of, but you should consider taking help because it can turn into something serious if not dealt with promptly. Even if the problem is at the initial stage, use devices like an anti-snoring spray to get relief from snoring. Take a step now to live a healthy life.