Have you made your New Year’s resolution yet? Do you want to be healthier in the new year? Or to improve your relationship? How about getting more sleep? The truth is there’s one resolution you can make that will accomplish all of this: stop snoring. Discover how to quit snoring in the new year and improve your health, relationship, and sleep with these tips.
Change How You Think About Snoring
Snoring is not normal.
When you snore, your airway is partially blocked. The blockage is caused by loose soft tissue in the back of your throat and your tongue. This reduces airflow to the lungs. This also leads to a lack of oxygen to the brain and other vital organs.
There are multiple causes for this blockage. You could have a deviated septum, decreased muscle tone in your throat, damage from excessive alcohol and smoking intake, or a variety of sleep disorders. To know how to quit snoring, you must know what’s causing your snoring.
Track Your Sleeping
Finding out how and when you snore can help you understand the severity of the problem. Multiple apps will help you track your sleep. Or you can make a sleep journal and try to track it yourself.
If you only snore on nights you drink or take a sleeping pill, then the solution may be as simple as cutting back on when you imbibe. However, if you have persistent, excessive snoring, then it might be time to reach out to your doctor, or dentist, and get a proper evaluation that could include, x-rays or a sleep study which monitors blood oxygen levels, heart rates, breathing rate, sleep states, and body movements.
Make Healthier Lifestyle Choices
The most basic way to stop snoring is to avoid lifestyle choices that can irritate the throat, such as smoking, which irritates the membranes in the nose and throat. But this can also include avoiding alcohol and sedatives, which can relax the muscles in the throat, causing them to be more “floppy”. Additionally, losing weight can help decrease the loose, fatty tissue in the back of the throat which often causes blockage and leads to snoring. Making these basic adjustments are often the key elements of how to quit snoring.
Don’t be afraid to seek out additional treatment options
Sometimes cutting back on alcohol, smoking, and weight gain won’t solve the issue. Luckily, there are many therapy options to help you improve. Adding in throat exercises to your regular workout routine is an easy way to strengthen your throat, which may improve snoring.
Oral Appliance Therapy uses a small mouthpiece that is worn at night, similar to a retainer. The device positions the jaw so that it creates space for air, preventing blockage from the tongue or soft tissue.
It’s important to use a custom-fitted device made by your dentist for OAT. Additionally, the device may be covered by medical insurance or Medicare, so check with your dentist about your options! You can find a doctor near you who treats sleep apnea by using our Provider Search tool.
Snoring can lead to a lack of energy, a decline in your relationship, an increase in weight and risk of heart disease, stroke, and Alzheimer’s. Snoring can also be associated with a variety of sleeping disorders, the most common of which is Obstructive Sleep Apnea, which can cause you to stop breathing completely during the night. Don’t let snoring block you from starting the New Year off right, apply these tips helpful and quit snoring in the new year.
