Snoring is a common problem experienced by both men and women, caused by the vibration of throat muscles when breathing in sleep. If snoring keeps you or your partner awake at night, it’s important to look for remedies that can help reduce snoring. Fortunately, there are several natural home remedies for snoring available to help you get a good night’s rest.
The causes of snoring vary from person to person and can include poor muscle tone in the throat, blocked nasal passages due to colds or allergies, enlarged tonsils, and even obstructive sleep apnea. It’s best to consult your doctor to find out the cause of your snoring so that you can find an appropriate solution.
Here are some natural home remedies that may help reduce snoring:
Lifestyle Changes – Making simple lifestyle changes such as avoiding alcohol before bedtime and losing weight if necessary can help reduce snoring. Alcohol relaxes the muscles in the throat which can lead to snoring. Being overweight puts extra pressure on the breathing passages leading to snoring as well.
Sleeping Position – Changing your sleeping position from sleeping on your back to sleeping on your side can also reduce snoring significantly. When lying on your back, gravity tends to pull down your tongue and soft palate which narrows the airways and leads to snoring. By sleeping on one side instead, this pressure is relieved and the airways remain open allowing for easier breathing.
Essential Oils – Using essential oils before bedtime such as eucalyptus oil or peppermint oil mixed with coconut oil or almond oil can be beneficial in reducing snoring. These essential oils contain properties that will open up blocked nasal passages allowing air flow more freely while you sleep which helps reduce snoring noises.
Steam Inhalation – Taking a hot steamy shower before going to bed or using a humidifier in the bedroom helps reduce congestion caused by allergies or colds and thin mucus secretions in the nose thereby opening up blocked nasal passages making it easier for you to breathe through them throughout the night thus reducing snoring noise levels drastically.
Herbal Remedies – There are many herbal remedies available that claim they will help reduce snoring but it is best always consult with a healthcare professional prior to taking any supplement as they may cause adverse reactions when combined with other medications you may be taking already or have different effects on certain individuals than others intended for consumption under their direction only. Popular herbal remedies reported helpful against snoring include chamomile tea, licorice root extract, fenugreek powder capsules, valerian extract capsules, etc.
Tongue Exercises – There are specific exercises designed for strengthening tongue muscles which also strengthen throat muscles thus helping keep airways open during sleep resulting in reduced snoring levels as per reports from individuals who have used these exercises with success against their own mild-moderate snore issues. These exercises involve pressing down hard with both thumbs onto each side of the tongue tip three successive times each day along with massaging the entire tongue surface stretching it outwards between each thumb-press exercise set done thrice daily.
Snorers often feel helpless about their condition, but there are several home remedies available that offer relief without having to resort to prescription drugs or expensive medical devices. The key is finding what works best for individual needs; however, lifestyle changes such as avoiding alcohol before bedtime and losing weight if necessary along with using essential oils like eucalyptus oil mixed into carrier oils like coconut oil applied topically around nostrils, steam inhalations either via hot showers taken just prior going off-to-sleep (at least 15mins before bedtime), herbal extracts like chamomile tea consumed orally along with specific tongue exercises targeted at strengthening throat muscles helps improve those conditions considerably according to research findings.
Therefore it’s crucial that persons suffering from persistent loud nightly snores get adequately assessed medically first then try any one, combination, or all of the above-mentioned home remedy measures under the guidance of a qualified healthcare professional if needed so as to ensure optimum results achieved successfully over time.