A Personal Snoring Solution Odyssey

I promise a personal story, but first a little background.

Snoring is the term used to describe the sound our breathing makes at times while we sleep. It’s a rough, even abrasive sound that occurs when our airways become partially obstructed – usually by the relaxed, soft tissue in our throats. As the air rushes in and out it causes the soft tissue to vibrate. And that vibration is the sound we know as snoring.

The sound itself can be soft and almost pleasant sounding all the way up to loud and downright horrible. How horrible it sounds, depends on the extent of the airway obstruction. And although not everyone is a “snorer,” almost everyone snores at least a little from time-to-time during the night. So don’t believe someone when they tell you that they never do.

Snoring strikes both men and women alike, with men being slightly more likely to become snorers than women – but it’s true that some people are more prone to snoring than others.

If you’re overweight, you’re more likely to be a snorer. And if you’re obese, you’re very likely to be one. Fat tissue can end up just as easily around the airway as around the waistband. When it does it just makes it easier for the airway to become obstructed during sleep.

If you’re a drinker, especially one who enjoys a drink or two late, before bed, you’re also more likely to be a snorer. Alcohol relaxes just about everything in your body. Your airway is no exception. So it’s more likely that your soft tissue will relax into an obstruction.

Suffering from some kind of nasal condition can turn you into a snorer as well. It could be a temporary condition like a cold or seasonal allergies, but it could also be something congenital like an unusual shape to your mouth or throat, or even an enlarged set of tonsils.

The risk is two-fold. There’s risk to your home life and there’s risk to your health. First the home life part.

If you have a sleep partner, then snoring can affect them just as much as you, sometimes more. They’re the ones that wake up to your coarse serenade in the middle of the night and they’re probably losing a lot of sleep because of it. That’s certainly not going to make life any easier for you at breakfast. And it isn’t going to make your life any smoother in the long run either, take it from me.

But the bigger risk is to your health. Snoring is a sign that you’re not getting a complete, restful night’s sleep. And without that sleep, you’re going to be more fatigued throughout the day. Over time that fatigue will add up until it affects your cognition and you begin having trouble concentrating. You’re basically becoming sleep deprived and the longer it persists, the more risk you expose yourself to. If it goes on long enough, you become more likely to experience high blood pressure and cardiovascular problems.

If you know you snore (and unless you sleep alone, you know), you can do some obvious things. First if you’re overweight, you need to drop some pounds – if you’re way overweight, then a lot of pounds. This is incredibly easy to say but oh so incredibly difficult to do. Still, you need to get it done if you want to improve on your overall health and vitality. My best advice on that is to just find a way to eat sensibly, to exercise sensibly, and to go to bed just a little bit hungry every night.

Next, if you’re a drinker before bedtime, stop drinking. Again, easier said than done right? Maybe you could try to cut back and do it a little earlier in the evening. Or maybe you could try to find a substitute for the alcohol, something like chamomile tea. I know it doesn’t pack the wallop of a good cocktail, but it will relax you nicely before nighty-night time.  

You can also try to alter your sleeping position, or at least the one that you fall asleep in. People who sleep on their backs tend to snore more than people who sleep on their sides. That’s because the throat tissue sits a little differently on your side. 

The bottom line is that if you want to change your snoring habits then you’ll have to make some changes in other parts of your life.

Once upon a time I was a snorer, a big snorer. Five years ago I was told in no uncertain terms by my wife that I was constantly waking her up with my snoring. She described it as sounding like”a buzz saw from another dimension.” I told her to just kick me when that happened and I’d rollover and it would go away. 

Well she did, but it didn’t. I’d just end up on my back again roaring louder than ever. And pretty soon open discussion degraded into grouchy morning arguments and threats of being banished to the guest room.

So I started looking for a snore solution and I soon found that there were a lot of devices on the market that were designed just to help my predicament. There were throat rinses and aroma therapies, there were mouthpieces and nasal tubes, there were nose clips, chin straps, sleep positioners, special pillows, and even an electronic biofeedback device guaranteed to detect my snoring and nip it in the bud. The list was formidable.

My first choice was a mouthpiece. It was easy enough to customize to my bite, it was inexpensive, and it didn’t require a lot of getting used to. It’s wasn’t the sexiest of sleep accessories but it seemed to work. I developed an odd reaction to wearing it though – I started waking up with very sore jaw muscles. I figured I was grinding my teeth somehow throughout the night and after a couple weeks I tried something else.

Next I tried one of those adhesive strip products. Again, it took a little getting used to but it worked pretty well. The little sting it gave me every morning when I had to peel it off wasn’t so bad either (waiting until I was in the shower for a while helped). But what I didn’t like was the expense, and having to remember re-stock was a pain too. Plus, after about three weeks the skin on my nose where the strip was positioned began to get a little sensitive.

My last attempt was really two devices. I bought a memory foam pillow built specifically for “side sleepers” and I bought my first inner nasal device. They both took a lot of getting used to and I almost quit on both – but I didn’t and now I’m glad I didn’t. 

The pillow was a little pricey and maybe that’s why I stuck with it. I just had a difficult time training myself to fall asleep on my side. It literally took a few weeks before I could even get to the “almost asleep” stage. Then, slowly but surely it started to work for me. Now, I can’t go back.

The nose device was really two little tubes that fit in my nostrils. They propped each nostril open to improve air flow. I did not take to these right away either as the first brand I tried always seemed to fall out during the night. And when I’d wake up and realize that fact, I soon discovered it was fruitless to try to find it or them somewhere in the bed covers in the dark. But I got lucky with the second brand I tried (NasiVent). They come in different sizes and I was able to find the size that fit me best. After that, it was smooth sailing.

I now sleep like a baby – well, a middle-aged baby at least. When I hit the hay I don’t worry about waking up my wife anymore (or about the evil stares I might get over morning coffee if I do). I also don’t wonder if I’m going to feel rested or tired when I wake up. Rested I almost always am.

If you have a snoring problem it’s probably an excellent idea to see your doctor before you do anything else. I didn’t, but that’s me. If I had, maybe I would have found my snoring solution sooner. 

Seeing your doctor is smart because it’s possible that your snoring could mean you have a more serious problem like obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). In any case, there are lots of options available to you and your doctor will be able to explain them to you. Good luck, I hope your snoring solution odyssey is shorter than mine.

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