Do Stop Snoring
The US Patent and Trademark Office has recorded more than 300 over-the-counter snoring remedies. But of the people who try them, how many actually do stop snoring? It isn’t easy to get hard numbers, but there are several indicators of various snoring treatments’ effectiveness rates, whether they’re non-invasive or invasive, over-the-counter or prescription.
A survey of snorers and doctors by consumersearch.com found that the four best remedies where people actually do stop snoring (or snore less) are behavioral changes, nasal strips, postural changes, and invasive techniques such as use of a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine.
Behavioral changes were the most highly rated anti-snoring techniques by sleepeducation.com, which posts information from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s Clinical Practice Review Committee. Losing weight, quitting smoking, and avoiding alcohol in the hours close to bedtime were the three top behavioral changes that do the most to reduce or eliminate snoring. They’re the most effective remedies for snoring, and they generally save rather than cost money.
However, realism requires understanding that not everyone is ready to make major lifestyle changes at once, and in the meantime, they want some relief. For cases of mild snoring, the consumersearch.com study determined that nasal strips – small, moldable stick-on strips that go across the bridge of the nose and open the nostrils wider – were good in cases where snoring is mild and is caused by nasal congestion. While these strips don’t do what behavioral changes can do, they can help with this particular type of mild snoring, and they are inexpensive.
Postural changes have decidedly mixed reviews. While there are plenty of people who say that sewing a pocket onto the back of a t-shirt and putting a tennis ball in it stopped their snoring once and for all (by keeping them from sleeping on their backs), there are plenty of others who say it doesn’t work, or the tennis ball falls out, or it’s too uncomfortable. Much ordinary snoring is caused by back sleeping for the simple reason that it allows the tongue to slide back against the soft palate, narrowing the airway. Air taken in will cause the soft palate tissues to flap, with the result being snoring. It is definitely worth a try, except for in cases of sleep apnea, which needs to be treated medically and behaviorally.
For people who have snoring accompanied by sleep apnea, lifestyle and invasive methods are often needed. Custom-fitted oral appliances, use of a CPAP machine, and even surgery may be necessary to cope with sleep apnea, which can be a dangerous and even life-threatening condition. Sleep apnea not only wreaks havoc with sleep quality (and that of the sleeping partner), it affects daytime alertness and is associated with medical conditions like heart disease. But the remedies that are needed for treating snoring with sleep apnea are too expensive and invasive for occasional snoring that is little more than an annoyance.
The takeaway from all this is that nothing beats lifestyle changes for stopping snoring. As for other remedies, the less severe the snoring, the less expensive and invasive the methods will be needed to stop it. And of the remedies for mild snoring, trial and error are often the best ways to discover what works best for an individual. Fortunately, solutions like nasal strips, tennis balls, and special pillows that prevent back sleeping are relatively inexpensive and harmless if they don’t work. If you do stop snoring, great! If not, there may be other inexpensive treatments you can try.
