The little things that can drive us nuts!

The little things that can drive us nuts

Snoring- happens to the best of us and it can be helped. It can happen periodically if we over eat or drink, if we sleep on our backs, if we are over-weight. Or n

ot getting enough exercise. 2/3 of snorers are men but women can snore too.

What causes it? There are 3 main types. Nasal, mouth and tongue. Our throat muscles relax, tongue drops back to back of throat, the throat relaxes and narrows and vibrates as the air flows in or out. It is the vibration that causes the noise. If you have a nasal blockage, this can contribute to nasal snoring as the body fights for air. Check by seeing if you can use each nostril separately by holding a finger on one and then the other and breathing in and out. This should be checked out for chest inflammation, sinus problems and polyps.
Then there is mouth snoring which is common. If on waking, you notice a dryness in your mouth, then you have probably been sleeping with your mouth open. Check is you can make a snore noise at back of throat with mouth open and then make same sound with mouth closed. I have tried that and do not think anyone can snore with mouth closed. The scary bit about this is doctors often refer to sleep apnoea, which means you stop breathing and then just before you pack it in, your body realizes what is happening and starts breathing again. This brings a big snore which usually wakes you up..and anyone else in the vicinity. Some people find chin straps good for this, but also a simple mouth guard which will not only stop teeth grinding, tense jaw clenching but should also help with the snoring. Sleep apnoea is more common than we think and very scary. But it seems the body realizes it has been napping and snaps back into action.
Then there is tongue based snoring. Again make a snoring noise at back of throat, then stick tongue out and see if you can still snore. Again very difficult, the gum shield is also good for this. You can gewt them in the pharmacy, they are like the sports gum shields. Actually, they are very comfortable to wear and can help sleep problems