Home Remedies for Snoring

Are you bothered by your habitual snoring? Does your spouse constantly complain of sleeping disturbances due to your loud snoring? You can stop fretting now because there are some simple remedies you can try at home to get rid of your snoring problem.

Exercising is the solution to every health problems. Interestingly, it may also be beneficial for relieving snoring. Exercising your soft palate, tongue and throat muscles is generally beneficial for strengthening these muscles and keeping them from obstructing your airways while you sleep. Here are a few anti-snoring exercises:

• Position your tongue between your teeth and gently swallow 5 times. Repeat this exercise 3 to 5 times a day.
• Breath in through your mouth and puff your mouth with air. Keep your lips closed and breath through your nose. Release the air after a few minutes.
• Gargling twice a day can strengthen tongue muscles.
• You can also practice tongue exercises by making sounds like ‘ah’, ‘la lah lah lah’, and ‘ma...pa’ about 5 times at a time by keeping a gap between every sound.
• Try to make the ‘sss’ sound without letting air pass out through your nose.
• Singing can also reduce snoring and sleep issues, as suggested by clinical studies. So, stop bothering about sounding bad, nobody is judging you for your voice.

Yoga and pranayama are the perfect tools for keeping most of your health problems at bay. Regular yoga practice, in general, can aid in improving your health but specific yoga asanas help to improve your circulation and strengthen your lungs, which improves snoring. Here are some easy asanas that may be helpful for habitual snorers:

Dhanurasana or bow pose

This asana stretches the chest muscles and improves lung functions.

• For this pose, you need to lie down on your stomach with your arms on both sides.
• Inhaling, raise your feet back up and grab your ankles with your palms.
• Your upper body and thighs would be above ground. Face up at the ceiling as you get into this pose.
• Hold the pose for a few seconds.
• Exhale as you release the pose and lie back straight into your first position.
• Repeat 2-3 times.

Wheel pose or Urdhva dhanurasana

Apart from strengthening your lungs, this pose also benefits your spine and limbs.

• Lie down on your back.
• Bend your knees and put your feet close to your rear.
• Place your palm near your head with your fingers facing your shoulders.
• Push your palms and feet to the ground and pull up your abdomen and back until your body makes an arch with your spine.
• Hold this position for a few seconds.
• Release and repeat 2-3 times

Cobra pose or Bhujangasana

• For this pose, you need to lie down on your stomach and place both your palms on either side of your shoulder.
• Gently raise your shoulders and upper body forward. Inhale as you do so.
• Keep rising until your naval is above ground and your spine is bowed a bit backwards. Don’t overstrain.
• Look up at the roof/sky and support your posture with your elbows and forearms.
• Hold the position for a few seconds.
• Release and repeat for about 2 to 3 times.

You can easily perform all of these asanas at home without needing extra equipment, but always make sure that you are not overstraining any muscle.

Apart from the above-mentioned asanas, you can practice some easy pranayama techniques to improve your breathing and clear your nasal passage. Let us have a look at the basic steps of some breathing techniques.

Anulom vilom

• Take a few normal breaths.
• Now, close your right nostril with your thumb and breath in through your left nostril.
• Hold your breath for a second.
• Close your left nostril with your last two fingers and leave the right nostril.
• Breath out through your left nostril.
• The exhalation time should be double the time that it took to inhale. (it can be worked up gradually)
• You can repeat this for 3-5 times.

(Read more: Anulom Vilom pranayama benefits)

Kapalbhati

Also known as the shining skull, it clears your sinuses and strengthens your abdomen. Here is how to do it:

• Sit down in cross-legged fashion.
• Take a few breaths and focus on inhalations and exhalations.
• Now slowly inhale until you fill your lungs to its utmost capacity.
• Hold your breath for a fraction of a second and then release forcefully, using all your abdominal muscles.
• You can repeat this for 2-3 times or increase it to about 5 times gradually, but don’t tax yourself. Immediately stop this exercise if you notice any disorientation or discomfort.

(Read more:  Kapalbhati pranayama benefits)

Neti pots are small pots with a long spout which is used to push water into the nasal cavity. Popularly known as nasal irrigation, it is an old ayurvedic treatment for upper respiratory tract infections and congestion and has become highly popular all over the world now. These pots are filled up with saline (salt in water) solution which is then pushed through the nose to clean off any obstructions. Also, the healing and cleansing effects of salt also come into play. However, you need to know exactly how to use these pots safely. Here is an easy nasal irrigation method defined by the FAO:

• Tilt your head towards the right side over a sink.
• Keep your forehead and chin at the same level so the water does not come down to your mouth.
• Gently pour the saline water through the left nostril. It should flow out through your right nostril. Keep breathing through your mouth as you do so.
• Repeat the whole process for the other side.

Some people experience saline dripping even after half an hour after this irrigation method but there is nothing to worry about. Though if you notice any irritation in the nose you can reduce the salt concentration in the saline.

If done properly, nasal irrigation would keep your sinuses clear and reduce snoring.

There are some things that should be kept in mind while using neti pots:

• Use clean pots. Always wash your neti pots with boiling or sterile water and make sure you dry it properly before storing it back.
• Keep the pots in a clean and dry place so they don’t carry dust and allergens which would be quite counterintuitive.
• Do not use tap water to prepare saline, instead opt for distilled, sterile or boiled water.
• Generally, you will get a saline mixture along with the device itself though, about 0.9 to 3% saline solutions are used for nasal irrigation.
• Make sure to wash and dry your hands before using neti pots.

• Snoring can disturb your sleep but it is believed that an inadequate sleep can also induce snoring since it doesn’t give you enough time to heal from the day’s stress. So, make sure that you get at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep every day.
• Just like alcohol, sedatives may also relax your throat muscles, making them push back towards your airways and inducing snoring. So, it is better to avoid these.
• Heavy dinner can also increase the risk of snoring. Take your dinner about 2 to 3 hours before bedtime to keep snoring at bay.

In the end, a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle is the key to most of the problems.