5 Common Causes Of Snoring

Snoring can be caused by a number of things and if you're
looking for a way to stop snoring, the first step is to figure
out the cause.

 

There are 5 common causes for snoring...

 

Drinking Alcohol

 

If you regularly drink alcohol, you should check to see if your
snoring is a problem on a night when you don't drink anything.

 

Alcohol is a depressant and can contribute to snoring because
it relaxes the muscles in your neck and throat. This relaxation
is more advanced than with regular sleep and this can cause your
airways to become restricted.

 

If you snore only when you've been drinking, the obvious
solution is to stop drinking. If that isn't an option, at least
have your last drink more than 4 hours before you go to sleep.

 

Sleeping on Your Back

 

Many snorers only have a problem when they're sleeping on their
back. The solution to this is to train your body to sleep on
your side.

 

There are plenty of devices that help with this, but they're
mostly variations of a home-grown remedy.

 

Put a tennis ball in a sock and pin it to the back of your
pajamas. When you roll onto your back, the discomfort will make
you naturally roll back onto your side.

 

Are You Overweight?

 

Excess weight can lead to snoring. When you're overweight, you
can get fatty tissue in your neck and throat area which can put
a strain on your airway and restrict your breathing. In this
case, the obvious solution is to lose some of the extra weight.

 

Do You Use Antihistamines or Sleeping Pills?

 

These products can have a similar effect to alcohol. They relax
your throat muscles more than normal sleep would and this can
lead to snoring problems.

 

Do You Suffer from Allergies?

 

Allergies can result in nasal congestion. This can make it
difficult for your body to get the necessary oxygen.

 

The problem is, antihistamines can also contribute to snoring
so the best solution is to just take a decongestant rather than
an antihistamine.

 

These are some of the more common causes of snoring, but you
should talk to a health care professional to get an informed
opinion of what's causing your snoring and the best solution
for it.

 

About The Author: John Lenaghan writes about how to stop
snoring and other snoring related topics on the Snoring
Solutions website. For more information visit
http://www.snoringsolutions.org

Better Sleep; Tips and Herbal Remedies for a Good night's Sleep Tonight.

Copyright (c) 2007 Ted Crawford

BETTER SLEEP.Tips and OTC remedies.

Being a family physician, one of the biggest complaints I
hear today is problems with sleeping. As you all know, it
is a huge problem which has blossomed into a multi million
dollar industry for the pharmaceutical companies with such
prescription medications as Ambien, Sonata, Lunesta and
Rozerem, to name a few.

What a practitioner should stress to patients is to first
make sure that they are practicing good sleep hygiene
habits such as not watching television in bed, not drinking
caffeine or alcohol in the evening too close to bedtime,
not eating a large meal or exercising too close to bedtime,
and unwinding prior to hitting the bed. Easier said than
done I realize. Eating a healthy diet and establishing a
regular daily exercise regime can make a world of
difference in enabling one to get a proper night's rest.

The most popular over-the-counter sleep aids all contain
diphenhydramine, an anti-histamine most commonly known as
the brand name Benadryl. Whether it is Sominex, Nytol,
Tylenol PM, or any other sleep formulation you see on the
shelves, most contain this ingredient. One of the unwanted
side effects of this medication is that it IS an
anti-histamine and will not only dry you out, but can cause
urinary retention and make you feel very groggy the
following morning because of its fairly long half life.

Before I prescribe one of the prescription sleeping
medications, I like to recommend some other herbals which
you can purchase over-the-counter and are safer and seem to
work without all of the side effects associated with
diphenhydramine and the prescription medications.

You may want to try one or all of the following if you
haven't. An inexpensive and healthy way I use commonly to
calm down before going to bed is a tea with chamomile in
it. The particular brand I commonly drink is Sweet Dreams
by Bigelow which is a nice combination of chamomile and
mint. It works. It is also good at relieving
gastrointestinal distress as well.

Another herb which I have found helpful is valerian
(Valeriana officinalis). 400-900 milligrams by mouth about
30 minutes prior to going to bed is the suggested dosage.
One of the brand names is Alluna which is two tablets about
an hour prior to bedtime.

One herb sometimes recommended as an anxiolytic or sleep
aid is Kava which I would AVOID. It IS hepatotoxic
(damages the liver).

Hopefully you do not experience any problems going to sleep
or staying asleep, but so many of us do and it is nice to
not have to rely on the prescription "big guns" as I refer
to them as for getting the sleep we need.

May this help assist in you getting a wonderful night's
sleep tonight!

----------------------------------------------------
Dr. Ted Crawford is a family practice physican in Tucson,
Arizona and has a website devoted to helping patients find
reliable health information and products. His article
"Better Sleep; Tips and Remedies for a Better Night's Sleep
Tonight" can also be found at http://www.babyboomersdoc.com