Sleeping with a snorer can be a challenge, and like all challenges we have ways to overcome it. It might sound funny at first, but since sleep is such an important part of our lives, snorers ruining it are actually dangerous to our mood and happiness.
I know it’s usually a comedic sketch, but think about people who broke up because either partner was a snorer. It’s funny until it’s not. If your partner is a snorer, your sleep is likely to be ruined by the noise.
Ruined sleep equals fatigue, tiredness, and poor mood throughout the next day. Getting routinely bad sleep has long-term terrible health effect such as increased stress, risk of heart attacks, obesity, and even dementia.
In this article I will provide you all the relevant knowledge to deal with the issue. Keep on reading to find out the best ways of sleeping with a snorer.
What Causes Snoring?
When your sleep shifts from light to deep, the muscles in your mouth and neck relax, which can cause a block in the airways. Air will pass through the narrower ways and cause vibration in them, which in turn creates the typical snore sounds.
Snoring can be dealt with in two ways: either you stop the snorer from snoring, or you isolate yourself so that you don’t hear their snoring. Both solutions work fine, but each has its own pros and cons.
Keep reading to find out the best ways to tackle the problem from either side.
The Best Solution is to Stop Snoring
There, I said it. If you or someone you know are long-term snorers, know that snoring is a symptom of greater health hazards, like sleep apnea. It is in your best interest to get long-term snorers to stop snoring, since it will not only improve the quality of sleep of the people around them, but also theirs.
But how do you get someone to stop snoring? After all, it’s something done unconsciously during sleep. You should look at the possible causes of snoring, and try out solutions until you find one that works.
1. Lose weight
Weight is a big cause of snoring, so losing some weight will drastically improve your situation. Weight loss is also associated with a plethora of other benefits, but this is not the place to discuss them. I also can’t really tell you how to lose weight, it’s up to you to find what works for you.
The internet is chock full of diets and exercises you can try, so go wild!
2. Exercise your Mouth and Throat
You can find plenty of exercises specifically made for your mouth and throat under the moniker “myofunctional therapy” or “oropharyngeal exercises”, which are just fancier names of “mouth and throat exercises”.
The purpose of these exercises is to make your airways’ muscles stronger, making them less prone to vibration when your airways obstruct. Floppy tissue vibrates easily when air passes through it, causing snoring, so having strong tissue is a great solution to the issue.
I’ll give you two quick and simple exercises to get started. Do these everyday for about 5 minutes, you should start feeling their effects within 2-3 weeks.
- Relax the tongue on the back of your front teeth, then roll it back slowly following the roof of your palate. Do this 10 times every day. It might sound silly, but nobody has to know, it’ll be our little secret
- Exercise your jawline by keeping your lips closed, then open your mouth completely and let the jaw relax, this will improve the strength of your facial muscles
3. Try Different Sleep Positions
Some people only snore when sleeping in specific positions, so this might be the easiest solution, if it turns out to be a solution at all. You can force yourself to sleep in different positions through smart arrangement of your pillows.
Usually sleeping on your back is the position that leads to snoring, so try sleeping on your side.
6 Ways to Sleep with a Snorer
Preventing someone from snoring at all is optimal and in their best interests, but how do you deal with snoring while they work their way through the issue? Losing weight and training someone’s mouth muscles takes some time, and you need to sleep now, not later.
Here are different ways to sleep with a snorer. All of these solutions work, but some are better in certain situations.
1. Wear Earplugs
This is by far the easiest solution. If you wear earplugs, you won’t hear snoring coming from your partner. There are many different products on the market, and they all get the job done, so it’s up to you to find the one that best suits you.
Earplugs can be divided into 3 main categories:
- Foam earplugs
- Silicone earplugs
- Wax earplugs
These solutions work fine, but not everyone feels comfortable with foam in their ears, which is why there are other solutions. Try them all out, and see what works best for you.
Just a warning: keep a good ears hygiene when you use earplugs, as they can cause earwax to deposit inside your ears which leads to potential infections, hearing loss, and tinnitus. Keep your ears clean with ear drop and you’ll be fine.
Read More: Is Sleeping With Earplugs Bad?
Our recommendation: Mack’s Ultra Soft Foam Earplugs
2. Focus on Other Noises
This tip works great for people who are fine sleeping with some noise around them. The most common solution is to play white noise while you are trying to fall asleep.
There are several downsides to this though, mostly the fact that either you use headphones to hear it, which might be uncomfortable and prevent you from falling asleep, or play white noise through the room, which might disturb your partner’s sleep
Granted, if there is no sleep there is no snoring, but that is definitely not a solution now, is it?
Alternatively, you can also focus on something else while your partner snores. It’s hard, but some people can just block outside noise easily, so why not give it a try?
3. Change Room
Drastic problems require drastic solutions. Sleeping with someone is a great experience that enriches your life, but what’s the point if it leads to misery and grogginess?
Sleeping in a different room will help you avoid the snoring sounds, which is exactly what you are looking for. Naturally, this is only a temporary solution while your partner works on eliminating their snoring. Other solutions are less intrusive, and don’t lead to as much potential discomfort.
If my partner told me they wanted to sleep in a different room I’d worry a bit about it, even if it’s just because of the snoring. You don’t want to cause any more distress in your life, so this is not a solution for everyone.
4. Go to Bed Earlier Than Your Partner
This is a great solution for those people with deep sleep who aren’t wake up easily. Simply going to bed and falling asleep before your partner has a chance to keep you awake with their snoring can be an excellent solution to your issue.
5. Purchase an Anti-Snoring Device
There are many different anti-snoring devices available on the market. Find the one that fits the snorers’ needs the most, and get it.
The idea behind these devices is that they prevent muscles from relaxing too much and keep airways tight, to prevent them from vibrating when air passes through them.
Since everyone is different, not everyone will enjoy every type of anti-snoring item. Talk with your partner and ask for their opinion before getting one, as they can be intrusive.
Our recommendation: Breathe Right Nasal Strips to Stop Snoring
Also check out: 5 Best Anti-Snoring Mouthpiece For Snoring And Sleep Apnea
6. Help Your Partner Lead a Healthier Lifestyle
Remember when I told you about getting someone to completely stop snoring? Snoring is usually a symptom of other, bigger issues, so by leading a healthier lifestyle, you can get your partner to stop snoring, or at least alleviate the problem.
What lifestyle changes lead to less snoring? Anything that messes up with airways or our brain’s regulatory function can cause sleep apnea and/or extreme snoring. So, if your partner is a smoker, they are way likelier to be a snorer than no smokers.
Alcohol and medicines can also cause snoring, since they tend to “help” (figuratively) face muscles relax, which make snoring much more likely.
Something minor like a nasal infection can also cause snoring, since a blocked nose makes airways smaller, which are more likely to feel the air’s impact while it passes through them, making them vibrate.
What if None of These Solutions Work?
You’ve worked hard to reduce snoring, both for yourself and your partner. You feel much healthier and have taken serious steps towards combating a problematic condition. And yet, you are still snoring. What else can you do?
Go see a doctor. Specifically, a pulmonologist. Pulmonologists specialize in treating diseases concerning the respiratory system, which obviously includes things like sleep apnea.
The doctor will be able to tell you what’s plaguing your sleep, and help treat your issue.
Conclusion
You have learned what causes snoring, and ways to deal with a snoring partner. Now it’s time to put these into practice.
My suggestion is to try a combination of them to see what works best for you as a couple.
Sleep is an important part of our daily life, so it is natural to want to get the best out of it.
Take proper care of yourself and of the people around you. They will be grateful for it. You can drastically improve both yours and your sleeping mate’s quality of life by dealing with the snoring issue.
