SolveYourProblem
eLearning Series: Stop Snoring
Stop Snoring Now & Sleep Better Tonight
Learn which sleep aids could be best for you
SECTION 4: NON-SURGICAL REMEDIES
As noted previously, there is a range of proven and effective
methods to stop snoring that don’t involve surgery of any
kind. This is welcome news to those who wish to seek a non-surgical
alternative for any number of reasons, including:
- the high cost
of surgery
- the
vulnerability to post-surgery complications
- potential
post-surgery side effects (noted in Section 3)
- potential
medication requirements that can have additional side effects
- potential
masking of other problems, of which snoring was a symptom,
not a cause
In this section, we’ll look at key categories of non-surgical
snoring treatment options. These categories are:
- Drug Therapies
- Devices
- Appliances
- Lifestyle
Changes: Diet
- Lifestyle
Changes: Exercise
- Sleeping
Positions
- Alternative
Therapies
While any of these treatments may be effective, and possibly
more than one (since some of them are closely related),
it’s critically important that you monitor your snoring
to ensure that you are making measurable progress towards
your (or your partners!) stop-snoring goals.
In other words: some of these non-surgical treatments might
work better for you than others; and it’s important that
you carefully investigate your options fully in order to
find the solution that works best for you.
Drug Therapies
For many people,
medically prescribed pharmaceuticals and drugs provide
some relief from snoring, and snoring-related
complications.
Essentially, these drugs endeavor to achieve three things:
- open the nasal
passage
- stimulate
respiration
- prevent
the deep occurrence of Rapid Eye Movement (R.E.M.) sleep
As you can well imagine, there are some pretty significant
concerns that come to mind when looking at #3 on that list;
after all, R.E.M. sleep is vital to the body’s restorative
process, and people who are chronically unable to achieve
the R.E.M. state during sleep often experience an array
of health problems, including emotional and psychological
dysfunctions.
However, some anti-snoring drugs do try to limit the depths
to which a snorer can enter the R.E.M. phase of sleep, thereby
alleviating some of the deep, over-relaxation that occurs
in the body; particularly in the throat area.
Recall that one of the reasons alcohol and sedatives promote
and/or enhance snoring is because they over-relax the body
(i.e. the body becomes relaxed beyond its optimal level;
the last time you tried to wake up a drunk person should
remind you of this basic fact of human biology). In the same
way, some medications, to some degree, aim to prevent deep,
deep R.E.M. sleep.
Some drugs are available over-the-counter; in particular,
those designed to un-clog nasal passageways. These are typically
designed for people suffering from a cold or flu, but some
snorers find relief from using these decongestants and antihistamines.
It’s also worth
mentioning saline sprays, which are not drugs at all (it’s
just salt water), but are often included
in this category because they’re often found at drug stores.
Saline sprays help keep the mucus membranes moist, and thus
cut down on vibration by keeping the airway open and unclogged.
 
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