Snoring and Sleep Apnea can be treated by one or a combination of over a 200 therapies from the following 3 broad categories:
1) Home Remedies
2) Medications
3) Doctor Recommended Treatments
It's hard to imagine so many ways to stop snoring, but if you just consider the number of different oral devices in the Doctor Recommended Treatments category, there are over 50 different anti-snoring devices just in this one category.
So how do you measure effectiveness when you are comparing different products or therapies? Is it from the feedback you get from happy satisfied customers? Or is it measured by way of a non-biased clinical study? Unfortunately, success rates for home snoring remedies and over-the-counter devices or medications are determined by anecdotal evidence. Simply put, there is not a control group for measuring success; effectiveness is usually determined by feedback from a survey of users.
This can make it misleading when success rates are stated for a product or therapy. For instance, a therapy or remedy might claim to eliminate snoring completely for 80% of those who buy the product according to the company or person that markets it. But when the product is subjected to a clinical study it is only 50% effective.
How can this happen? Unfortunately in non-clinical studies, success is often equated to the feedback given from a small number of users. The majority of people that respond to a survey may be mainly from the pool of satisfied users. There is no control over who responds. If only a small portion of the unsatisfied users return a product then it is impossible to get accurate data and the success rate is skewed.
It is difficult to find a clinical study for most home remedies for snoring. But this isn't to say that some home snoring remedies are not worth trying. One home remedy that has good success is a program that uses exercise to stop snoring. This stop snoring exercises program strengthens the muscles and tissues that help get rid of snoring. You can find it at The Stop Snoring Muscle Exercise Program.
Long term success is an important factor in comparing a cure for snoring. A lot of therapies and treatments work initially and then lose their effectiveness in a short period of time.
For instance, a lot of patients that undergo snoring surgery initially report 100% success but then after a year they are back to where they started. The same can be said for the majority of medications and home remedies.
However, there are a few products in every category that work well over the long term if they can be tolerated. For instance, CPAP...
If used on a nightly basis it is 90-100% effective for snoring and/or sleep apnea. But less than 50% of the people who try it comply with wearing it nightly. However, if you do use CPAP nightly it is highly effective for the long term.
So lets look at effectiveness based on clinical studies.
For the treatment of snoring, only one therapy out of the more than 200 "cures" or remedies that are contained in these 3 categories can achieve a success rate of over 90% when you grade the product or therapy on 3 factors: compliance, effectiveness and long term success—customized oral devices.
But sometimes several therapies need to be used in combination to achieve the best possible results. This therapy guide lists behavioral therapies, home snoring remedies and medications that will improve your overall sleep. A lot of this information on how to stop snoring is scattered all over the internet but this guide helps sort out what works and what doesn't, saving you both time and money.
Behavioral Therapies
Here is a list of things you can do to make changes in your lifestyle that will help minimize your snoring and sleep apnea. The following remedies are sometimes referred to as behavioral therapies are often used in conjunction with oral appliance therapy or CPAP therapy.
A combination of therapies is especially beneficial for patients with very heavy snoring or severe sleep apnea. These tips will improve your ability to get a good nights sleep:
- Limit your intake of alcohol as it can worsen snoring and increase paused breathing
- Do not drink alcoholic beverages three hours prior to bedtime
- Stop smoking! The effects of smoke on the lungs and throat can also worsen your sleep apnea
- Go to bed at a reasonable hour. Sleep deprivation can cause heavy snoring
If you are overweight, consider a healthy weight loss plan. Sleep apnea tends to occur more often, and manifest itself more severely in patients who are overweight and obese.
Studies show that even a small amount of weight loss can reduce the occurrence of breathing pauses. Unfortunately, weight loss is extremely difficult for patients with untreated sleep apnea.
The good news is you can permanently achieve weight loss in a short period of time without diet pills, supplements or endless trips to the gym. Check out Rapid Weight Loss By The Numbers to find out how.
- Using tennis balls in a tube sock attached to a t-shirt to eliminate back sleeping can be a major help in patients with positional apnea.
- Using a snoring pillow or raising the head of the bed to elevate the head works to help some apnea patients breathe easier during sleep
- Sleep on your side or stomach to avoid collapse of the airway
- Try not to eat a heavy meal close to bedtime
- Avoid or limit the use of sleeping pills and mood-altering drugs. If you do suffer from insomnia then Wonderful Sleep(TM) is a safe, natural alternative to sleeping pills.
- Avoid the use of antihistamines at night
- Limit intake of certain dairy foods before bed, as they can increase mucous production and encourage snoring
- Reduce allergens in your home, such as dust and dander
- Sleep with windows closed
- Use a humidifier in your bedroom
I know it's hard to change habits but if you try just a couple of these at a time you'll see singnificant results.
How To Optimize Your Sleep
One of the most overlooked factors that contributes to snoring is the quality of your sleep. Both oversleeping and sleep deprivation result in poor quality of sleep that leads to snoring.
Oversleeping and sleep deprivation also can result in daytime sleepiness. Couple this with low oxygen saturation than can occur with both snoring and sleep apnea and fatigue and lack of energy become a daily occurrence.
The quality of your sleep is hindered to that point that you often crave more sleep but find that extra time in bed does not help you get the refreshing sleep you need.
There is a new breakthrough remedy that is actually a method to optimize your body's inner sleep system to sleep less, and have more energy in your life that when you slept LONGER.
A fascinating new eBook called "Powerful Sleep" will show you how to optimize you Inner Sleep Clock so that it's possible for you to safely reduce your sleep by up to 3 hours, and increase the quality and power of your sleep. Go to Powerful Sleep now to get a free sleep report.
Sleeping & Anti-Snoring Medications—What to Take and What to Avoid
When determining which, if any medications will help with either a sleeping or snoring problems, it is helpful to ask a few questions:
- Is it just a snoring problem or do I have sleep apnea also?
- Is there any insomnia or early wakening involved?
- Do I have a problem falling asleep?
- Do I have nasal stuffiness or chronic allergies that cause nasal congestion?
- Do I wake up feeling unrefreshed even when my snoring or apnea is eliminated?
- Do I kick off the covers and toss and turn at night?
Medications (both prescription and over-the-counter) can help with one of five issues: Insomnia (including early awakening), nasal congestion, REM sleep disorders, restless leg syndrome and central apnea.
If it's just a snoring problem without any of the other issues, then medications will be of no benefit. However, snoring can be its loudest when there is nasal congestion involved and medications will be helpful in those situations.
Ambien and Lunesta are the most widely prescribed medications for insomnia. Both of these drugs work well but can have some serious side effects. Prescription medications are under heavy scrutiny from the FDA currently.
In fact, the FDA recently warned those taking Ambien, Lunesta, and 11 other commonly taken prescriptions of "complex sleep-related behaviors" which may include "sleep-driving, making phone calls and preparing and eating food while asleep." In each of the common scenarios, the users had no recollection of the events that occurred after taking the medication.
As a substitute for prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications containing diphenhydramine (an antihistamine) such as Benadryl, Tylenol PM, Excedrin PM, Advil PM and Nytol have been used to treat insomnia. These medications can sometimes be helpful short term but can result in daytime drowsiness. Also, the duration of action is only about 4 hours so if you awaken in the middle of the night, these medications usually will not help you fall back asleep.
Diphenhydramines do have the added benefit of relieving congestion, so they will make it easier to fall asleep initially if you have a cold or suffer from an allergy such as hay fever.
However, diphenhydramine may also cause low blood pressure, palpitations increased heart rate, confusion, nervousness, irritability, blurred vision, double vision, tremor, loss or appetite, or nausea.
Diphenhydramine should be used with caution (if at all) in persons with narrow-angle glaucoma, an enlarged prostate gland, hyperthyroidism, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and asthma.
Patients over the age of 60 years are especially sensitive to the sedating and anticholinergic effects of diphenhydramine such as confusion, blurred vision, constipation, dry mouth, difficulty starting and continuing to urinate, light-headedness, and loss of bladder control.
The safest medication for insomnia is Melatonin. This is a naturally occurring substance in the body, but as we age we produce less and less of it, making it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Melatonin is recommended for short term use and if used long term it does tend to become less effective. To overcome this Melatonin has been combined with other supplements to increase its effectiveness if taken long term.
Wonderful Sleep(TM) Deep Sleep is one of the most effective Melatonin formulas on the market. It stands out in the crowd because of its cutting edge Sustained Release Micro System that begins releasing its natural ingredients within minutes so you fall asleep faster. Then, the remainder of the natural ingredients is released over time so you get the benefit of staying asleep longer and deeper. To find out more information on this special formula that enhances deeper sleep without any addictive qualities or side effects follow this link: Wonderful Sleep(TM) Deep Sleep
Nasal Sprays
Nasal sprays help with nasal congestion, allergies, sinus infections, runny noses, and general stuffiness. Nose sprays are broken into 5 main categories - antihistamine sprays (e.g.,Astelin), corticosteroid nasal spray (e.g., Flonase) , cromolyn sodium nasal sprays (e.g., NasalCrom), decongestant sprays (e.g., Afrin), and saline nasal spray (e.g., Breathe Right Spray).
The antihistamine nasal sprays are by prescription only and work best for those with dust and pollen allergies. They can leave a bad taste in your mouth.
The corticosteroid nasal sprays like Flonase target congestion, inflammation and swelling in your sinuses and have an anti-inflammatory effect. If they are used to often, you may experience nose bleeds, nasal burning and overall irritation in your nasal cavaties.
Decongestant nose sprays are sold over the counter (OTC) and help reduce congestion and stuffiness.
Perhaps the best snoring spray are saline nasal sprays. They are the safest of the bunch and a great preventive measure if you have nasal snoring problems. Saline washes keep mucous from building up in your nasal passages and keep the nose moist.
The cromolyn sodium nasal sprays are also OTC and treat itchy, watery, runny noses but can't stop stuffiness.
Some nasal sprays (e.g., SnoreStop Nasal Spray) are a combination of several of the above ingredients and may be beneficial if you have more than one factor contributing to your nasal problem.
Aromatherapy for Snoring
Anything that helps you breathe better at night may reduce your snoring. Aromatherapy enthusiasts swear by their chosen blends of essential oil as a surefire way to relax your respiratory system at night.
Marjoram oil is widely believed to be the most appropriate oil for snorers. Typically sold in a jar; the oil saturates a sort of sponge. You leave the jar open by your bedside, allowing the oils to gradually fill your bedroom with a pleasant scent.
Other aromatherapists concoct a blend of oils. These may come in small concentrated bottles. You place a drop or two underneath your nose or massage into your neck.
Medications to Avoid
There are two categories of medications that initially would seem perfect for sleeping problems: Sedatives & Muscle Relaxers.
Although sedatives and muscle relaxers can help you easily fall asleep they unfortunately contribute to both snoring and sleep apnea by relaxing the tongue, muscles and tissues in the throat area.
The end result will be a non-refreshing sleep due to obstruction of the airway and subsequent decrease in blood oxygen levels.
Doctor Recommended Treatments
In addition to oral devices, the two most commonly Doctor Recommended Treatments for snoring and sleep apnea are CPAP and Surgery.
- CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure). With this option you must wear a mask over your nose that uses pressure to send air flowing through the nasal passages. The influx of air keeps the throat from collapsing during sleep and allows you to sleep without snoring and prevents episodes of non-breathing (apnea). Because CPAP only creates a temporary solution, patients must wear the mask each night.
When you grade this product on the 3 factors of success, compliance is a huge issue. Less than 50% of the people who try CPAP continue to use it long term. So even though it is close to 100% effective for those who use it, overall it does not have a good track record because of the compliance issue.
- Surgery is the final Doctor Recommended Snoring Treatment. It is not a coincidence that we saved it for last, as not only is its success rate somewhere between 50-70%, but because stop snoring surgery is irreversible, it should be only considered as a last resort.
Most of the stop snoring surgeries involve removal of part of the palate and other tissues in the oropharynx (e.g., tonsils) that can obstruct breathing. Adult tonsillectomies are much more traumatic than having this procedure done when an adolescent.
There are some surgeries that are less traumatic for adults and can enhance your success with using anti-snoring devices. If you have a severely deviated septum or soft tissue obstruction in the nasal passages then surgery can usually help.
Septoplasty surgery can restore normal nasal breathing and eliminate the dry mouth associated with nasal snoring and mouth breathing.
To determine if you would be a good candidate for this type of surgery an ear, nose and throat doctor (ENT) should be consulted.
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All information on this website is for informational purposes and should not be used in place of advice from your medical doctor. This information should not be used to diagnose sleep apnea or any other health problem or disease. If you have sleep apnea or suspect a medical problem then contact your health care provider as soon as possible. The information and statements on this website have not been evaluated by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and are not meant to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The Ultimate Stop Snoring Solution including any of its representatives
or agents shall be not be held liable for any damage, loss or liability of any nature from the use or inability to use the Ultimate Stop Snoring Solution oral device.
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