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Why do we snore?

Snoring occurs when air can’t move freely out of your lungs, your throat, and your nostrils during sleep. This happens when your neck muscles relax to the point that your upper airways become too narrow for air to travel through. The air in your body vibrates as it tries to escape your lungs, throat, and nostrils, thus producing the snoring sounds that many find annoying or disruptive.

Causes of snoring

Every person snores for different reasons, and the most common ones include:

• Age

The older you get, the more muscle tone you lose. This results in the muscles of your throat becoming narrower, making you more prone to snoring.

• Weight issues

You are more predisposed to snoring if you are overweight or obese. The added weight on your neck can constrict your throat, block your airways, and cause snoring.

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• Sleeping position

Do you prefer sleeping flat on your back? If so, you are more likely to snore. Your airways get blocked because your throat is more relaxed when you sleep on your back, subsequently causing you to snore.

• Nasal problems

A stuffy nose or clogged sinuses can not only make breathing more laborious, but also cause snoring. How so, you ask? Inhaling through a clogged nose creates a vacuum in your airways and leads to snoring as you exhale.

• Alcohol

The alcohol present in alcoholic drinks is a central nervous system depressant. It relaxes your entire body including your throat muscles, which induces snoring.

• Cigarette smoking

In addition to a multitude of life-threatening conditions, smoking cigarettes also causes snoring. When you smoke, the harmful chemicals you breathe in congest your airways and nasal passages.

• Medicine consumption

Your muscles naturally relax when you sleep, but certain medication such as sedatives and anti-histamines can take muscle relaxation to the point where it can cause you to snore.

• Allergies

Over time, dust can accumulate on your mattresses, bedsheets, and cushions. This can attract dust mites and trigger allergic reactions that lead to snoring.

How to stop snoring

If your snoring is causing problems for either you or your partner, here are six ways to manage it.

1. Work out.
   
   Regular physical activity provides a myriad of physical benefits, and the most significant one is weight loss. This leads to fat reduction on your neck and chest area, which reduces your snoring.
   
   Does exercise before going to bed help you sleep better? Find out by reading our blog here.
   
2. Change your sleeping position.
   
   You should try sleeping on your side. It may take some getting used to, but once you turn it into a habit, you’ll be able to sleep without snoring. You can also try elevating your head to open up your airways and encourage better breathing.
   
   
3. Clear your sinuses.
   
   Unclog your nasal passages by using a saline-based nasal decongestant spray. You can also use a neti pot, which is available in any pharmacy or drugstore, or inhale steam using hot water.
   
   
4. Limit alcohol and muscle-relaxing medications.
   
   Do not consume alcoholic beverages so close to your sleeping time. The relaxing effect of alcohol only lasts for a short time, but it causes more problems in the long run.
   
   If you are prescribed any sort of muscle-relaxant by your doctor, talk to them about maybe giving you an alternative medicine or slowly weaning you off the drug.
   
   
5. Quit smoking.
   
   Yes, quitting smoking is difficult. However, it is the only option if you want to stop snoring and avoid further problems between you and your partner.
   
   There’s no need to go cold turkey, though. What you can do is minimise the number of cigarettes you smoke in a day by just one, and keep decreasing the number as time goes on.
   
   
6. Get rid of allergies.
   
   If your bed has a dust mite infestation, you need to buy heating cushions heating pads, or electric underblankets. These products offer significant help in preventing dust mites from gathering on your beddings. This is because they remove the humidity in the air that dust mites need to thrive.
   

Get warm and cozy with Wellcare.

Wellcare offers a wide variety of products that can help you sleep better such as snuggly heating cushions, soothing heating pads, and electric underblankets. For your complete warmth, comfort, and safety, these are made using only the finest available materials.

All our products are equipped with the 4D Dynamic Warmth Flow (4D DWF) system. An innovation in electric heating technology, the 4D DWF system mimics the human body’s breathing system to provide you with full-body heat circulation.

So, what are you waiting for? Get a Wellcare product today.