Exercises That Help to Stop Snoring
Exercises that help to stop snoring may benefit many people. It has recently been estimated that snoring affects the lives of 1 out of every four people. Although the consequences of snoring vary from person to person, the effect is always negative. Consistent or heavy snoring can lead to many personal relationship problems, as well as lead to health problems.
Negative effects of snoring
Unfortunately, snoring doesn’t just affect the person who does it. Not only does snoring interrupt the person’s own sleep, it interrupts the sleep patterns of those within hearing distance. This can cause severe chronic fatigue after awhile. The lack of sleep can also cause mental, physical, and emotional distress. This chronic fatigue and mental distress could easily affect the person’s ability to perform well at work, school or in other areas of life. The fatigue and stress could also eventually affect each person’s immune systems, making them more vulnerable to illnesses.
How exercise helps
Snoring is caused by the turbulence of air passing through a blocked airway. In most cases, the blockage is caused by fatty neck tissues or weak muscles located in the nose, lungs, or throat. When the person is sleeping these muscles can relax too much, and collapse into the air passages, or the fatty tissues can create too much pressure on the airways. This blockage can also be caused by allergies, nasal polyps or deformities, or other types of mucous buildup. The use of alcohol, medications, obesity, and eating dairy products before bedtime can affect snoring. Snoring can also be affected by the person’s sleep position and stage of sleep.
Although exercises may not entirely remove the blockages caused by nasal deformities or polyps, they can help to increase the size of the airway. Some exercises can also help reduce the fatty tissues in the neck as well as tone weak muscles in the throat, tongue, nose and neck. Exertive exercises, like aerobics, and breathing exercises, such as yoga, may also help to improve the airflow in the lungs and throughout the entire respiratory system. Various exercises may also improve the immune system, thus reducing mucous buildup.
Examples of beneficial exercises
There are numerous exercises which may prove beneficial to the snorer. Although they are simple and inexpensive, it may take a bit of patience and self-discipline on the part of the snorer in order to obtain satisfying results. This is merely because it’s usually hard for a person to change old habits, and these exercises would have to become a regular part of the person’s daily routine. However, here are a few examples of the types of exercises that are beneficial, even if performed for only 10 minutes per day:
- Facial expressions – Making a variety of facial expressions which involve using and stretching the tongue, lips, and jaws is helpful. For instance, hold a wide grin for about 10 seconds, and then relax the muscles again, repeating the process 5-10 times. Another way is to simply open your mouth as wide as you can. Leave your mouth stretched open for a few seconds, and then press your lips together until your molars are evenly touching each other. Pursing your lips together as if you were kissing someone and holding the position for approximately 10 seconds is also a good way of toning the mouth muscles. Pretending to chew gum with your lips completely closed and pretending to sip a drink from an empty cup are also excellent choices. Basically, the idea is to stretch each of the muscles of the mouth, hold the stretch for about 10 seconds, relax the muscles, and then repeat the exercise. The tongue and jaw muscles should definitely be focused on for the maximum benefits.
- Breathing exercises – Do exercises that focus on breathing properly to increase the size of the airway passages and improve the functioning of the entire respiratory system. The exercise can be as simple as singing for 20 minutes a day, while using your abdominal and throat muscles to project your voice. Basically, any exercise that makes you breathe deeply, using your abdomen, lungs, throat, and nasal passages without over-exerting yourself is suitable.
- General exercise – Any type of active physical exercise is beneficial. This is because being overweight is a major cause of snoring. Hiking, swimming, biking, playing sports, doing aerobics, and jogging are excellent ways of helping to reduce weight, tone muscles, and to improve one’s overall health.
While these exercises may benefit most snorers, they may not help all snorers. This is because snoring can also be a symptom of several serious medical conditions. Therefore, anyone with a habitual or heavy snoring problem should seek medical attention.
