If you keep having sleepless nights due to snoring related problems but are hesitant to spend money on anti snoring products or snoring devices that you’re not sure will make your snoring stop, try these free snoring treatments that have been handpicked to be the most effective ways to make your snoring go away.

Snoring Treatment #1 - Don’t sleep flat on your back

Perhaps the most popular snoring treatment there is. Sleeping flat on your back allows the tongue and throat muscles of the body to relax and obstruct parts of the air passage way. If the air way is narrow enough that air passing through it causes the soft tissues to vibrate, this causes snoring, sometimes even loud snoring. A natural way to treat this is to simply sleep on your side. For some this is easy to do, for some however, they have grown so accustomed to sleeping flat on their backs that sleeping on their sides is difficult or near impossible to do. A great way to remedy this is to place an object that will cause an irritation when you lie on your back, making you turn to your sides automatically. After a few weeks of getting used to, this snoring treatment gets easier.

Snoring Treatment #2 - Stop drinking and stop smoking

I recommend this snoring treatment to both snorers and non snorers simply because stopping these two bad habits can have such a profound difference in your health. Everyone knows how smoking destroys your lungs and it shouldn’t be a surprise to you that a major but less known side effect of smoking is snoring. Nicotine in tobacco causes blockages from the lungs out to the airways making it hard for air to flow through. And the more you smoke, the more your airways are blocked, and the louder you end up snoring.

Drinking alcohol on the other hand doesn’t directly cause damage to your airways by blocking it, it makes people snore by relaxing the tongue and throat muscles too much that it blocks the airway. Evidence of this can be seen by monitoring a person who drinks and gets drunk on the weekends. Chances are when they have had alcohol to drink they snore or their snoring is louder than usual when they sleep.

So another free snoring treatment is to simply stop drinking and smoking. Take baby steps by refusing to drink for a week, then a month, then so forth. In no time, you’ll be tempted less to drink and smoke, and more importantly you’ll be snoring less and less.

Snoring Treatment #3 - Stay fit

Recent studies have proven that there is a direct correlation between being overweight and snoring. Being overweight is known to cause a lot of health problems not the least of which is snoring. Scientific research on snoring has shown that excess fat and body mass in the neck and shoulder area, as a result of being overweight, causes the tissues and throat muscles to loose its elasticity as constant pressure is applied to them. This makes the airways very narrow and makes it hard for the person to breathe. This occurrence is evident as people who are overweight tend to have a hard time breathing especially when climbing up the stairs or exerting effort.

The easiest snoring treatment advice anyone can give here is to simply live a healthier lifestyle. Exercise regularly and eat less while watching what you eat always helps to stay fit and hopefully stop snoring as well.

New research, conducted by Charles Wingo and his colleagues, at the University of Florida, Gainsville, suggests a link between the circadian rhythm and control of sodium (salt) levels in mice.

The hormone aldosterone regulates levels of sodium in the blood and thereby helps control blood pressure. Although it is known that aldosterone regulates sodium levels by controlling expression of the alpha-subunit of the epithelial sodium channel (alpha-ENaC) in the kidney, the molecular pathway by which aldosterone modulates alpha-ENaC levels has not been determined. In a previous study to address this issue, Wingo and colleagues found that aldosterone induced expression of the circadian clock gene Per1 in mouse cells, but the effects of this induction were not investigated. In this new study, they have revealed that the protein produced from the Per1 gene (Period 1) regulates expression of alpha-ENaC in the mouse kidney. Importantly, in the absence of Period 1, expression of alpha-ENaC in the mouse kidney was decreased and sodium loss in the urine was increased. Since expression from the Per1 gene seemed to follow a circadian pattern, the authors suggest that the circadian clock has a role in balancing sodium levels in the body.

TITLE: The circadian clock protein Period 1 regulates expression of the renal epithelial sodium channel in mice

Source:
Karen Honey

Journal of Clinical Investigation

Can’t sleep? Insomnia and sleep disturbances can be caused by a variety of factors including overeating, too much caffeine, depression, stress, and anxiety.

Before troubling your doctor with this problem, try a more natural approach to remedy the situation.

? Increasing your intake of potassium, biotin, calcium and B vitamins can have a soothing effect on your system, so make sure you include the following foods throughout the day:

Potassium: Bananas, leafy green vegetables, sunflower seeds, citrus fruits.

Biotin: Brewers Yeast, nuts, brown rice, liver and kidneys.

Calcium: milk, yoghurt, fresh meat & fish, eggs, fruit & vegetables, beans.

B Vitamins: Brewers Yeast, raisins, figs, dates, cantaloupe melon.

Brewers Yeast can be especially valuable as its rich in B-complex vitamins, an excellent source of organic iron and other important minerals, and amino acids, making it one of natures true super-foods.

If you don’t like the idea of taking a lot of vitamin and mineral supplements, or do not have the money to buy expensive supplements, then the addition of Brewers Yeast to your diet can go a long way towards improving your health. Plus you can purchase large jars of Brewers Yeast at very reasonable prices from your local health food store.

? Eating a small snack containing carbohydrates about 30 minutes before you go to bed can help to ease anxiety and promote restful sleep.

Combining carbohydrate with some calcium, such as a turkey sandwich (good source of tryptophan) with a glass of warm milk, could be a great tonic, and delicious too!

? Do not underestimate the effects of regular exercise on your sleep routine.

Taking an exercise class, or brisk walk in late afternoon or early evening will go a long way to ease the stresses of the day, therefore promoting healthy sleep. Always make sure you don’t overdo the intensity of your chosen workout, or schedule it too close to your usual bedtime or you could end up stimulating your system rather than relaxing it ready for sleep.

? It’s a well-known remedy, but drinking a warm milky drink near bedtime can have a sedative effect on some people.

Malted milk or cocoa can be drunk if you don’t particularly like the taste of warm milk, but be careful not to add stimulating caffeine to your nighttime beverage such as coffee, or even too much cocoa powder. Cocoa powder does contain caffeine, and drinking too much can have the same stimulating effects on your system as coffee.

? Herbal supplements can help.

If you are fussy about your food, or don’t want to pop expensive vitamin pills, you might want to consider taking a trip to your local health food store and investigating the wide range of herbal tinctures and sleep remedies on offer.

Some tinctures such as Valerian, Chamomile, Hops, and Passionflower contain natural sedative properties that have been used for centuries by natural herbalists and physicians way before the advent of modern medicine to promote good health and natural sleep. Talk to a registered herbal practitioner about the best combination of herbs to take.

Tinctures are liquids or extracts than can be taken in a little water or juice, and therefore are much easier to take than the bulky pill alternatives. A little warning though - they can taste a little unpleasant, but the benefits far outweigh the taste!

Adopting some, or all of the above tips could help reduce, or possibly alleviate some of your sleeplessness, but in really severe circumstances it is always advisable to consult your doctor.