If your husband keeps you awake with his loud snoring, you are in good company; about 40% of men snore. As annoying and tiring as snoring is, there are more sinister health risks. Loud snorers are much more likely to suffer heart disease and strokes than non-snorers, or even quiet snorers. On a daily basis, snorers (and their bed partners) often get poor quality sleep due to low oxygen intake, and this can make them sleepy during the day, potentially affecting driving and other activities that require concentration.

In order to help your husband stop snoring, you will want to work out if the snoring is due to nasal congestion, or coming from his throat. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell. Snoring is caused when the soft palate, back of the tongue and throat muscles relax during deep sleep, causing obstruction in the upper airways. Throat tissues may vibrate or flap as air passes over them, causing the noise.

Here are six ways he can reduce his snoring:

1. Sleep on his side. Some snorers only snore on their backs, when throat tissues relax back into the throat, or if the chin rests on the chest.

2. Lose 10% of his body weight. Snoring is much more common in overweight men, so encourage him to lose a bit. Even a 10% reduction can reduce neck fat enough to dramatically quieten snoring, and improve health.

3. Avoid alcohol before bed. If your husband likes a drink or two in the hours before bed, ask him to try stopping. Alcohol relaxes muscles and may contribute to airway obstruction during sleep.

4. Treat nasal congestion. Allergies and respiratory problems can cause snoring. A decongestant or saline spray may help.

5. Elevate his head. Ask your husband to try sleeping with a wedge under the mattress to raise his head and make breathing easier. Another method is to prop him up with pillows, but be sure he supports his shoulders, because if his chin drops onto his chest, this can make snoring worse.

6. Try nasal strips. Nasal strips are applied to the outside of the nose and help to keep the nostrils open. If snoring is coming from the nose, these can help a great deal.

It is a good idea to get a health check-up from your doctor. Snoring can be related to a more serious condition - obstructive sleep apnea - and this should be ruled out.

Swiss researchers reported in 2006 that playing the didgeridoo, reduces snoring. The didgeridoo is a musical instrument that produces a droning sound. It is a traditional instrument of Australian Aborigines.

The study was prompted after a didgeridoo instructor reported that some of his students experienced less snoring and daytime tiredness after practicing for a few months.

Dr Milo Pulan, a scientist at the University of Zurich, had half his research participants learn to play the didgeridoo for 25 minutes each day, while half did not.

Commonly called a “didge”, didge players first learned how to place their lips over the instrument and maintain a note for 20 to 30 seconds.. They also learned circular breathing, which is a technique that allows the didge player to hold an unbroken sound for long periods, by inhaling air through the nose while continuing airflow through the didge. The cheeks are used as bellows.

Over the four-month trial, the research participants who played, experienced a significant improvement in their daytime tiredness and snoring.

The researchers believe that the breathing techniques learned to play the didge, tones the upper airways.

This finding may be consistent with another preliminary study that found a decrease in snoring in people who sang specific singing exercises for 20 minutes a day over three months. Singing can help to improve muscle control of the soft palate and upper throat.

It may be easier to find a singing teacher than a didgeridoo teacher, and of course, you already have the instrument, so this may be a worthwhile strategy for stubborn snorers.

It is wrong to think that insomnia is a disease since this is often the symptom for a more serious health condition. For example, this can be the underlying issue for depression. And because insomnia can be a sign of another disease of health issue, it is always recommended that a person should always seek a health professional in order to identify the right insomnia remedies for that person. This is necessary because the treatment selected by the health professional will also focus on the underlying conditions. If the problem of the patient is more into lack of sleep or poor sleep quality, then remedies can be in the form of medications that can be used for the short term. But if the issue is more than that, then the remedies can take many forms.

There are a number of insomnia remedies that are available right now and the choice of the right remedy for one person will depend on the circumstances and the experiences of the patient. Here we list two major insomnia remedies that are often selected and chosen by patients and health professionals. These two include behavior therapy and the second is through the intake of medications. There are other treatment options and remedies out there like the alternative approaches, but these two are considered by many as the two major remedies often selected by patients and health professionals.

Behavior therapy

There are a number of therapies that are used and adopted, and these are believed to be helpful in addressing the sleep disorder. One is through the adoption of relaxation therapy. It is understood that a person that can relax and get peace of mind is the one that has a higher chance of getting a good night’s sleep. In this kind of therapy, the person in charge of the session will teach the patient the progressive muscle relaxation. In this relaxation technique, the objective is to relax and to focus the many muscle groups.

When thinking about insomnia remedies, it is impossible not to think of the cognitive behavioral therapy. In this kind of therapy, the teacher will help the patient recognize some beliefs that he hold about himself and about sleep and it is the objective of the therapy to change these beliefs and adopt more positive behaviors. Health professionals are saying that this kind of therapy works in the long term even after the said session. Other therapies that are worth checking out as potential insomnia remedies include stimulus-control therapy and the sleep-restriction therapy.

Intake of medications

The intake of the FDA-approved medications is the common avenue often taken by insomniacs and other health professionals. It is believed that sleeping pills and other sleep medicines will provide swift relief from the symptoms of insomnia. But medications should be taken sparingly since these are known for their side effects.

It is only suggested to take this insomnia remedy, if this is the suggestion of the doctor. The prescription should be followed in order to eliminate or at least limit the known side effects. Just remember that insomnia remedies should make you well, and not give you another set of issues.