A good night's sleep is important for staying healthy and productive. Unfortunately, if you're sleeping next to someone who snores, you may not get the sleep you need. Chronic snoring can be frustrating for both you and your spouse. Over time, it can negatively affect your relationship. You don't have to escape to the couch. There are simple solutions that can help you deal with your partner's snoring.
Why Do People Snore?
When you're asleep, air enters your nostrils and flows past the tissues in your nose. This airflow makes the tissues vibrate. If the airway becomes restricted, the tissues in your nasal passages will make noise as the air flows past them. Snoring can range from a faint whistling to a loud rumbling. Some snoring may be temporary, such as when you have a cold or allergies. If your partner has a cold or other temporary illness that makes them snore, you can try temporary sleep solutions until the snoring stops. Moving to another bedroom is a temporary solution that can help you get the sleep you need.
Underlying health issues or lifestyle factors can lead to chronic snoring. People who smoke, drink alcohol, or take medications to sleep are more likely to snore. Pregnant women and postmenopausal women may also snore. Other health conditions can cause chronic snoring.
People with these health conditions are more likely to snore frequently:
- Obesity
- Structural problems in the mouth or nose, such as a deviated septum
- Sleep apnea
- Hyperactive thyroid
- Hypothyroidism
- Polyps in the nose
- Enlarged tonsils and adenoids
- Enlarged tongue
Snoring is more than just an annoyance. It can pose a serious health risk. Chronic snoring can lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and heart attack. People who snore may be tired during the day. They are at a higher risk of getting in a serious car accident.
Many people get frustrated by their partner's snoring. Instead of losing your patience, remember that your partner can't control their snoring. They may have an underlying medical condition that is causing their snoring. You can help their snoring by encouraging them to contact a doctor or sleep specialist.
How Your Partner's Snoring Can Impact Your Sleep
Your partner's chronic snoring impacts more than just their health. It can affect your health and well-being. If you lie awake listening to your husband's snoring, then you already know it is affecting your sleep. Snoring and other loud noises negatively impact your sleep by interrupting your sleep cycle.
As you sleep, your body moves through the different stages of the sleep cycle. Each stage plays an important role in your body and mind's functions. While you sleep, your body repairs tissues and builds up your immune system. Your brain processes emotions and memories through dreams. During the deep sleep stages, your body will build up energy to prepare you for the next day. When you wake up in the morning, you should feel refreshed and energetic.
Your husband's chronic snoring can interrupt these sleep cycles. You may have trouble falling asleep. If snoring wakes you up, you may not move into a deep sleep. Without deep sleep, your body can't repair tissues or build up your energy. You may wake up feeling tired. During the day, you may have trouble staying focused. You may also feel anxious, depressed, or irritable. Over time, sleep deprivation can hurt your relationship.
Sleep Solutions for Chronic Snorers and Their Partners
You don't have to suffer through another sleepless night. These sleep solutions can help both you and your spouse sleep better.
Change Sleep Positions
If your partner sleeps on their back, their tongue and soft palate may shift towards their throat. This reduces the size of their airway and leads to snoring. Other sleep positions may reduce or stop their snoring. Sleeping on their side stops the tongue from shifting to the back of their mouth. This position can help the airway stay open. Side sleeping offers other benefits. People who sleep on their side may experience less back pain and heartburn. If your partner struggles to get comfortable on their side, they can use pillows for added support.
Change or Add Pillows
High-quality pillows can also reduce your partner's snoring. Over time, pillows lose their shape and become flatter. Old pillows don't offer the necessary head and neck support to keep the airway open. Your old pillows can also harbor dust mites. For people with allergies, dust mites can increase allergy symptoms, such as nasal congestion, that cause snoring.
Replacing your old pillows can help with snoring. Foam pillows may add extra support for side sleepers. If your partner is a back sleeper, they can place extra pillows under their head. Propping up their head with extra pillows keeps the airway open. A wedge pillow also can help them sleep comfortably in an elevated position.
Use White Noise to Block Out the Sound
Many people find that white noise can block out the loud rumbling of their partner's snoring. White noise is a specific type of noise that contains the entire spectrum of sound frequencies. It often sounds like static from a television. Studies show that white noise is an effective tool for blocking out sounds in a noisy environment. People who played white noise had an easier time falling and staying asleep. You don't have to buy a special machine to benefit from white noise. All you need is a pair of headphones and a white noise YouTube video.
Try Earplugs to Block Out Snoring
Earplugs are another option for blocking out your partner's snoring. You don't need to buy expensive earplugs to block out sound. Foam earplugs are a safe and effective way to muffle the sound of your husband's snoring.
You don't have to lie awake at night listening to your partner's snoring. These sleep solutions can help you and your partner improve your sleep quality.
