Despite what many people think, snoring can be fixed and there are several ways to do this. Here are just some of the methods you can use to rid yourself of the issue.
Oral Apparatus Exercises
Throat Weakness: Mouth Exercises
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- Open the mouth as wide as you can for a few seconds and then close, making sure the lips are tightly closed. Do this a couple of times a day, make an exaggerated smile with your mouth and hold this position for about five seconds and then relax.
- Pretend that you are sipping some juice from a straw.
- With your hand on the jaw, open the mouth wide and put as much pressure on the lower jaw as you can handle. Hold for a count of five and then relax. Try this exercise as many times as you can.
Tongue Exercises
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- Put your tongue out and stretch as far as you can, making sure that it stays straight. Then move the tongue left and right touching the corners of the lips.
- Say the surprise expressions of “ah-oh” or “ahh” and prolong the vocalization time of these sounds.
- Rotate the tongue around the teeth (over the teeth and under the lip) in a clockwise direction for 10-21 times. Do it several times a day to tone the tongue and to make it flexible. There could be various reasons as to why your tongue could effect your snoring, such as having a type of tongue tie when you were born, and maybe it wasn’t properly taken care of, look here for more information into tongue ties in babies.
Dispositional Jaw
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- Try to protrude the lower jaw over the upper jaw with your teeth showing while in this protruding position. Count to ten and try to do this exercise 5-10 times a day.
Yoga
Yoga helps strengthen the oral apparatus, deals with structural defects, and opens the throat center. The following mudras, Pranayama and yoga poses will help.
Simha Mudra (Lion Mudra):
Simha mudra is an excellent remedy for snoring. To perform this, sit on the floor in Vajrasana (Thunderbolt pose). Now spread your legs so that your thighs are almost parallel to your shoulders. Place your palms on the floor making a fist. Lean forward, keeping your head straight. Concentrate on a point at the center of your eyebrows, and inhale deeply through the nostrils. Open your mouth, extend the tongue out as far as you can and exhale with a growling sound. Repeat this process a couple of times. This posture helps to remove any obstructions in your breathing passages and is a natural cure for snoring.
Ujjayi Pranayama:
Ujjayi Pranayama increases the capacity of the lungs and removes blockages in the throat. It is one of the best exercises for snoring. To perform this breathing exercise, sit in Sukhasana (Easy pose) or Maitriasana (on a chair with back straight). Start to breathe deeply through your nostrils and close your eyes, until your body enters a state of calm. Now inhale forcefully through both the nostrils, contracting your throat muscles to produce a low, throbbing sound. Exhale in the same way by constricting the vocal cords. This breathing exercise for snoring should be performed at least three to five times everyday for 2-5 minutes in each practice session.
Kaki Mudra:
Round your lips as if you were saying “O” and keep them protruded for one to two minutes, then relax. This is a great mudra for releasing stress from the muscles of the oral apparatus as well as toning them. Do it everyday many times.
Shankh Mudra:
Shankh mudra is an excellent yoga practice for the entire respiratory tract. It tones the throat, airway passages and lungs. At a subtle level, this mudra is calming and soothing. Shankh mudra is emotionally balancing. It works at fixing the imbalance related to Vishuddhi chakra which is the energy center at the throat region.
Jala Neti (Sinus Irrigation):
Jala Neti is a way of nasal irrigation or washing of the sinuses in a unique manner through a special pot called the neti pot. Do it four times a week. Don’t do it excessively as it may dehydrate the nasal mucosa.
Other Yogic Solutions:
Sarvangasana (Shoulder Stand pose), Halasana (Plough pose), Jalandhar Bandh (Chin Lock), Sheetali Pranayama (Hissing or Cooling breath), Chanting aloud of AUM Mantra.
Simple Prevention Practices
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- Sleep on your side. Lying on your back allows your tongue to fall backward into your throat, narrowing your airway and partially obstructing air flow. Try sleeping on your side.
- Treat nasal congestion or obstruction. Having allergies or a deviated septum can limit air flow through the nose. This forces you to breathe through your mouth, increasing the likelihood of snoring.
- Limit or avoid alcohol and sedatives. Avoid drinking alcoholic beverages at least two hours before bedtime.