11 Expert-Approved Ways To Get Your Snoring In Check

Do you find yourself groggy and irritable during the day, despite getting what you think is plenty of shut-eye? You could potentially be dealing with snoring—which can seriously mess with sleep quality.

Snoring affects half of the population, and 25 percent of adults are habitual snorers—many of whom don't even know it unless their partner tells them (or, you know, slaps them).

Snoring becomes more common with age and weight gain. The normal aging process leads to a relaxation of the throat muscles, while extra weight and fat around the neck can cause airways to narrow when you lie down, causing loud vibrations as you breathe.

While it's tempting to think snoring is no big deal, that's not always the case. In addition to being annoying and disruptive to you and anyone you share a bed with, loud snoring on a regular basis can be (about 50 percent of the time) a symptom of obstructive sleep apnea, a condition in which muscles in the back of the throat fail to keep the airway open, resulting in brief but repeated interruptions in breathing.

You need to seek out professional treatment for sleep apnea, as it can lead to serious issues such as high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, and forgetfulness.

If you share a bed with someone, you probably have a pretty good idea whether you snore or not. If you're a solo sleeper, though, you can look out for signs like waking up with dry mouth or a sore throat, or having trouble concentrating during the day (since snoring can impair sleep quality).

These don't always mean you're a snorer, though. The simplest way to tell for sure if you snore—and to determine just how severe your snoring is—is with an app like SnoreLab, which measures the duration and intensity (quiet, light, loud, or epic) of your snoring and offers suggestions on how to combat it.

If you currently sleep flat on your back, simply sleeping on your side could help stop snoring immediately. Sleeping on your side opens up your nasal airway passages, while sleeping on your back can cause your airway to become blocked or narrowed, which causes a vibrating sound when you breathe.

It may sound weird, but singing aloud strengthens the muscles in your throat and soft palate and naturally leads to less snoring over time, according to one 2008 study1 in the journal Sleep and Breathing.

Singing not your thing? There's also some evidence that tongue exercises (technically called oropharyngeal exercises) may help strengthen muscles in the throat and soft palate, too.

In one study on 39 snorers,2 eight minutes of oropharyngeal exercises three times a day significantly reduced snoring intensity and number of snores per hour after three months. The best part? The exercises are seriously simple.

Inflamed tissue in your nose and throat may contribute to snoring, too, and one cause of that inflammation could be the food you’re eating.

When you're overweight, you may have excess fatty tissue in (or near) the back of the throat that narrows the airway and makes you more likely to snore. So, if you're overweight or obese and you snore, there's a good chance that losing weight could eliminate snoring completely and permanently.

"For some people, craniosacral therapy can be a good augmentation strategy in the treatment of snoring," says Vora.

Craniosacral therapy is an alternative treatment, often used by osteopaths and chiropractors, that utilizes light touch to subtly manipulate joints in the skull and sacrum to relieve tension and improve the functioning of the central nervous system.

If you get the occasional cold or seasonal allergies (which some people deal with all year long), you're probably congested and experiencing a fair amount of throat and nasal inflammation. This, in turn, can lead to loud mouth breathing and snoring.

One super-soothing way to clear out your sinuses and breathe easier is by treating yourself to a facial steam.

Dry air contributes to snoring by exacerbating the congestion you may be experiencing from allergies or a cold. That's why some experts recommend using a humidifier to keep your throat and nasal passages moist and clear. (It's also a great way to prevent dry winter skin!)

If you snore, you'll want to sip on plenty of water or herbal tea throughout the day to ensure you're well-hydrated.

Having a late-night drink has not only been shown to mess with sleep quality, but research4 on over 1,000 people suggests that it contributes to snoring and sleep-disordered breathing, too.

Alcohol relaxes you, which sounds like a good thing, but when it happens to the muscles in your throat and tongue, they become "floppier," which worsens snoring.

Serious cases of snoring caused by issues that can't be easily remedied at home—like sleep apnea or structural abnormalities in the soft palate—require a visit to a sleep specialist or ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctor to determine the proper course of treatment.

If you do make your way to a sleep specialist, it might be worth your while to ask for a sleep study in order to determine if you have sleep apnea.