Snoring getting on your nerves? Learn to breathe!
Give me a drink or two and I've been told that I can snore for England! (All
in the name of research, you understand!)
Alcohol can cause irritation and congestion in the nasal airways, obstructing your breathing during sleep, but I'll save that for another article... (If snoring is a problem for you or your partner then cutting down on alcohol in the evening will certainly help reduce the problem!)
No, in this article I want to talk about another cause of snoring - your breathing pattern. Unless you are a nasal breather by practice, you are far more likely to keep others awake at night with your noisy bellowing!
Breathing through your mouth at night means one thing - it remains open all night (obviously). Now, apart from swallowing 8 spiders in your lifetime, keeping your mouth open while sleeping will cause the air that you take in to hit the back of the throat 'head on', creating enormous vibrations in the soft tissue, that make the sound that we know as snoring.
If you naturally breathed through your nose, as your body was designed to do, the air would pass over the curved part of the smooth palate and down into the throat in a continuous gentle flow without all that rumbling!
Breathing through your nose is something that you should all do without thinking. Unfortunately many of you now breathe through your mouth, due to posture, stress and an engrained habit. If you want to have more energy and mental focus, nasal breathing is something that you really should start practicing.
First determine if you favour your mouth or your nose when you breathe. Place one hand on your chest and one on your belly. Take a deep breathe in and see which hand rises first. If your chest rises first, chances are you are a 'mouth' breather.
Take the test and if your mouth wins, we need to practice optimal breathing. Otherwise make sure you lie on your side at night and not your back. I'm sure your partner or other occupants in your home would be glad to help you do this if it means a good night's sleep... :-)
© Fitstreet 2005
