What is that sound? Is the motorcycle? Or my dog’s howling? Maybe the construction is going on somewhere near but wait! Construction so late at night? Oh, it’s the snoring sound. Uff…!!!
There is a saying by Anthony Burgess, “Laugh and the world laughs with you. Snore and you sleep alone”.
Snoring is one of the most annoying and embarrassing sounds. It not only disturbs someone’s sleep but can be so irritating that they might never agree to sleep with you. Even if you don’t notice yourself snoring, it can affect your health and life.
Your partner or anyone sleeping near you can never get a full night rest if you don’t stop snoring. You, yourself can feel tired all day long or might not be able to concentrate on your daily work. If not treated correctly it can lead to strain on your heart and brain. Which doesn’t sound good, right?
But the question arises how, how to stop snoring? So let’s see how you can reduce snoring.
What is snoring & How do you snore?
Do I even have to mention what is snoring?! Isn’t it a situation that almost everybody has faced even once in their lifetime?
But talking about how it happens, it’s pretty simple. Snoring is a science. When you are asleep and the breathing passage or air passage gets narrower due to some reason because of which air passes by, by producing a loud noise due to the vibration known as snoring. The narrowing of the path could be different depending upon a person. Sometimes it could be the nose or mouth and sometimes the throat too.
Why Should Snoring Not Be Ignored?
Occasional snoring might not be a problem to many but what if you snore regularly? It’s not only irritating and problematic for the person sleeping near you but it can also cause bigger problems for you. Continuous or regular snoring can lead to heart or brain strain. Not only that but due to lack of sleeping rest every night you can feel fatigued, lazy, or unable to focus on daily tasks. Snoring can also lead to a sleep disorder known as Sleep Apnea, which means to stop breathing in the middle of sleep. But how to stop snoring?
Many surgeries and devices exist to stop snoring but don’t that sound scary and complicated? Knives and scissors on you just because of your snoring that you don’t even realize.
Isn’t there a better option? Fortunately, there is, there are many yoga exercises and breathing techniques to reduce snoring.
5 Best Yoga Exercises To Stop Snoring
There are many breathing techniques and yoga exercises to stop snoring. But who has time to do all of them every single day, right?
Keeping that in mind, we got you the 5 best breathing techniques and yoga exercises that can help you to stop snoring. These Yoga not only helps you to reduce snoring but is also good for your overall health. So, let’s see how to stop snoring!
1. Bhramari Pranayama (Buzzing Bee Breathing Technique)
Bhramari Pranayama will not only help you to reduce snoring but it also helps in de-stressing. just like the name suggested, the pranayama needs to be done by humming a sound that sounds like a buzzing bee.
THIS IS HOW YOU DO BHRAMARI PRANAYAMA:-
- Sit straight in a quiet, open space.
- Keep your eyes closed throughout this exercise with a slight smile.
- Put your both index fingers on both the cartilage. Make sure not to put it inside your ears but on the cartilage, which comes between our cheeks and ears.
- Take a deep breath and as you exhale gently press the cartilage with a humming sound like the bees.
- Do the same 3-5 times.
2. Nadi Shodhan Pranayama ( Alternate Nostril Breathing Technique)
Nadi Shodhan Pranayama is one of the most common yoga known by almost everyone. Names might not be common but yoga is. It is also known as Anulom Vilom Pranayama. It helps in keeping the mind fresh and happy.
This is how you do Nadi Shodhan Pranayama:-
- Sit straight with your shoulders relaxed.
- Left hand on the left knee and keep your eyes closed.
- Put the index and middle finger of the right hand between the eyebrows. Thumb finger on the right nostril and the little finger on the left nostril.
- Close your left nostril with the little finger and inhale from the right nostril. Then close your right nostril with the thumb and exhale from your left nostril and again inhale from the left nostril then close it, do the same on the right side.
- Keep on alternating the nostrils. Make sure not to press the fingers too hard or breathe too harshly.
- Do it gently for a few minutes. Combining this with meditation gives better results.
3. Chanting OM
Chanting OM also one of the best yoga known by everyone. It is more like a meditation that relieves every cell in our body. It helps in having better concentration and helps in inducing better sleep with which comes, reducing snoring.
It is very simple to chant om:-
- Sit straight and relax your shoulders
- Keep both the hands-on their respective knees.
- Now chant the word “OM” as long as you can but make sure not to force while chanting om.
- Exhale needs to be from the stomach or diaphragm and not the laughs.
- Do this as long as you wish to, at least more than a minute.
4. Dhaurasama ( Bow Pose Yoga)
Dhaurasama or the Bow Pose is named after the yoga performed in the shape of a bow. It helps in strengthening the back spine, toned legs and arms muscles, constipation relief, and so on.
This is how you do Dhaurasama:-
- Lie straight on your stomach with your legs apart and hands besides.
- Bring your legs up and hands back to grab your ankles. Now inhale and slowly lift your chest.
- Now all you need to do is to keep up with that position and concentrate on your breathing.
- Exhale as you go back to the starting position.
- Keep up with the position for 10-15 seconds. Make sure no to bend too much, just do as much as your body allows you to.
5. Kapal Bhati Pranayama
Another well-known pranayama or yoga. As everybody knows, the Kapal Bhati breathing technique is famous to lose belly fat but it is also good for reducing snoring.
This is how you do Kapal Bhati:-
- Sit straight and keep both the hands-on their respective knees with open palms facing upwards.
- As you inhale, push your navel or belly out as if it’s filled with air and as you exhale, pull your navel in as if everything is gone. Do this as fast as you can according to your comfort.
- Do it 25 times to make one round. After one round relax a bit, feel the sensation in your body, or focus on your breathing and start again.
So, these were the best 5 breathing techniques or yoga exercises to stop snoring and have a healthy lifestyle. Apart from these yogas, there might be another reason or practice to accompany to have better and fast results. Things that can stop you from achieving your goal to reduce snoring could be:-
- Obesity – maybe it’s time to change your lifestyle to have a better lifestyle.
- Alcohol consumption right before you sleep.
- Daily or regular smoking
- Medications like sleeping pills or muscle relaxation pills can lead to snoring.
- The sleeping position also causes snoring – try to sleep sideways than on your back.
So, these were some reasons as well as solutions to reduce snoring and have a healthy lifestyle. Snoring does not only affect others but also you. Why would you interrupt somebody else’s sleep when you can have a good night’s sleep together forever. Snoring could be a big problem for many. Make sure to do at least these things mentioned above to reduce snoring and have a healthy happy life.
