Snore no more: treat yourself—and your partner—to a peaceful slumber; sleeping on your side makes your throat less likely to collapse and block breathing

Better Nutrition, May, 2003 by John Riddle

If you--or your partner--suffer from snoring, you certainly aren't alone. It's estimated that approximately 90 million Americans over the age of 18 snore occasionally, and about 37 million are habitual snorers. The majority of them are overweight men. And, alas, snoring tends to worsen with age.

But regardless of age or body type, you don't have to resign yourself to night after night of interrupted sleep. "More than 90 percent of all snorers can be cured," says Derek Lipman, MD, an ear, nose and throat surgeon from Portland, Oregon, and author of Snoring from A to ZZZZ: Proven Cures for the Night's Worst Nuisance.

In order to treat the problem, however, you'll need to understand the cause.

bedtime story

The physiology behind snoring is fairly straightforward. As you progress from shallow sleep to deep sleep, the muscles in the roof of your mouth, tongue and throat relax.

If the tissues in your throat relax enough, they vibrate and may partially obstruct your airway. And the more narrowed your airway, the more forceful the airflow becomes. The tissue vibration increases, and your snoring grows louder.

But what causes this problem in some and not in others?

One often-overlooked cause of snoring can be a hidden food allergy, according to John Kernohan, Director of the York Nutritional Laboratories in Hollywood, Florida. "If you have a hidden food allergy--and our studies indicate that some 45 to 60 percent of the population is affected--there are over 118 medical conditions, including snoring, that can be provoked," says Kernohan. York Nutritional Labs has created the "foodSCAN," a finger-stick test kit that can test for food allergies.

Snoring can also be traced to any number of respiratory ailments, and it can lead to even further complications. "Snoring is generally a sign of airway obstruction, and even if there's no underlying disease, snoring can cause daytime sleepiness, fatigue, irritability, mood swings, high blood pressure, and heart disease," says Kris Williams, spokesperson for the American Association for Respiratory Care in Dallas, Texas. Despite the causes, however, the good news is that snoring can be helped.

tremendous treatments

Larry Anderson, 38, an engineer from Miami, Florida, can attest to the benefits of natural snoring remedies. After an exhausting search for the cause of his snoring, Anderson was finally diagnosed with a food allergy. "I went to a naturopathic physician, and he was able to diagnose the problem in a Very short time," Anderson says. "I was happy that natural remedies were available for me."

When it comes to treating the problem, a variety of products such as oral sprays, herbal caplets and homeopathic remedies have been found to be effective in the relief of snoring.

Depending upon the severity of your symptoms, you may have to try several different products to find one that works, and some people find success only with a combination of remedies.

Baywood International markets Dr. Harris' Original Snore Formula, a combination of plant enzymes including protease and lipase. When taken on an empty stomach, these enzymes act to reduce tissue swelling and congestion, resulting in an open airflow that helps lessen snoring.

Green Pharmaceuticals manufactures the homeopathic tablet known as SnoreStop as well as SnoreStop Extinguisher oral spray, which has been clinically tested and found to be effective in 80 percent of patients.

If you're looking for an alternative to pills and sprays, you may want to try Scandinavian Formulas' Nozovent anti-snoring device. Made from pharmaceutical-grade plastic, this small device dilates the nostrils, helping to decrease mouth-breathing and, thus, snoring.

With such a variety of products on the market, you're certain to be able to find one that works for you.

"There is hope for people who are suffering from snoring problems," says Barry Broughton, ND, a naturopathic physician from Olean, New York. "Once you identify the cause, you can find the proper treatment."

kids' stuff

Although snoring is most common among men, it's not unusual in women and children. A 2001 Italian survey determined that of 2,209 children aged 9 to 15, more than 5 percent were habitual snorers. Obesity and having parents who smoke were the highest contributing factors. Snoring can also affect academic performance, finds a July 2001 study of 1,588 seventh- and eighth-graders. Researchers reported that nearly 13 percent of the children at the bottom of their classes were snorers, while only 5 percent of the top academic performers snored.

And a 2002 study performed at Stanford University established a link between snoring and hormone deficiency in postmenopausal women, indicating that their risk of sleep apnea was four times greater than that of premenopausal women.