Life Style

According to the   National Sleep Foundation , certain sleep positions, such as lying on your back, cause your tongue and soft palate to press against the back of your throat, which leads to snoring. A full-length   body pillow can provide support   to help you sleep on your side throughout the night.

Weight loss   helps some people but not everyone. "Thin people snore, too," Slaughter says. If you've gained  weight  and started snoring and did not snore before you gained weight, weight loss may help. "If you gain weight around your neck, it squeezes the internal diameter of the throat, making it more likely to collapse during sleep, triggering snoring," Slaughter says.

Alcohol and sedatives reduce the resting tone of the muscles in the back of your throat, making it more likely you'll snore. "Drinking alcohol four to five hours before sleeping makes snoring worse," Chokroverty says. "People who don't normally snore will snore after drinking alcohol."

Poor sleep habits (also known as poor sleep "hygiene") can have an effect similar to that of drinking alcohol, Slaughter says. Working long hours without   enough sleep , for example, means when you finally hit the sack you're overtired. "You sleep hard and deep, and the muscles become floppier, which creates snoring," Slaughter says.

If snoring starts in your nose, keeping nasal passages open may help. It allows air to move through slower, Slaughter says. "Imagine a narrow garden hose with water running through. The narrower the hose, the faster the water rushes through." Your nasal passages work similarly. If your nose is clogged or narrowed due to a cold or other blockage, the fast-moving air is more likely to produce snoring. A hot shower before you go to bed can help open nasal passages, Slaughter says. Also, keep a bottle of saltwater rinse in the shower. "Rinse your nose out with it while you're showering to help open up passages," Slaughter says. A  neti pot  could also be used to rinse out the nasal passages with a salt-water solution. Nasal strips may also work to lift nasal passages and open them up -- if the problem exists in your nose and not within the soft palate.

Allergens in your bedroom and in your pillow may contribute to snoring. When did you last dust the overhead ceiling fan? Replace your pillows? Dust mites  accumulate in pillows and can cause allergic reactions that can lead to snoring. Allowing pets to sleep on the bed causes you to breathe in animal dander, another common irritant. "If you feel fine during the day but obstructed at night, these things may be contributing to your snoring," Slaughter says. Put your pillows in the air fluff cycle once every couple weeks and replace them every six months to keep  dust mites  and allergens to a minimum. And keep pets out of the bedroom. Beware before spending money on special pillows designed to prevent snoring, Chokroverty says. "They may work if it props up your head, which fixes nasal issues, but can cause neck pain."

Drink plenty of fluids. "Secretions in your nose and soft palate become stickier when you're dehydrated," Slaughter says. "This can create more snoring." According to the Institute of Medicine,  healthy women  should  have about 11 cups of total water (from all drinks and food) a day ; men require about 16 cups.

You may be among the 45% of normal adults who snore at least occasionally or you likely know someone who does. He or she may be the brunt of jokes at family gatherings but  snoring  is serious business. Not only is snoring a nuisance, but 75% of people who snore have  obstructive sleep apnea  (when breathing is disrupted during  sleep  for short periods), which increases the risk of developing  heart disease , Slaughter says. Use caution before you self-treat with over-the-counter sprays and pills until you've checked with your doctor, says Sudhansu Chokroverty, MD, FRCP, FACP, program director for Clinical Neurophysiology and  Sleep  Medicine at JFK Medical Center in Edison, N.J. "Many stop-snoring aids are marketed without scientific studies to support their claims," says Chokroverty, who is also a neuroscience professor at Seton Hall University's School of Health and Medical Sciences. 1. Change Your Sleep Position. 2...