ITV's Dr Sophie Bostock reveals 3 tips to stop snoring - and no, changing position isn't one of them

One caller revealed that he keeps his partner up at night with his snoring. If you're a snorer or the partner of someone who is, you'll know it can be one of the biggest problems in the bedroom as it makes our all-important core sleep harder to come by.

Snoring is caused by a "weakening or collapsing of the muscles in your tongue and throat when you fall asleep," says Dr Sophie Bostock, a certified sleep specialist.

She says if you sleep on your back, gravity can pull your jaw towards the back of your neck which causes a “compression which leads you to snore loudly”.

Wondering how to stop snoring? Changing your sleeping position could help, but chances are, you've tried that. These are the other solutions to try. While not exactly simple, Dr Bostock told hosts Cat Deely and Ben Shepherd that they can make a real difference.

How to stop snoring

1. Strengthen your muscles

Strengthening the muscles in your tongue and throat can be effective at reducing snoring, says Dr Bostock. “It’s a bit like going to the gym. You want to give those muscles a bit of a workout”, she explains.

Some of the ways to do this might sound a bit wacky, but Dr Bostock says studies have proved them to be effective.

Her first suggestion is to “blow a conch or a didgeridoo” o,r more realistically, she says “you can also take up singing”. “These are things which involve blowing under resistance, strengthening the muscular tone” can help ease snoring, she explains.

The conch study, published in the ERJ Open Research in August, was conducted among a small group of people in India who had moderate obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) - a serious sleep condition where your breathing pauses when you’re asleep.

Those with OSA also tend to suffer from snoring and wake up a lot during the night due to the narrowing of their airways.

Over six months, researchers at the Eternal Heart Care Centre and Research Institute in Jaipur found that the group who had blown the conch for 15 minutes a day, five days a week, were 34% less sleepy during the day. They also had higher blood oxygen levels during the night, and four to five fewer OSA episodes an hour on average.

Not all of us have a conch to hand, and this might feel a bit extreme for preventing snoring, so Dr Bostock’s tip of singing is probably more realistic.

Sleep apnea is a serious condition which can lead to oxygen deprivation and poor sleep quality. If you suffer from the condition, it's best to speak to your GP as they will be able to provide specific advice on how to treat it.

2. Myofunctional therapy

“There is an approach that we call myopharyngeal therapy, or oropharyngeal therapy, that can help to strengthen those muscles,” says Dr Bostock. This is an exercise programme which can teach your face and mouth muscles to work properly again. This could include improving your tongue position, preventing mouth breathing and keeping your lips sealed.

A professional will give you exercises to do to treat your specific problem. These could include things like breathing exercises, blowing up balloons and strengthening your tongue muscles.

3. Night accessories

Dr Bostock suggests wearing something called a ‘mandibular advancement device’, which your dentist can fit for you. This is a bit like a mouthguard in that it will hold your lower jaw and tongue in a more forward position at night to reduce the compression on your throat. It will also help open your upper airway and stop the vibrations in your soft palate and uvula which cause snoring.

She also says wearing a chin strap will have a similar effect on your jaw position.

Other ways to stop snoring

While these tips from Dr Sophie Bostock may be most effective, they take work and a little more research. We spoke to Sleep counsellor Thomas Høegh Reisenhaus, the in-house sleep specialist at Tempur, to reveal the lifestyle habits you could change to learn how to sleep better in the short-term.

• Stop smoking: “Smoking irritates the nostrils and throat lining, causing inflammation and a build of catarrh. This reduces air flow, making snoring more likely," says Reisenhaus.
• Cut back on alcohol: Drinking alcohol causes your muscles to relax, which makes your tongue and palate vibrate. Cutting down on both of these will help minimise the snoring.
• Maintain a healthy weight: “Being overweight, particularly around the neck, can put pressure on airways and restrict the amount of air inhaled and exhaled,” says Reisenhaus. He recommends losing weight if you need to (speak to your doctor if you're unsure) and doing regular exercise to improve your sleep. “Try a morning yoga routine, a simple brisk walk at lunchtime or a quick jog before dinner to get moving, feel better and snore less,” he says.
• Prevent colds and allergic reactions where possible: When our noses are blocked or have bad hay fever, we’re more likely to breathe through our mouths, which can lead to snoring. Reisenhaus says over-the-counter medication can help clear our airways and reduce inflammation. “Try to avoid sleeping pills and sedation medicines as these tend to relax muscles and can further aggravate snoring,” he adds.