Your sleep and restfulness provide fuel to achieve the most out of every day. Whether working hard to gain a raise or just trying to make it through the day, running on low restricts your ability to achieve more.

Sleep by Dufresne understands the most frustrating part about consistently interrupted sleep is that it’s hard to find a quick and affordable solution. Here are bite-sized answers to one of sleep’s most common issues and our suggestions on how to solve snoring.

Snoring is primarily caused by the obstruction or narrowing of the airways when breathing. When we sleep, the muscles in our throat and tongue relax, and the soft tissues in the back of the throat can partially block the airway. As a result, when we inhale and exhale, the airflow becomes turbulent, causing the surrounding tissues to vibrate and produce the characteristic snoring sound.

• Anatomy of the airway: people with naturally narrow airways, an elongated uvula, or excess throat tissues are more prone to snoring.
• Age: the muscles in your throat tend to lose their tone and elasticity with time, making them more susceptible to collapse during sleep.
• Weight: overweight or obese sleepers accumulate fatty tissues around their throats, further narrowing the airway and increasing the likelihood of snoring.
• Alcohol consumption: your muscles in the back of your throat close faster when intoxicated, causing an increased chance of snoring.
• Smoking: smoke inflames your airways and encourages mucus production, making it twice as likely for smokers to snore than non-smokers.
• Nasal congestion due to allergies or infections: blocks your nasal airways, making it more likely for you to snore.
• Sleeping position: back sleepers are more prone to snoring due to collapsing airways from the weight on your neck or chest pressing down.

Now that you know what causes snoring, you would think the solution would be the inverse of each factor, but unfortunately, it is not that easy. Here are five ways to improve your chances of snore-free sleep.

The best way to open your airways and prevent snoring is by elevating your head and neck while you sleep. As the airways open, there is less of a chance of the muscles in your throat vibrating, reducing the opportunity for snoring.

There are multiple ways to comfortably elevate your head when asleep. Here are two simple ways to solve snoring at Sleep by Dufresne.

Pillows offer a cost-efficient option to solve snoring. While many consider your mattress the universal saviour of sleep, your choice of pillow dictates up to 35% of your sleep quality. Investing in a pillow that suits your needs is a huge factor in creating a sleep solution that works for you.

While pricey, lifestyle bases are almost a surefire cure to snoring. Rather than a conventional steel bed frame, a lifestyle base introduces motion to your sleep through the ability to raise or lower your head or feet. More expensive models offer bells and whistles that enhance your sleep environment, such as colour-changing lights, Bluetooth speakers, and massage options, but the primary function of a lifestyle base is to elevate your head, neck and feet.

As mentioned earlier, back sleepers tend to suffer from snoring the most. The natural weight of your neck and chest makes it difficult for your airways to expand and retract without touching your throat muscles, causing snoring and restless sleep. We know it’s tough to change your sleep position on the spot, but sleeping on your side is one of the best (and cheapest) sleep remedies available. 

If you find sleeping on your side uncomfortable, it could be because a part of your sleep solution doesn’t suit your sleep needs or style. Typically, back sleepers prefer the instant comfort that plush mattresses offer while trying to fall asleep. While soft to the touch, most plush mattresses offer poor motion-transfer support while you sleep. Poor motion-transfer support puts your joints at risk of collapsing and sinking further into the mattress as you sleep, causing soreness or aching muscles when you wake up.

While snoring makes it difficult to stay in REM sleep, you can achieve more REM sleep by developing a consistent sleep schedule for your body to follow.

In light sleep, our body slows down all internal processes to prepare for deep sleep. Snoring is least likely to occur in deep sleep because it usually happens during REM when breathing is at its shallowest. The problem is that snoring makes a sleeper restless and often breaks the sleep cycle from noise and irritation.

One of the best ways to stop snoring is to build a consistent and reliable sleep schedule. Once your body recognizes a sleep pattern, it becomes easier to speed up the light and deep portions of the cycle so you can get more REM sleep.

The best way to ease yourself into a new nightly routine is to ensure each part of your sleep solution is up to par. A sleep solution consists of a mattress, pillow, base, sheets, mattress cover and sleep accessories. Consider how each plays a part in your sleep and find out where to improve your sleep solution.