Almost half of all adults snore. You can probably count on your partner to remind you of that fact every morning. Loud, persistent snoring is more than just a nuisance. It can be a symptom of sleep apnea, a serious condition that demands medical attention. But is it true that most snoring problems can be fixed simply by sleeping on your side?
How Snoring Actually Works
First, a quick primer on the mechanics. Snoring results from an obstruction in the breathing pathways during sleep. As you drift off, your mouth, tongue, and throat muscles relax. The soft tissue in your throat can relax enough to partially block the airway. Air forced through that restricted space causes the tissue to vibrate. That vibration creates the telltale rumble.
The narrower your airway, the more forceful the airflow. More force means more vibration. The result is a louder snore.
Identifying Your Specific Type of Snorer
There is no single cause. The root issues vary from person to person. Obesity is a common factor. Excess weight on the neck and chest compresses breathing pathways. Allergies cause congestion and inflammation that tighten airways in the nose and throat. Drinking alcohol before bed relaxes throat muscles further. Some people are simply born with an extra-thick soft palate or a low-hanging uvula that obstructs airflow.
Knowing which type of snorer you are helps determine treatment. The Sleep School offers a test to help identify if you are a nose snorer, throat snorer, tongue snorer, or mouth snorer.
Does Side Sleeping Help?
Sleep experts agree that sleeping on your back exacerbates snoring. When you are asleep, your tongue, soft palate, and throat muscles relax. If you are on your back, those muscles sag downward and backward. This increases the odds of an obstructed airway.
So where does sleep position fit in? Sleeping on your side is most effective for “tongue snorers.” If the chief cause of obstruction is a relaxed tongue blocking the airway, turning on your side can help. Gravity pulls the tongue forward rather than letting it fall back.
But here is the catch. Turning on your side won’t necessarily solve the problem if it is an allergy or obesity issue. If the obstruction is caused by nasal congestion or thick tissue due to weight, positional changes alone are rarely enough.
Knowing the type of snorer you are will help determine what kind of treatment is best.
The Problem with Unconscious Compliance
The trouble with side sleeping is that unconscious people are terrible at following directions. You roll over. You fall asleep. You end up on your back again.
If your bed partner has a hard time maintaining a side sleeping position, you can use pillows to prop them up. Some people place a tennis ball under their shirt in the middle of the back to remind them to turn over. You can also buy devices like the Rest-Rite Sleep Positioner. It is a plastic dome that sticks to your back to encourage side sleeping.
These tools work for some. They do not work for everyone. If the airway collapse is structural or severe, no amount of tennis balls will fix it. The question remains whether positional therapy is enough, or if you need to look deeper into the root cause.
