Preventing Snoring

Hi girls,

Does anyone have any tips to prevent snoring?

I have been snoring my head off and poor DH is getting no sleep at all. He didn't sleep last night and had really important meetings at work all day today- I feel horrible and would love to be able to do something to stop it. There are about 5 weeks left of my pregnancy and it looks like one of us will have to sleep on the sofa bed for the rest of that time, which I'm really not looking forward to.

I'm especially worried that I only have one more week of work left and after that I will be feeling even more guilty for snoring as I'll be keeping him awake when I have all day to sleep.

The only advice that I have found is to sleep on your side (already doing that!)- anything else that helps??? Please........

i sleep on the couch alot as DH has terrible snoring sounds! its only for a few more weeks. just ask DH to sleep on sofa bed when he cant get to sleep. you need all the sleep you can get now honey... take care and good luck with the home stretch for bubs arrival..

Have you tried using a saline nasal spray before you go to bed (eg. fess or narium) to thin out the mucus? (which is probably why you are snoring more than usual - all that pregnancy congestion!!).

Also, you could try nasal strips - they stick to each side of your nose and pull your nostrils open a little, to help you breath better through your nose. They are advertised as stopping snoring. The product is called "Breathe Right Nasal Strips". I haven't used them, just seen them advertised & sold them (I used to work in pharmacy).

Look I know this has nothing to do with your problem, but just thought it was a little something to make those snorers out there happy.
A friend of mine suffers a lot because her DH is a chonic snorer! He keeps on telling everyone that he cant work out why she wont listen to him when he says that he really isnt snoring, its just a mating call lol......
I had to laugh about that one, but I do know how people feel when their partner is a snorer, the father of my first four children was a chronic snorer and I was forever jabbing him in the ribs to shut him up!!!
I would say if your snoring is so bad and upsetting DH, then yes spend the nights apart, its hopefully only a pregnancy thing, or perhaps look into getting the strips that others have mentioned, it really is a bad thing to have to put up with the horrific sound of a snorer lol. I must be a very lucky woman cause my DP doesnt snore, even after a good night out lol.

OK - a bit OT, for those with chronic snorers (Not sure pregnancy snoring counts!) there is actually something you can do. Get assessed for sleep apnoea!!! My friend had excellent success with a mouthgard device which pushes your chin forwards a bit and then holds the soft tissues in the throat open! This was something she had to see a doctor about. She is sleeping like a baby for the first time in years. She couldn't afford to get the apnoea assessment done but we shared a motel room once and I lay awake all night listening to her stopping breathing and willing her to start again! If the sleep apnoea is a really bad you might need to consider a C-pap machine (feeds pressurised air in via a mouth mask which then holds the tissues open).

I don't think your PG snoring really warrants any of this, I just say, put hubby on the sofa, it is a small price for him to pay for a peaceful night, and don't feel guilty! You are growing a new life in there. The whole universe should stop and make way for that! :) Good luck and i hope you both get plenty of sleep in the coming weeks

My DH doesn't snore, but he moans in his sleep, he also grinds his teeth when he is stressed or ill. I use ear plugs and I sleep like a baby. They take a little getting use to. You can buy them from most chemists, they are disposbale, but I will use them a few times before chucking them.

My husband also has severe sleep apnoea (and didn't fit into most of the at risk groups), but its basically where they stop breathing in their sleep and then half wake up gasping etc (but they don't really wake up etc).

Once he was assessed (you can go public but i believe there are long waiting list, we only had to pay a $70 excess on our PHI), we got him a special mouth guard device to hold his lower jaw forward. This helped a lot, but not 100%, so we will probably get the CPAP soonish.

But there are bad things (long term), that can happen from not treating sleep apnoea, so it is good to have it treated.. the most important is that now DH actually gets an almost refreshing nights sleep, before he was crashing out on the couch at 7pm 'cos his sleep was such bad quality.

You can snore without sleep apnoea, and if its only happened with pregnancy, i wouldn't be so worried it was that, but you can also have sleep apnoea without snoring, so you might not know it.

You can get a neck pillow also to help with snoring (DH has one, it does help), if looks like one of those velro on travel pillows, but you wear it around the front. You can also get these strips of tape that you put on your nose (they did nothing for DH, but his nose wasn't so much his problem, it was his jaw collapsing back and stopping his airway supply)

My husband got his SomnaMed mouthguard last Thursday and it's been an absolute godsend....I've had three nights of blissful sleep. Thankfully we didn't have to pay a cent for it as his father is a dentist....it's the one that comes in two pieces and pushes the lower jaw forward....it's fantastic, and DH is sleeping much better too!!

Hi Star,
i just saw this thread and thought I'd weigh in with the breathe right nasal strips. I too was snoring badly and disrupting my partners sleep (& he doesn't sleep well at the best of times). I was also affecting my own sleep because I'd wake myself up. Not to mention the fight we had after DP was trying to move me so I'd stop and I was in a deep sleep so I didn't respond for ages; I finally woke up to him yelling "TOO NOISY!!!" Upset me at the time, as you can imagine, but its making me giggle now when I think about it, as its kinda funny :D

I digress! I bought the nasal strips and found that they actually did work. If its got to the point where it doesn't matter what position you're in while asleep, give them a go. I also used the saline spray in conjunction.
Good luck!

Hi guys,

Just thought I'd update you on the snoring! On your advice I bought the breathe right strips yesterday and used one for the first time last night. I definitely noticed an improvement in my breathing and I had a much deeper sleep! I really felt that I wasn't snoring - didn't have that blocked up feeling and my throat wasn't dry. BUT I asked DH this morning whether I had snored and he told me that I had!! Was I any quieter than normal - apparently no!!

Oh well, I am going to persist with the strips as I definitely slept better.

Thanks, girls

Yeah, my husbands snoring has become worse as I progress into pregnancy.. go figure..

We are lucky enough to have a spare room set up and next time it get's too bad I will change rooms or send him (depending how warm the bed is and not wanting to get into a cold new bed hehe)

I work from home so I can sleep in, in fact the best sleep I have is after hubby leaves for work, during the night I just toss and turn moan and groan and turn my husband onto his side every 1/2 hour like a "pig on a spit" LOL

Star - Glad you are sleeping better! Sorry it wasn't much help for DH - but at least you feel better! (hehe)