Did you know that the wrong mattress can make your snoring worse? We’re not kidding, and unless you’re on a mission to beat the 60+-year-old grandmother who – according to the Guinness Book of World Records – has the loudest snore recorded (equivalent to a jet flying over your home), we’d suggest you read this best mattress for snoring guide!
Jet engines aside, the wrong mattress not only worsen your snoring but it can also cause back pain, trigger allergies, and lead to poor sleep. If you think your current mattress isn’t helping your snoring or is making things a lot louder, it’s time to invest in a mattress that helps with snoring and promotes a good night’s sleep. Surprisingly, very few people consider the importance of choosing a mattress that works for them instead of against them.
The right mattress won’t only help you fall and stay asleep, but it will also help your partner and anyone else within listening range get a good night’s sleep! In short, the best mattress for snoring will not only save your relationships but your life too.
Read on if you want your nights to be more about sleeping deeply than making sounds. Your health, partner and even neighbors will thank you for it!
What Makes People Snore?
Snoring may be common – about 90 million Americans suffer from it – but most of us don’t know why we snore. Snoring is essentially the sound or vibration that signals that your breathing is obstructed. This can happen when there is some kind of blockage or when your airways are narrower than usual.
A number of things can cause someone to snore. These may include some basic factors such as bulky throat issues, poor muscle tone, a long or soft palate or uvula as well as the use of antidepressants or other muscle relaxants.
Other things that increase the risk of snoring:
- Drinking alcohol
- Being middle-aged
- Being male
- Sleeping on your back
A blocked nose is the most common cause for snoring, but there are factors that can worsen your snoring. For example, having a cold or allergies can cause nasal congestion and the swelling of the throat, which lead to snoring. The good news is that this kind of snoring usually goes away on its own once the infection is gone.
Other conditions may cause snoring, so let’s take a closer look at what they are and what you can do to get a better night’s sleep – and your partner the peace they deserve!
Sleep Position: Can It Make You Snore?
Do you sleep on your side, stomach, or back? Or maybe you’re a combination sleeper – someone who switches their sleeping positions throughout the night. Whatever your preferred sleep position, know this: the way you sleep has a huge role to play in your body and brain’s abilities to restore and repair themselves.
Your sleep position can either support this process or get in the way of it. The wrong sleep position doesn’t only prevent you from waking up refreshed but it can also lead to you waking up with aches and pains. Not cool, right? But guess what? The wrong sleep position can also cause your night time noises. By this, we mean snoring!
Curious to know how different sleeping positions work and how you can minimize or eliminate your snoring with the right sleeping position? Let’s dive in!
Sleeping On Your Back
To start off, sleeping on your back is super beneficial. Not only does this position help keep your spine aligned, but it can also help reduce neck and back pain, prevent tension headaches, and improve breathing. All great benefits.
But, and it’s a big but, sleeping on your back can lead to snoring or even cause your airway to completely collapse i.e. sleep apnea. How does this work, exactly? When you sleep on your back, the base of your tongue as well as soft palate relax or collapse to the back wall of your throat. This in turn narrows your airway and leads to the noisy and vibrating sound known as snoring.
When these muscles relax, your airway is not only narrowed but it can also close, which is why many people wake up gasping for air. For some, they may stop breathing altogether for a few seconds while sleeping. The relaxing or collapsing of your tongue and soft palate to the back wall of your throat is no different to someone placing a pillow over your mouth. Either way, your ability to breathe is restricted temporarily. When these restrictions become more regular and last for longer periods of time, they can lead to sudden death.
Moral of the story? If you snore regularly or find yourself waking up feeling short of breath, it may be time to switch things up!
Sleeping On Your Side
Unlike sleeping on your back, which narrows or closes your airway, sleeping on your side can do wonders for your snoring and your overall health. How so? Sleeping on your side prevents your tongue and soft palate from relaxing or collapsing to the back of the wall, which is important for keeping your airway open.
Not only does this reduce snoring but it also ensures your breathing isn’t interrupted or momentarily cut off. In fact, sleeping on your side is considered the best sleeping position for preventing snoring.
But it’s not only about your sleeping position. It’s also about the type of mattress you sleep on. That’s right, the right mattress can also ensure that your nighttime sounds are reduced if not completely eliminated.
Not all mattresses are created equal, so what exactly do you need from a mattress? Here’s what to look for:
There are plenty of mattresses out there that are designed to help prevent side sleepers from snoring. As a snorer, what you need is a mattress that will prevent your hips from sinking as this can cause both back and hip pain.
You also need your mattress to be medium-soft. This is important as this firmness level (not too soft and not too firm) allows for your hips and shoulders to sink in a bit. This is enough to give you the support you need (e.g., help with spine alignment) while providing pressure relief around your hips, shoulders and back.
Sleeping On Your Stomach
Generally speaking, sleeping on your stomach isn’t recommended as it’s not the best position for overall health. For example, sleeping on your stomach can lead to neck, shoulder and back pain.
However, John Hopkins Medicine and others state that sleeping on the stomach can reduce snoring and help with sleep apnea.
As a stomach sleeper, you need to be very careful about the type of mattress you choose. It’s important that your mattress is slightly firm so it can provide the right support for your midsection and hips, which is important for preventing sinkage. The right mattress should offer pressure relief without causing your spine to be aligned with the rest of your torso.
Though it’s recommended by some to sleep on your stomach to reduce the likelihood of snoring, it’s important to not sleep with your face on the mattress. This can lead to your airway being blocked – something you want to avoid at all costs!
As a stomach sleeper, you’d need to find a mattress that offers the right support for all your needs. This means that it’s crucial to choose a mattress that has the right firmness level so your head and neck are properly supported. On the other hand, you also want to ensure that your mattress is soft enough to cushion and contour your body.
But it’s not just your mattress that you should pay attention to. Your pillow counts too. You don’t want a thick pillow that will push your head forward and cause you to snore. What you need is a soft pillow or no pillow at all!
Can A Bad Mattress Cause Snoring?
The short answer is yes! The long answer is that a bad mattress causes snoring as a mattress that lacks proper support doesn’t help your body stay aligned. This support is important as poor support or no support causes your head, neck and jaw to drop forward. As you already know, this leads to the narrowing of the airway and triggers snoring.
So the right mattress is absolutely necessary to avoid poor support that not only leads to snoring but health issues such as back, neck, hip or shoulder pain. When looking for the best mattress for snoring, there are a few things you should consider.
Firstly, it’s important to understand that your mattress plays a key role in reducing or worsening your snoring. Once you know this, you can look for a mattress that will provide the support you need to reduce snoring, not increase it!
As previously mentioned, this includes choosing a mattress that’s slightly firm so your body’s supported in the right places and cushioned and contoured in other places. Though it can be tempting to buy any mattress that’s slightly firm, you want to focus on choosing a mattress that’s specifically designed to reduce snoring.
This means that your mattress should be working for you as you sleep and keeping your body and head supported so you can stay asleep. Don’t forget that in addition to support, you also want your mattress to be comfortable!
Additional Products For Snoring Relief
Without question, the right mattress can do wonders for your snoring. But here’s the thing; a mattress alone isn’t the only way to get relief from snoring. In addition to your mattress, you can increase your chances of reducing or eliminating snoring with these anti-snoring products.
Let’s take a look at what these products are and how they can – alongside your mattress – help you produce less nighttime sounds.
Pillows
Did you know there’s such a thing as anti-snoring pillows? These pillows are designed to help you snore less – something we know you want to reduce. But how do these pillows work, exactly?
Anti-snoring pillows are designed to provide additional support for your neck and head, keep your airway open and promote spinal alignment. The great thing about anti-snoring pillows is that they offer different support and firmness levels as well as different sizes and shapes.
These are important as you can choose your pillow according to your preferences or needs. You can even get more than one style, size or shape and experiment!
If you want a super supportive, breathable and superior pillow, check out our cooling gel pillow that comes with a washable tencel cover. Designed to give you comfort where you need it, the pillow’s exclusive Dough® formula conforms to your natural curves for personalized comfort.
Add to this, the pillow’s cooling liquid Z™ Gel layer, which gets rid of body heat so you can sleep cooler. The soft removable and washable Tencel™ mesh also ensures that this eco-friendly fabric regulates moisture.
Mattress Toppers
Another way you can help reduce your snoring is by getting a mattress topper. This is a layer that goes over a mattress for added comfort. Depending on the topper you get, you can also benefit from its pressure relieving features. For example, a memory foam mattress topper is great as it molds to your shape in order to ease pressure.
In addition to memory foam, mattress toppers can also have latex, fiber fill, feathers, and gel memory foam fillings. Our custom Brookside memory foam topper with organic cotton is a great example. Using a unique design, this luxurious mattress topper provides maximum pressure point relief, which will compliment your already supportive and comfortable mattress.
If you’re often on the road with your RV or truck or on water with your boat, then you’ll love our 3 LB Gel Custom memory foam mattress topper! This eco-friendly and breathable mattress topper is great for hot sleepers. But what makes this topper important is that as memory foam, it offers the support you need to reduce snoring.
Humidifiers
When it comes to reducing your nighttime sounds, a humidifier may not be the first thing that comes to mind. But guess what? A humidifier can help with snoring if your snoring is due to dryness of your nose, sinuses, lips, etc. This can happen when you live in a dry climate that lacks moisture in the air. When your breathing pathways become congested, this can make breathing more labored and trigger snoring.
What exactly is a humidifier, and how does it help? A humidifier is a device that emits steam or water vapor into the air to increase moisture. With moisture in the air, it becomes easier to breathe, which is important for preventing snoring.
While it’s not guaranteed that an air humidifier will help reduce your snoring – especially if snoring due to an underlying cause – it’s something that can greatly help.
Air Purifiers
Did you know that according to the Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air is 2 – 5 times more polluted than outdoor?! Poor air quality is linked to many health issues including the following:
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat
- Fatigue
- Respiratory diseases
- Heart disease
- Cancer
That’s a pretty scary list, no? The good news is that you can minimize the risks associated with poor air quality by using an air purifier. As the name suggests, an air purifier is a device that’s designed to, well, purify the air! If you want to get rid of indoor impurities such as dust, odors, smoke, etc, then an air purifier can help.
Not all air purifiers are created equal and if you suffer from asthma or allergies or simply want to keep your indoor air clean, consider an air purifier with a HEPA filter. This type may be beneficial for removing fine airborne particles.
Keep in mind that snoring can be triggered by your environment. This is why it’s important to pay attention to the different culprits that may be triggering your snoring. The sooner you do this, the sooner you can snore less and breathe more!
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Machine
We’ve previously mentioned that CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine is a possible treatment option for those with sleep apnea. Though not everyone who snores has sleep apnea, snoring is a very common symptom of this disorder.
If you have sleep apnea, a CPAP machine can help by delivering a constant flow of pressurized air to your airway. This constant air pressure helps keep your airways open so that you snore less, and sleep better.
While considered the “gold standard” for sleep apnea treatment, a CPAP machine has disadvantages you should keep in mind. For example, the machine’s air can lead to dry mouth or nose, nasal congestion, nose bleeds and discomfort. For many, sleeping with a mask or tube can make them feel claustrophobic or trigger anxiety.
But wait – there’s more! CPAP machines are pretty noisy, which is not helpful if you and your partner are trying to sleep! A CPAP machine is usually noisy if the machine is faulty (a common problem) or it has dirty filters. So while you do want to reduce snoring with the help of a device like this, ask yourself whether it’s worth all its cons!
Nasal Strips
Designed for those who snore due to a blocked nose, nasal strips offer a promising solution to those who snore. Nasal strips are plastic adhesive strips that are worn over the bridge of the nose. They have bands that open the nasal passages, which may increase airflow and thus help reduce snoring.
For example, the Breathe Right nasal strips widen the nasal passage, which is important for improving airflow. [8]
It’s important to note that how well nasal strips work depends on different factors. For example, they may help reduce snoring for some people and not for others based on the cause and extent of their obstruction.
While nasal strips don’t cure snoring, especially if there’s an underlying cause, they are – for some people – an affordable and noninvasive way to reduce snoring.
Nasal Dilators
The world of snoring is full of weird and wonderful things. Nasal dilators are one example of weirdness combined with wonderfulness! There are two types of nasal dilators: external nasal dilators that pull from the outside, like the nasal strips above, and internal devices that push from the inside.
The external nasal dilators work by pulling the nostrils and sides of the nose open to make more space on the inside. If your snoring is caused by a blocked or narrow nasal airway, nasal dilators could help by opening the nostril or nasal passage to improve airflow through your nose.
In a comparison study, researchers found that internal nasal dilators such as those from Nas-air® worked better than external ones (from Breathe Right®) at reducing snoring and improving overall sleep quality.
Mouthpieces
Also called mouthguards, mouthpieces can be helpful in reducing snoring. There are two categories of mouthpieces: Mandibular advanced devices (MADs) or Tongue retaining devices (TRDs).
But how are these different? The first category, MADs, are designed to fit inside the mouth and move your jaw forward while you sleep. This position helps open up your airway so you can breathe better and in turn, snore less.
The second category, TRDs, is designed to hold the tongue forward (hence the name, tongue retaining device!) during sleep so it doesn’t block the airway. This is important as the tongue falling into the back of the throat is common for back sleepers who snore.
For those with chronic snoring issues or sleep apnea, these mouthpieces may offer some relief and help reduce snoring. However, these aren’t sustainable solutions as they do not address the cause of the snoring but rather treat the symptoms.
Having said that, mouthpieces can be useful devices to have in your snoring arsenal so don’t write them off just yet!
Palatal Implants
If your snoring is due to structural problems in your throat such as having soft palate and uvula, then implants may help. We’ve previously mentioned that a long soft palate narrows the opening of the nose to the throat whereas an enlarged uvula leads to more obstruction on the airway.
To prevent this from happening, an intervention like having palatal implants may be worth considering. These implants work by changing the characteristics of the soft tissue of the palate by lifting and stiffening it, which changes how air flows through the nose and mouth, and into the lungs.
Though a CPAP machine is often recommended for those suffering from snoring or who have sleep apnea, not everyone is comfortable wearing the device and putting up with its noise and restrictions.
So a palatal implant may be a better option and treatment for some people as it can reduce the severity of snoring. Research shows palatal implants are simple, fast and effective in treating snoring.
Decongestants or Antihistamines
Nasal congestion – due to colds or allergies – is one of the most common reasons people snore. Think about it. Your nostrils and nasal passage are super small and when this area has inflammation due to allergies, you’ll feel stuffy. With allergies, the congestion of the smallest part of your airway anatomy (your nostrils and nasal passage) will not only lead to snoring but also restrict breathing. As you can imagine, this has the potential to become more serious and lead to sleep apnea.
If your snoring is allergy induced, what you need is something that can help with your congested nose. Two of the most common ones that can help are decongestants and antihistamines.
Decongestants are a type of medicine that can help reduce the swelling in the nasal passageways. They do this by shrinking the blood vessels. This in turn improves airflow so you can breathe easier and snore less!
As for antihistamines, they’re medicines that are often used to relieve symptoms of allergies. They work by blocking the body from releasing histamine – a chemical the body releases in response to an allergy. Antihistamines are therefore taken to prevent this chemical reaction that leads to symptoms such as sneezing, congestion, itchy nose, etc.
When Snoring Becomes A Problem
We know that snoring is annoying but most of us don’t know the sneaky link between snoring and serious underlying conditions. Given that snoring affects 57% of men, 40% of women and up to 27% of children, it may be time to take this annoying sound seriously.
Snoring once in a while or regular snoring with no interruptions to your breathing or sleep quality (or that of your partner’s) is nothing to worry about. But loud regular snoring can seriously impact your sleep and quality of life.
Sleep deprivation aside, snoring can be a sign of sleep apnea – a sleep disorder that not only raises the risk of obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and heart attack, but also leads to sudden death.
If you notice (when you sleep) the symptoms we mentioned earlier such as loud snoring, taking shallow breaths, gasping for air (or choking), having breathing pauses that last more than 10 seconds at a time, then it’s important to see your healthcare provider.
Other symptoms we mentioned that you’ll notice include daytime fatigue, dry mouth, morning headaches, depression and daytime sleepiness. All these are also important signs to watch out for.
Start Getting REM Sleep With The Right Mattress
Like your bedroom, your mattress should be inviting, safe and comfortable. A mattress that strikes the right balance between support, comfort and safety. In this best mattress for snoring guide, we’ve already shared how a saggy mattress doesn’t only promote or increase snoring but that it can also cause pain and aches.
What about the right mattress? As a snorer, (or someone who’s forced to sleep next to one!) choosing the right mattress is key for promoting quality sleep and overall health. The best mattress for snoring is one that strikes a balance between support, comfort and safety so you can sleep soundly and quietly!
Having said that, it’s important to remember that while a new mattress can help reduce snoring and promote good sleep, it’s not designed to solve underlying health issues such as sleep apnea. For this, you need to speak to your healthcare provider to understand what’s causing your sleep apnea before seeking proper treatment.
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