I’ve been married for several years now and truly hope to spend the rest of my life with my hubby. But there was a time when I honestly thought I have no other choice but ending our marriage. Every morning I wanted to scream just one thing: “Please, stop snoring!”
Someone will say it is silly, someone will say I did not try everything possible (which I literally did!), but the reality is that I faced one huge problem…my husband was snoring really bad!
It was so loud and almost non-stoppable, that I could not fall asleep until 4 am. Waking up the next morning, of course, was horrible – being more tired than I was when I went to bed the night before.
Studies show that partners of millions of snoring people lose up to two hours of sleep every night. In total, this accounts for two years of lost sleep during the average duration of the marriage. Honestly? I felt like I was losing more than 2 hours every night (and sometimes it was like that indeed!).
So here is the list of things that I tried to stop – either to make my husband stop snoring, or to stop my suffering from the very loud sound of his snoring.
Stop snoring by changing sleeping position – FAIL
There are lots of advice all over the web, that you should keep the snoring person away from sleeping on their back. The problem was that my husband was snoring in any position – on his back, on his side, on his stomach. Waking him up and asking to turn to another side helped for a couple of minutes, and then snoring was starting again.
Special anti-snore pillow – FAIL
We bought a specialized pillow that helps people to be fixed in a position that prevents them from snoring. Apparently, this was so uncomfortable, that even my husband, who never had any problems with falling asleep, started to suffer from insomnia.
Anti-Snoring Surgery – FAIL (Never tried and probably won´t)
Somnoplasty is a surgical method for reducing habitual snoring by removing or stiffening tissues of the uvula and soft palate. Sounds scary, right. And it is scary, when you read about all potential side effects, about all the pain that your loved one has to suffer from after the surgery till everything heals. That kind of anti-snoring surgeries cost a lot, but the funny thing is that there is no guarantee that snoring will be cured. So no, we failed on that too.
Stop hearing Snoring with Earplugs – SUCCESS (after many trials and disappointments)
Of course, I also tried to block out the sound of the snoring, that was waking me up. So I bought earplugs from the local drugstore. The usual foam earplugs – they were bright pink and didn´t help at all.
I also tried silicone earplugs that people use for swimming to prevent water get to their ears. Those were better, but I still could not fall asleep, if my husband was already sleeping and snoring.
And then I discovered the best thing since sliced bread – earplugs for concerts, musicians, and motorcycle riders. They look like little plastic spirals that you plug into your ears. As much as I was skeptical, those little devices are indeed capable of blocking the sound of snoring very well. I was wondering, how this can be physically possible, but I still can hear the sound of my alarm clock! I tried different brands and configurations, and right now I am using these High Fidelity Earplugs. They are really doing a great job!
DIY Essential Oil Anti-Snoring spray – SUCCESS
But wait, it is not the end of the story. Sleeping with concert earplugs every night is not the most comfortable thing on earth. Sometimes my ears were aching the next morning, sometimes I felt not refreshed enough. Because, honestly, no earplugs will ever give you 100% silence and will block all snoring sounds. It is a good intermediate solution, but something had to be done with the source of the noisy snoring.
I truly believe in the power of nature, because so many times natural oils helped me out. I decided to find out what oils can be used to at least decrease the severity of snoring. Snoring occurs when airways thin due to weak throat muscles or some other reason. So logically, essential oils that help us to unblock airways when we caught flu (e.g. thyme, peppermint, etc.) should theoretically also help with blocked airways of a snoring person. I did a mixture of 6 drops of three different essential oils (2 drops) each in a 100ml spray bottle and let my husband use this spray every night before going to bed.
I tried out several oils, but these I found the best in bringing the best effect:
- Eucalyptus oil helps to break up the mucus in the respiratory system, including sinuses and the back of the throat.
- Cedarwood oil has a woody smell that can help reduce anxiety and relax muscles. It may help you enter a state of relaxation helpful to sleep.
- Lemon oil has been found to have antispasmodic properties that can help stop snoring. It may also help by reducing anxiety and promoting feelings of well-being.
Did it help? Yes! No, he did not stop to snore completely, but the intensity and the noise became much less. But more importantly, this experiment showed me that natural oils and remedies are the right solutions for this problem.
I am still using my earplugs and Anti-Snoring spray, but I already see the light at the end of the tunnel – I am sure that pretty soon I will be wearing my earplugs only to the concert of my favorite rock band!
If you almost gave up and decided to evict your significant other from the bedroom – maybe first try one of my success finds? As always, stay safe and refreshed after a good portion of calm sleep!
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