If you’re looking to stop snoring, it is essential to figure out what exactly is causing you to snore in the first place.
If you know what is causing you to snore, then you can focus on that specific issue and achieve success much faster.
We can determine what’s causing you to snore with a few simple tests.
Tongue Test
The tongue falling back towards the throat at night is one of the leading causes for snoring.
When the tongue falls back, it causes a partial blockage of your airway.
When air tries to pass through your partially blocked airway, it causes the tissue in the back of your throat to vibrate and that’s what produces that horrible snoring sound.
To see whether or not you are a tongue base snorer, stick your tongue out and bite down on it with your teeth to hold it in place.
Now try to make a snoring sound.
If you can’t, then your tongue is the likely cause for your snoring and we recommend using Tongue Stabilizing Device Such as the Better Sleep TSD or a Mandibular Advancement Device (MAD) such as the popular ZQuiet®.
If you can still make a snoring sound with the tongue test then your nose could be the culprit.
Nose Test
Small or collapsing nostrils, nasal stuffiness, deviated septum and allergies can also be the cause of your snoring.
Press your finger against one nostril to keep it closed, close your mouth and inhale through your open nostril.
If it feels like the nostril is collapsing, blocked or if you are making a snoring sound then chances are that you are a nose snorer.
Use a nasal dilator to keep your nostrils nice and open at night. If you are suffering from allergies or sinuses, find suitable treatment for that.
Chin straps also work well with nasal dilators to induce nasal breathing by preventing your mouth from falling open while you sleep.
Nasal breathing during sleep is optimal and reduce the risk of snoring by a lot.
Jaw Test
Open your mouth and make a nice big snoring sound.
Now close your mouth and see if you can still make that sound. If you can’t, then chances are that you are snoring because your mouth falls open at night.
Your mouth falling open at night can be caused by a few different things but the best treatment is to use a MAD device such as ZQuiet® or/and a Chin strap.
