Five Tips to Stop Snoring Tonight

Caught without your favorite anti-snoring device?  Here are five tips to stop snoring tonight when caught in a pinch.

I know how it goes.  For some reason - maybe because you don't hear yourself snore - it's hard to remember to stock up on your nasal strips or your throat spray.  You know that if you snore, your spouse is going to give you a lecture the next morning.

Maybe you're out of town, traveling on business and you left your chin strap at home.  Nothing like the thin walls of a hotel room to make you self conscious about the noises you might make in the middle of the night.

When you're stuck without the remedies you use to stop your snoring, there are a few tricks you can try to keep yourself quiet:

• Sleeping on your back can aggravate many of the conditions that cause snoring.  While laying on your side in bed, try weding pillows behind your back to keep yourself from rolling over.

• Avoid drinking any alcohol between dinner and bedtime.  Alcohol acts like a muscle relaxer and can cause those more relaxed throat muscles to dip into your airway causing you to snore.

• Avoid milk and other dairy products between dinner and bedtime.  Food and liquids that are thick and tend to coat your throat can contribute to snoring at night.

• Drink extra water before bedtime.  Keeping your throat well lubricated, which is the objective of throat sprays, can help ward off some degree of snoring.

• Roll a t-shirt and use it to prop your chin off your chest while you sleep.  The pressure your chin places on your neck when you tuck your head down during the night can restrict your airway.

These five tips to stop snoring aren't meant to be long-term solutions and there is no guarantee they'll work, but if you are out of town or it's late at night and you need to try something - anything - to keep from snoring, then you have nothing to lose by giving them a shot.

If you routinely forget to stock up on your stop snoring products, use these reminder methods to keep you well-supplied:

• Set a recurring reminder on your cell phone once every few weeks (or however often you go through your supplies) to buy more of your anti-snoring products.

• Shop for online discounts and bulk purchases and buy ahead.  Not only can you save money over the long-run but you'll greatly reduce the number of times you run out of your nasal strips or sprays.

• Add buying your products to your "things to do on payday" list.  If you're paid every two weeks, then every two weeks use getting paid to remind you to pick up more of whatever product works for you.

• If you travel a lot for business or pleasure, keep at least a week's worth of your supplies in your suitcase at all times.  Then you'll never have to wonder if you packed what you need or not.

These few tips to stop snoring can keep peace in your household and help you sleep better whether you are at home or on the road.