Snoring affects a large number of people and for a significant number of these individuals find that it causes them particular problems. However, finding ways to stop snoring is not as difficult as you might think. In fact there are a number of treatments available, many of which have been shown to be highly effective.

But let us consider firstly how snoring occurs. Basically, when we are awake the muscles in the airway are kept taut and free from obstruction. However, when are asleep these muscles relax causing the amount of space available for the air to pass through to be reduced. For some people the amount of space is reduced so much that the air passing through causes vibrations in the soft tissues. There are certain factors that can increase the chances of this occurring - examples of these include sleeping on your back, being overweight and use of alcohol.

Many treatments for snoring tend to focus on the fact that whether or not people snore depends on how people breathe when they are asleep. Individuals who breathe through their nose when they are asleep do not tend to snore. The reason for this is that the nasal passages gently guide the inhaled air through the airway reducing the chances of vibrations occurring in the soft tissues. Breathing the mouth on the other hand tends to mean that the air hits the back of the throat full on which means that the vibrations that lead to snoring are more likely.

Some of the more straightforward snoring treatments work by simply aiming to hold open the nasal passages to assist breathing through the nose. These include nasal dilators which are small devices that fit just inside the nostrils in order to hold them open to improve nasal breathing. Another option is a chinstrap which fits around the head and under the chin in order to hold the mouth closed forcing the wearer to breathe through their nose.

A less conventional, but highly effective treatment for snoring, is hypnosis. This works by training the sufferer to tense up their muscles while they are asleep and therefore keeping the airway clear. Hypnosis for snoring can be administered by a trained hypnotherapist or self-administered. Another, somewhat cheaper option, is to purchase a CD or download a MP3 recording, which can also be a highly effective solution.

Whichever solution you pursue to treat your snoring, you should make sure that you give it sufficient opportunity to work before simply rejecting and moving onto the next one. You may need to give a solution a number of nights before you get used to it and you are able to get a good night's sleep again.