Snoring Stops Here
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Murray Grossan, MD. About the author: Dr. Grossan is an otolaryngologist and head and neck surgeon with the Tower Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and the founder of the Web based Grossan Sinus & Health Institute (http://www.grossaninstitute.com). He is author of Free Yourself from Sinus and Allergy Problems Permanently. |
The purpose of this program is to reduce snoring in order to prevent it becoming a serious cause of illness.
Snoring can lead to hypertension and Acid Reflux. It can lead to Diabetes and overweight and even heart disease. Snoring with next day fatigue can lead to auto, train and industrial accidents. At least 1/3 of auto and industrial accidents are due to next day fatigue
Snoring is contagious. The partner get it too!d
The following program has been used on many patients of Tower ENT in Los Angeles and is based on dozens of scientific studies, some of which are added here.
The Snoring Program is Essentially:
- Clear the nasal blockage with Hydro Pulse Nasal Irrigation
- Clear the swollen throat blockage by Hydro Pulse Throat Irrigation
- Correct weak throat muscles that cause or contribute to the snoring with throat exercises.
- Open the nasal valve for better breathing in sleep
- Sleep on left side if possible – here the tongue falls forward.
Directions
- Attach the nasal tip to the Hydro Pulse. Add 500 ml of warm water and one packet of Breathe.ease XL. Irrigate approximately 200 ml on each nostril. Do this 2x a day until nose is entirely clear. No need to continue once nose is clear.
- Attach the throat irrigator tip to the Hydro Pulse. Fill the basin with 500 ml of water. Salt is optional. Lay the tip gently on the right tongue, parallel to the length of the tongue, and direct the stream to just behind the last tooth. Lean into the sink. The pulsing stream will massage the right tonsil area as well as other areas of the throat. After about 250 ml, flip the tip over, move to the left tongue, direct the stream to just behind the left last tooth. Best to do this 2x a day.
- Get stronger throat muscles by voice exercises 5 minutes 3x a day.
The exercises for stronger throat muscles should be done for 5 minutes 3x a day. If you do them more often, that works even better.
The Throat Exercises (Oropharyngeal Exercises)
These throat exercises reduce snoring. Think of doing these as doing weight lifting to get rid of flab that hangs from a weak arm
Throat Exercises:
- Place tongue hard against upper teeth and pronounce the vowels loudly many times. A, E, I, O, and U. for a minute
- Now force tongue against middle of hard plate and say the vowels loudly for a minute
- Now do this with tongue pressed against back of hard plate for a minute
- Push the tip of the tongue against the hard palate: slide the tongue backward for a minute
- Lift the entire tongue against the palate repeatedly for a minute
- Force the back of the tongue against the floor of the mouth while keeping the tip of the tongue against the lower incisor teeth – for a minute
- Elevate the soft plate and uvula while saying the vowels for a minute
- Blow up a balloon as forcefully as possible about 3x a day
Do these exercises 3 times a day for five minutes.
Vibrating the throat muscles is also helpful. Hum “oooommm.” Feel the throat vibrate. Hum the “Star Spangled Banner.”
Gently lift the tip of your nose up. Does that improve your breathing at night? If so, use ½ inch medical grade tape to hold it up in sleep. Start from under the nose, run it up over the top of the nose in the midline, and secure the tape between the eyes.
Snoring Is Contagious:
When the partner is kept awake from the snoring sound, next morning there is fatigue from poor sleep. They will eat extra cookies for energy, gradually develop fat deposits in the throat, lead to snoring, and the more they snore, the less sleep, the more cookies.
How to Lose Weight
It is very difficult to lose weight when you snore and lose sleep. In the morning, you may be tired, but must get to work. So, you eat extra cookies all day to keep the energy going. Once you quit snoring, and awaken refreshed with energy, it is much easier to lose weight.
Prevent Accidents:
The car that crosses the median divider and crashes into the bus. The train operator who didn’t slow down on the curve. The driver who smashed directly into the car that was legally stopped. The truck driver who didn’t break going down the hill. Many of these accidents are related to drivers/ operators who had fatigue due to poor sleep.
Journal References:
Special thanks to Steven L Parks M.D. whose book, Sleep Interrupted gives excellent snoring tips. For further insight on snoring, do get his book.
Benglsson C. Impact of nasal obstruction on sleep quality. Eur Arch Otorhin. 2014. May 5
Collop, N. (2007). The effect of obstructive sleep apnea on chronic medical disorders. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine , 74(1), 72–78
Davidson, T. M. (2003). The Great Leap Forward: the anatomic basis for the acquisition of speech and obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep Medicine ,4(3), 185–194.
Fairbanks, D., Mickelson, S., & Woodson, BT. (2003). Snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea . Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Gold, A. R., Dipalo, F., Gold, M. S., & O’Hearn, D. (2003). The symptoms and signs of upper airway resistance syndrome: a link to the functional somatic syndromes. Chest , 123(1), 87–95.
Gami, A. S., Howard, D. E., Olson, E. J., & Somers, V. K. (2005). Day-night pattern of sudden death in obstructive sleep apnea. The New England Journal of Medicine , 352(12), 1206–1214.
Gami, A. S., Howard, D. E., Olson, E. J., & Somers, V. K. (2005). Day-night pattern of sudden death in obstructive sleep apnea. The New England Journal of Medicine , 352(12), 1206–1214.
Guilleminault, C., Stoohs, R., Clerk, A., Cetel, M., & Maistros, P. (1993). A cause of excessive daytime sleepiness. The upper airway resistance syndrome. Chest , 104(3), 781–787.
Lewin, D. S., Rosen, R. C., England, S. J., & Dahl, R. E. (2002). Preliminary evidence of behavioral and cognitive sequelae of obstructive sleep apnea in children. Sleep Medicine , 3(1), 5–13.
Lorenzi-Filo, Geraldo. Effects of Oropharyngeral Exercises on Snoring. Chest 2015
Shamsuzzaman, A. S., Gersh, B. J., & Somers, V. K. (2003). Obstructive sleep apnea: implications for cardiac and vascular disease. Journal of the AMA, 290(14), 1906–1914.
For more information, visit:
www.grossaninstitute.com
www.ent-consult.com
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