Certain positions induce some people more likely to snore. If you sleep on your back, for example, the base of your tongue and soft palate breakdown to the back wall of your throat, causing a vibrating voice while you snooze.

An easy fix? Sleep on your side! But since we’re beasts of habit, changing your sleep stance can require a little training and a few special tricks.

“A body pillow( a full-length pillow that supports your entire body) offer an easy fix, ” says Daniel P. Slaughter, MD, an otolaryngologist and snoring expert at Capital Otolaryngology in Austin, TX. “It enables you to maintain sleeping on your side and can make a dramatic difference.”

Don’t have a body pillow? Just tape tennis balls to the back of your pajamas! This willstop you from sleeping on your back, according to Sudhansu Chokroverty, MD, FRCP, FACP, and program director for Clinical Neurophysiology and Sleep Medicine at JFK Medical Center.( To learn how to pull off the tennis ball trick, check out the video at the bottom of this post .)

Snoring starts in your nose, so maintaining nasal passageways clear and open are a huge assist. It permits air to move through slower, Slaughter says. “Imagine a narrow garden hose with water operating through. The narrower the hose, the faster the water rusheds through.”

If your nose is clogged( i.e. narrowed) due to a cold, allergies, or other blockage, the fast-moving air will create snoring.

To solve the problem, try using nasal strips or taking a hot, steamy rain before bed to clear your nose.

Believe it or not, your pillow is a magnet for dust, which is an allergenthat canmake your nose stuffy.

To avoid this, washyour pillowcases weekly; to genuinely air them out, rinse them on the air fluff cycle once every couple weeks. Replace them wholly every six months to maintain dust mites and allergens at bay.

Also, avoid expensive pillows that claim they avoid snoring. “They may work if it props up your head, which fixes nasal issues, but can cause neck ache, ” Chokroverty says.

Practicing good sleep hygiene entails avoiding poor sleep habits. For instance, running long hours without enough sleep means that when you finally make the sack, you’re overly tired.

“You sleep hard and deep, and the muscles become floppier, which creates snoring, ” Slaughter says.

Its also wise to avoid alcohol, muscle relaxants, and certain medications to avoid snoring. These things can relax your throat or tongue muscles, causing you to snore.

“Drinking alcohol four to five hours before sleeping induces snoring worse, ” Chokroverty says. “People who don’t usually snore will snore after drinking alcohol.”

A good way of maintaining your nasal passages open is by drinking a lot of liquids.

“Secretions in your nose and soft palate become stickier when you’re dehydrated, ” Slaughter says. “This can create more snoring.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, humen require roughly 13 beakers( 3 liters) of total beverages a day and women require about 9 beakers( 2.2 liters) of total beverages a day.

Though slender people snore too, weight loss can eliminate or help reduce snoring for some people especially if someone recently gained weight and simply began snoring.

“If you gain weight around your neck, it squeezes the internal diameter of the throat, making it more likely to breakdown during sleep, triggering snoring, ” Slaughter says.

Weight gain may also lead to sleep apnea, which can be deadly.

Keep in intellect that snoring isn’t simply vexing; it can indicate a serious underlying health issue. If you or someone you love is a chronic snorer, it’s important to have it checked out by a medical professional or perhaps consider expending the night at a sleep clinic for observation.

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