Get a Quiet Night's Sleep by Eliminating Snoring

Does your snoring prevent you from sleeping at night? Do you wake up tired and restless? If you answered yes to these questions, you may have a sleep disorder, which is preventing you from getting a good night's sleep. Do not worry, you are not alone. It is estimated that 40 percent of men and 30 percent of women snore while sleeping.

Find out why you are Snoring

The most important thing for you to realize is that there is help available and there are tips that can help you sleep better. The first step that you should take is to try to find a reason for your snoring. You should monitor your snoring to see what your sleep patterns are. Try to note things like, do you sleep on your back, do you sleep with your mouth open or shut, and do you seem to stop breathing while you are snoring. These are important answers to know.

You can make an appointment with your doctor and take along the answers to the above questions. He will be able to completely examination you and rule out any health problem besides your sleep disorder. Your doctor may be able to pinpoint the cause for your snoring. More importantly, he may be able to help you find a treatment plan the will work for you.

Tips to Alleviate Snoring

There are some things you can do at home that may be able to keep your from snoring or reduce your amount of snoring. You should also try to avoid certain foods close to bedtime like dairy products, soymilk, caffeine and alcohol. You should also refrain from taking sleeping pills or antihistamines right before bedtime.

If you sleep on your back, some people have suggested putting a tennis ball down the back of your shirt while you sleep. The idea is that you when you roll over, it will be uncomfortable forcing you will roll back over on your stomach. Some studies have suggested that doing throat exercises and singing throughout the day can reduce your snoring at night.

If these tips are not working for you, there are several medical treatments that are available for you to try. There is the CPAP machine, where you put a mask on while you sleep and it helps you breathe better. There are also several types of nasal strips that you wear while you are sleeping to also help you breathe better during the night. Surgery is another option that many people with sleep disorders try when other options are not working.

Benefits of a Good Night's sleep

The number one benefit of getting a good night's sleep is that it will make you more productive during the day. Studies show that there is a direct link between sleep and a person's productivity throughout the day.  Without a good night's sleep, a person has less energy and they are not as alert and focused. These are the three key ingredients to productivity and without them a person's performance may be at their best level.

The benefits and necessity of sleep was obvious even to Shakespeare 400 years ago and has been recognized by human cultures throughout time. The U.S department of Health and Human services today recommends that most adults get from 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night. A more typical amount however, is 6.5 hours, which is plenty enough to function but you should realize that higher amounts of sleep are correlated with

• decreased chance of sickness
• healthier weight
• lighter mood
• healthy skin
• not having bags under your eyes

All of these are essential to looking your best, but the healing power of sleep is not limited to your complexion. Sleep is also associated with:

• clarity of thought, better grades, and higher quality work
• lower risk of blood pressure and diabetes
• lower risk of injury "drowsy driving" is responsible for thousands of deaths every year

The amount of sleep recommended varies across age groups; kids need even more than 7-8 hours. The Government endorsed values, backed up by research conducted by the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, are: 9 hours for teens, 10 to 12 hours for school aged and preschool children, and for the koala-like newborns, around 16 to 18 hours of sleep every day. For these youngsters, sleep is safest when it is done on their backs- if you let them sleep on their bellies that will increase the occurrence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

There are other benefits that you will receive once you start having a good night's sleep. Since you will not be tired anymore, any depression or anxiety problems may diminish. Your mood will lift and your attitude is likely to become more positive.

Spending your nights not able to sleep and your days being tired can be a stressful way to live and over time it will wear you out. But once you begin getting a good night's sleep, you will be amazed at the difference it will make in your life.