Snoring and Smoking: Is Smoking Ruining Your Sleep?

You probably already know that snoring can be caused by many things. For example, snoring can be caused by genetics, body weight, or age. One thing you may not be aware of is that smoking can make you snore. Yes, there is a real connection here. Just keep reading to find out what that connection is and what you can do about it.

The Connection

Actually, although smoking can make you snore there are several ways it can do this. The first way is quite obvious. Smoking can dry out your throat very quickly. This isn’t a major cause of snoring, but it can contribute to it. The next way is obvious as well.

The second way smoking can cause snoring is by direct irritation. When you smoke, the smoke itself irritates a number of things in your mouth and throat. These include mucus membranes and the bronchial tubes among other things. That may not sound like much, but it is. Let me explain how this irritation causes snoring.

Your airway is not very large to begin with. It doesn’t take a lot for it to be constricted enough for you to notice. That being said, all of that irritation that is caused by cigarette smoke leads to inflammation.

In a small space inflammation is not a good thing. This inflammation is enough to constrict your airway and cause you to snore.

There is actually a third way that smoking is related to snoring. For some people, smoking causes them to actually create more mucus. If you’re producing too much mucus it can take up space in your airway and make you snore.

This third way has a very simple solution believe it or not. If you’re producing too much mucus one thing you can do is reduce the amount of milk you drink. Also, you can start drinking more water. Extra water will help to thin the mucus down. There is no way to get rid of it completely but reducing your milk intake and increasing the amount of water you drink will help.

Solutions

Unfortunately, there isn’t really a quick fix for this issue. Even ex-smokers are more likely to snore than someone who has never smoked. However, just because there isn’t an easy solution to the problem that doesn’t mean that the symptoms cannot be treated.

One thing that you could do is stop smoking but I realize what a challenge that can be and all the things that make quitting hard. Other than that, your best bet is probably a tongue retaining mouthpiece.

This kind of mouthpiece is the best for opening up space through the airway and preventing snoring. This is also the most comfortable kind of mouthpiece. Another thing you might want to look into is exercise. Even just walking or lightly jogging is enough to help tone the muscles in your airway. This can minimize the impact that smoking has on you.

One final thing to think about is fish oil. Fish oil is available in capsules almost everywhere these days. What most people don’t know about it is that it is a natural anti-inflammatory. Taking fish oil every day can help with the inflammation I mentioned above.

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