Snoring should improve if you add spoonful of food to bedtime routine

Taking a spoonful of honey from your kitchen cupboard before you sleep could be the answer to eliminating snoring. This golden superfood could create a more peaceful environment for those who struggle with snoring or find it difficult to sleep next to someone who does.

While there are many remedies out there, sleep experts suggest that one surprisingly simple yet powerful solution is to have a spoonful of honey. This sweet treat has impressive anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties that can help reduce snoring.

Honey acts as a soothing agent for the throat, decreasing the vibrations that result in those annoying sounds. With a more relaxed and less inflamed throat, your airways can remain more open, significantly reducing the likelihood of snoring.

The remarkable anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties of honey also relieve congestion in your airways, reducing swelling in your throat. You could enjoy a spoonful of honey straight up or stir it into a warm cup of water, chamomile tea, or ginger tea after dinner and before bedtime. This sets up a calming evening routine that encourages relaxation and unwinding, reports Leicestershire Live.

Honey provides numerous health benefits, including antioxidants, cough relief, sore throat alleviation, burn healing, and wound recovery. It also helps lower blood pressure and strengthens your immune system.

Honey, particularly the darker varieties, is rich in polyphenols—potent antioxidants that can enhance blood antioxidant levels when consumed in moderation. Several natural remedies could potentially alleviate snoring.

Essential oils such as eucalyptus and peppermint, for example, can help clear your nasal passages. Consider using a diffuser in your bedroom or adding these oils to a warm bath before bedtime.

Incorporating anti-inflammatory foods into your diet, like turmeric or omega-3-rich foods like salmon, may help reduce throat inflammation and decrease your chances of snoring. Other beneficial habits include maintaining a regular sleep schedule, staying hydrated, and avoiding heavy meals and alcohol before sleep, which can help minimise snoring and improve overall sleep quality.

However, honey isn’t a guaranteed cure-all for snoring. If you’re dealing with significant snoring issues, it’s advisable to consult a healthcare professional for an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

Other natural strategies to curb snoring include maintaining a healthy weight, sleeping on your side, elevating your head while sleeping, and ensuring adequate hydration to prevent thick mucus formation in the throat, which can increase the likelihood of snoring.

Snoring and its causes:

Snoring, which can disrupt a good night’s sleep, occurs primarily due to the vibration of throat tissues that relax during sleep, leading to partial blockage of the airway. Muscles in the soft palate, tongue and throat slacken when you’re asleep, causing airways to narrow and forcing air through more vigorously.

There are various reasons for snoring, such as:

• Being overweight or obese.
• Pregnancy.
• Allergies.
• Asthma.
• Congestion from colds or the flu.
• Nasal deformities (such as a deviated septum or nasal polyps).
• Enlarged tonsils or adenoids.
• A long soft palate or long uvula.
• Drinking alcohol.
• Muscle relaxants and other drugs.
• Smoking.
• Ageing.
• Sleep position (usually sleeping on your back).

Is there a difference between mere snoring and sleep apnoea?

While snoring might simply indicate common conditions like allergies or asthma, it may also be an early warning sign of something significantly more serious: obstructive sleep apnoea is marked by pauses in breathing while sleeping. This can lead to disturbingly loud snores or choking sounds as sufferers try to catch their breath, not to mention oxygen shortage and frequent waking spells.

For some with severe sleep apnoea, these breathing stoppages could occur hundreds of times in one night or even during brief daytime naps. The disorder is linked to several health risks, including high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.

Symptoms of sleep apnoea, according to the NHS, are usually observed during sleep, encompassing:

• breathing stopping and starting
• making gasping, snorting or choking noises
• waking up a lot
• loud snoring

Throughout the daytime, symptoms could also involve:

• feel very tired
• find it hard to concentrate
• have mood swings
• have a headache when you wake up

The NHS suggests: “It can be hard to tell if you have sleep apnoea. It may help to ask someone to stay with you while you sleep so they can check for the symptoms.”

Sleep apnoea has been connected to:

• obesity
• having a large neck
• getting older – although children and young adults can also get it
• having other family members with sleep apnoea
• smoking and drinking alcohol
• having large tonsils or adenoids
• sleeping on your back
• a condition called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

The NHS further advises: “See a GP if you have any of the main symptoms of sleep apnoea. If someone else has seen you have the symptoms, it can help to bring them with you to the GP. Sleep apnoea can be serious if it’s not diagnosed and treated.”