I’m lying on the living room floor waiting for my husband to fall asleep so I can crawl back into bed and fall asleep myself. 1 month ago

Been using that Snore Guard for a couple weeks, however the wife says it isn’t working. I’ll be back to the dentist in a couple weeks so he can adjust the thing. He claims it will work after adjustment. 9 months ago

The dentist offers something called a “SnoreGuard” that they say works for small to medium apneas. They took impressions of my teeth, and will send them off to the manufacturer. Will get the results in about 3 weeks. 10 months ago

Doc said he wanted me to see my dentist, who could fit me with one of those mouth guard things. Said he wanted to see how that would work, and if it doesn’t work he’d send me to a Specialist. 11 months ago

Had a great many wires afixed to my bod before trying to go to sleep at the sleep center. Tossed and turned for most of the night, and finally got a couple hours of sleep. Best part was the technician unhooking me from all those wires, and telling me they got some “good data”. Hope to get some feedback in the next couple of weeks. 11 months ago

Going in for a sleep study tonight. Maybe the experts can help me out. 11 months ago

It sounds like a simple goal, but it isn’t.

I have tried taping my mouth shut, but apparently I am quite capable of snoring with my mouth closed.

While exercise is recommended to help stop snoring, it is unlikely that I will do any more exercise other than to meet my walk/yoga/bike goal. I just have to actually meet the standards I have set for that goal.

However, I have read some material that suggests that vocalists are the least prone to snoring. Specific exercises for the mouth and throat to improve muscle tone could probably do no harm and perhaps do some good. It has lead to thoughts of maybe taking vocal lessons again, too. I mentioned it to my husband, and he suggested we take lessons together. These ideas go towards the goal of sing and the goal of strengthen my marriage.

Losing weight is another factor in stopping snoring. Yes, I probably could stand to lose a few, but part of the reason why I weigh what I do is that I have legs like tree trunks and an enormously muscular butt from regularly riding up to the top of the Sammamish Plateau. Inglewood Hill is a 12% grade, and it takes some strength to make it to the top. If my BMI is 26, it’s not because I’m a blubber blob.

Further to losing weight: I would approach a lose weight goal with caution. I am prone to these dire low blood sugar episodes from time to time. I have a distant past of an eating disorder, and have a thousand alarm bells around the idea of dieting and weighing myself. If I decide I’m going to be taking in fewer calories, I will need to plan out how to do that pretty carefully. I might get a consultation with a nutritionist.

I suspect that being overtired is a factor in snoring for me. I often come home, particularly after a long and stressful day at work (plus, then, either the bike ride home or yoga class) and feel like I have been hit with a tire iron. (This has a relationship to the low blood sugar thing, too.) Sometimes then I’ll have a glass of wine with dinner or a beer, and I have read that alcohol usage is also associated with snoring. I could adopt a no alcohol goal. If I do this, then I need to be mindful of the fact that having alcohol in the evenings has other meanings for me. For example, it helps draw a line between being at work and having responsibilities, and being at home, and not having responsibilities. It’s also a reward sometimes for getting through a difficult day. If I do not have any alcohol, then there’s a danger of doing more work after dinner; or feeling like I am insufficiently rewarding myself after a hard day and feeling disgruntled with life. It’s not impossible, it’s just something I need to approach with awareness.

Another factor in snoring appears to be mucus in the sinuses. I am usually not specifically congested per se, but I’m aware that my sinuses are not clear, either. Maybe I’m allergic to something? Maybe a goal to replace the pillows, and keep the area around the bed regularly vacuumed?

Finally, another factor appears to be dehydration. It could be a factor considering both cycling and yoga use up a fair bit of fluids. Simply making sure I have enough water before bedtime – another possible goal – could also help. 19 months ago