WEBVTT - Can Side Sleeping Help Prevent Snoring?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works, pay Brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff Lauren vogal bomb here. Almost half of all adults snore.

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<v Speaker 1>Loud and persistent storing may be a symptom of sleep apnea,

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<v Speaker 1>a serious sleep condition that requires medical attention. But is

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<v Speaker 1>it true that most snoring problems can be fixed just

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<v Speaker 1>by sleeping on your side first? A quick snoring primer.

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<v Speaker 1>Snoring is the result of an obstruction of the breathing

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<v Speaker 1>pathways during sleep. As you drift off to sleep, your mouth, tongue,

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<v Speaker 1>and throat relax. The soft tissue in your throat can

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<v Speaker 1>relax to the point that it partially blocks your airway.

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<v Speaker 1>As air passes through this restricted space, it causes the

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<v Speaker 1>tissue to vibrate, producing detail tale rumble. The narrower that

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<v Speaker 1>your airway is, the more forceful the flow of air

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<v Speaker 1>will be, which increases the vibration of the tissue and

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<v Speaker 1>makes your snoring sound even louder. The root causes of

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<v Speaker 1>snoring vary from person to person. Obesity is a common

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<v Speaker 1>underlying reason for storing because at sus weight on the

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<v Speaker 1>neck and chest compresses breathing pathways. Other causes can include allergies,

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<v Speaker 1>they cause congestion, and inflammation that tighten airways in the

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<v Speaker 1>nose and throat, and drinking alcohol before sleep, which relaxes

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<v Speaker 1>the throat muscles. And some people are just born with

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<v Speaker 1>an extra thick soft palate or a low hanging nuvula

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<v Speaker 1>that obstructs airflow to the throat. So where does sleep

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<v Speaker 1>position come into all of this? Sleep experts agree that

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<v Speaker 1>sleeping on your back exacerbates snoring. That's because when you're asleep,

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<v Speaker 1>your tongue, soft palate, and throat muscles automatically relax, and

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<v Speaker 1>if you're sleeping on your back, those relaxed muscles will

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<v Speaker 1>sag downward and backward, increasing the odds of an obstructed airway.

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<v Speaker 1>Sleeping on your side is most effective on true tongue snorers,

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<v Speaker 1>where the chief cause of the obstruction is a relaxed

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<v Speaker 1>tongue blocking your airway, But turning on your side won't

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<v Speaker 1>necessarily solve the snoring problem if it's an allergy or

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<v Speaker 1>obesity issue. The trouble beside sleeping is a cure is

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<v Speaker 1>that unconscious people are terrible at following directions. If you

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<v Speaker 1>are partner has a hard time maintaining a side sleeping position,

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<v Speaker 1>you might try using pillows to prop them up, or

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<v Speaker 1>place a tennis ball under their shirt in the middle

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<v Speaker 1>of their back to remind them to turn over with

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<v Speaker 1>their permission, of course. Today's episode was written by Dave

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<v Speaker 1>Ruse and produced by Tyler Clang. To find brain stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>laptop cases and other brain stuff, check out our shop

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<v Speaker 1>at t public dot com slash brain stuff, and to

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