**Dear GQ Doc,
How do I stop snoring?
Kate (on behalf of her boyfriend), via email**
For many, the forced subtext is “How do I save my relationship?” Snoring is the nocturnal bane for 40 per cent of UK adults and the architect of relationship breakdowns, lost libidos, daytime sleepiness and irritability. And while the sound of snoring is harsh, droll and trenchant, the physical act of snoring is a paradoxically gentile affair, as the over-relation of your tongue, mouth and throat creates the perfect amphitheatre for air to vibrate over them as you inhale and exhale. Fortunately for us all, snoring is also a condition that has both excellent prevention and cure treatment options.
Step 1: Six ways how to not become a snorer
The first step is about mitigating your risk of becoming a snorer in the first place.
1. Maintain a healthy body weightThis ensures fat doesn’t accumulate around your neck, which can squash your throat.
2. Avoid smokingSmoking causes a relaxation of your throat muscles and damages the blood supply to it.
3. Avoid sedating medicinesSedating antihistamines and sleeping tablets all relax the muscles and collapse your throat.
4. Sleep on your sideMany of us snore more on our backs, as we collapse our throat more. Try taping a tennis ball into the back of a T-shirt so that when you roll onto your back you immediately roll onto your side.
5. Control alcohol consumptionBooze is just another sedating drug and will overly relax everything (yes, everything).
6. Check your shirt collar sizeCollars above 17 inches will be at a higher risk due to having a thicker and heavier neck.
Step 2: Six ways to reverse engineer your snoring
If step one has failed, then step two is about focusing on how to limit the turbulence of your airflow.
1. Try orthopaedic pillowsDesigned not only to support your head and neck, they also keep your jaw open and forward.
2. Ear plugsFor your partner, not you. That really would be the final nail in the relationship coffin.
3. Nasal decongestant sprayEffective for when you have a head cold and need short-term relief from congestion.
4. Snoring devicesFrom mandibular advancement devices (bringing your tongue forward to not block your throat) and chin straps (stopping your mouth falling open) to vestibular shields (forcing you to breathe through your nose) and nasal strips (opening narrow nasal passages) – all can help reduce symptoms. Just make sure you show any partners before rolling over "fully donned".
5. SurgeryWhile rare, it’s an option for extreme cases where anatomical airway issues need correction.
6. Do up the spare roomLife isn’t always pretty.
Most of the above can be done without needing your GP. The times to get them involved are when the basic steps fail; you have signs of the sleep disorder obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), including excessive daytime sleepiness, and prolonged, regular pauses in breathing while sleeping; or your relationship is taking a battering. They can then assess you and, if needed, refer you to a sleep clinic.
Sleep well. (And quietly.)
Dr Nick Knight is a GP. Follow him on Twitter @DrNickKnight.
