Why Most Snoring Remedies Don't Work

bariatric surgery cpap diet elimination diet estrogen exercise laser therapy mandibular advancement devices nasal clips nasal strips obstructive sleep apnea over-the-counter devices snoring surgery weight loss May 27, 2023

In the United States, between 50 million to 70 million people suffer from decreased quality of life because of sleep disorders. These conditions include snoring, which is also usually a sign of other health issues. This explains why the anti-snoring industry in the country was worth 1 billion dollars in 2022 alone. Considering sleep disorders are on the rise, this market is expected to grow further within the next decade.¹ However, most snoring remedies today fail to solve the problem completely and permanently. In this article, we'll look at various solutions to snoring and why they don't work:

Surgery
Laser Therapy
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Machines
Over-the-Counter Devices
Weight Loss

Now let's explore the mechanisms behind these remedies, plus the factors that make them ineffective.

Surgery

In general, surgical treatments address severe snoring by making the airways wide open. They can also make the airway tissues rigid and less prone to vibration. These changes are achieved by removing or moving certain sections of the mouth, throat, or nose. Some procedures involve adding artificial parts to the mouth.²

Surgery has various disadvantages though. First, it is the most expensive remedy for snoring. Second, it causes pain, soreness, and infection for a few weeks. Other side effects, such as breathing difficulty and voice changes, last for a longer time. Third, surgery — despite being invasive and costly — can fail to treat snoring for good. A study showed that for 43 percent of patients, snoring improved for just two years after their procedures. In addition, 24 percent saw no improvements at all.³

Laser Therapy

Another snoring treatment uses non-invasive laser pulses to heat the connective tissue deep inside the mouth. The heat from the laser both remodels and produces collagen. In effect, the tissue lining the airway gets stronger. The airway thus becomes less capable of vibrating and collapsing.⁴

Laser therapy consists of three sessions over a two-month period. Although treatment costs less than surgery, the price is still too high for many people. When it comes to side effects, patients reported a mild sore or dry throat for a few days. Some patients also had a different feeling in their palate, while others developed mouth sores. As for results, they last for just up to a year. What's more, a study revealed that laser therapy improved snoring by an average of only 65 percent. In another study, bedroom partners did not find any huge difference in the patients' snoring after they have completed the sessions.^4,5

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machines

CPAP devices first take in, filter, and pressurize room air. The air then goes through a tube and into a mask sealed around the sleeping person's face. Ultimately, the machines keep the airways open by making air flow continuously through the nose and mouth.⁶ CPAP is considered more effective than other snoring remedies.

On the downside, people often have to take part in a sleep study before they can get a prescription for a CPAP machine. In addition to this expense, the machines themselves can be costly, especially those with advanced parts and functions. The machines are complex to use and prone to air leaks. The mask especially can cause discomfort when worn. Another problem is that CPAP machines can be noisy. The light-motor sound they make is a potential issue for bed partners who just want a quiet room to sleep in. Regarding side effects, CPAP users have reported a stuffy nose, nosebleeds, a dry mouth, and sores on the parts of the face touched by the mask. Because of all these drawbacks, some people do not use CPAP as much as they should. Based on 82 studies of CPAP patients over a 20-year period, people use the devices two to three hours shorter than prescribed. Moreover, in one of these studies, 33 percent of patients used the machines only once every three nights or less.⁷

Over-the-Counter Devices

Several relatively cheap oral and nasal devices aim to address snoring in different ways. Mandibular advancement devices (MADs) move the jaw and tongue forward temporarily, which leads to more space in the airway. Chin straps close the mouth during sleep, thus promoting nasal breathing. Nose clips and strips increase airflow through the nose. In different studies though, these devices have been shown to decrease snoring only slightly. They have side effects too, among which are major dental changes due to long-term use of MADs. Users of the devices also get a dry mouth, tooth and jaw discomfort, and too much saliva. The above factors play a role in why people quit the devices eventually. In one study of more than 3,000 patients, at least 32 percent stopped using such anti-snoring devices after 30 months.^8,9,10,11

Multiple studies show that snoring and other symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are the worst when people sleep on their backs. This is why other over-the-counter devices have been designed to alter people's sleeping position. Examples are pillows that make the head, neck, and torso higher than the rest of the body during sleep. There are also pillows meant to keep people sleeping on their side. Both types are supposed to solve snoring by helping the airways stay open. However, they are temporary solutions that only reduce snoring instead of eliminating it, and they can only help with mild to moderate snoring.^12,13

Weight Loss

Compared to adults of normal weight, obese people are more likely to develop OSA and snore. Obesity is linked to fat deposits at certain sites in the body, including in the tissues around the upper airway. Such fat deposits promote OSA and snoring by making the upper airway smaller and more collapsible.¹⁴ Thus, obese people are often advised to lose weight to control their snoring.

The most effective weight-loss method is to modify the digestive system through bariatric surgery. That is, parts of the stomach can be removed. Alternatively, a small pouch connecting the stomach to the small intestine can be created. Both changes can be made in a single procedure too. In effect, bariatric surgery enables weight loss by limiting food intake and/or decreasing the nutrients absorbed by the body. But this method is recommended only for people with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher. Bariatric surgery is the most expensive weight-loss solution. At the same time, it is the most invasive; it can injure digestive organs or make them malfunction. Plus, it can cause poor nutrition in the long term. Lastly, surgery is not an easy quick fix. People need to prepare for it and make long-lasting lifestyle changes afterwards in order to succeed.^15,16,17

Compared to surgical procedures, anti-obesity medications are less invasive. Some of these drugs work by excreting fat from the body instead of absorbing it. Others suppress appetite or increase the feeling of fullness. There are also drugs that slow the movement of food from the stomach to the small intestines. It is not clear though how effective these drugs are because a lot of patients do not take them as prescribed. This is partly because the drugs have side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, oily stools, and vitamin deficiency. Besides, certain medications have not been approved for long-term use.^15,18

The least invasive and most common weight-loss strategy involves changes in diet and physical activity. This technique is based on the premise that fat is lost when more calories are burned than consumed. But solving obesity permanently is not just about controlling calories. More importantly, it is a matter of balancing the hormones that control hunger and metabolic rate.^15,19 Also, without long-lasting changes in mindset and habits, people who lose weight through diet and exercise are likely to gain it back over time.¹⁵

Most important for our purposes, dieting for weight loss does not address the real cause of snoring. Instead, it is excess estrogen that makes people snore. And although overweight people often have excess estrogen, they are not the only ones who do.

The Mechanism Behind Snoring

The human airway is made of smooth muscle tissue that has receptors for the sex hormone estrogen, which is present in both males and females. Upon activation of these receptors, fewer calcium ions enter across the membranes of smooth muscle cells. In turn, the drop in calcium levels inside the cells makes the smooth muscle relax more, thus decreasing its tone. A muscle's tone is its ability to stay partially contracted; most muscles are at least partially contracted all the time. Snoring occurs when the airway vibrates as air flows through the partially relaxed muscle tissue in it.^20,21

Conclusion

None of the snoring remedies in the market today stop snoring naturally and permanently. This is because they fail to address the root cause of snoring: excess estrogen. Nowadays, environmental factors — especially the foods we eat — make it very easy to have too much estrogen in our bodies. So, to get rid of snoring for good, it is advisable to avoid eating foods that raise estrogen levels. Discover what those foods are through The Snoring Diet Solution.

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