Sleeping on your side can decrease snoring and mild sleep apnea episodes.
(MASTERFILE/HEALTH)
"About a quarter of our sleep apnea patients have either less or no snoring when they're on their sides," says Jed Black, MD, director of the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic. To keep from rolling back over, some snorers wear soft backpacks to bed or stuff a tennis ball into a sock and sew it to the back of their sleep shirt.
Jim Latza, 55, tried sleeping with a foam mini-football in his pajamas to quell his snoring, but at close to 300 pounds, he barely noticed the lump. Now the food service salesman from Lakewood, Ohio, uses a regulation NFL ball to keep him off his back every night.
Specially marketed anti-snore pillows generally aren't worth the money, says Dr. Black; you may be better off just sleeping up against a big wedge of foam. People tend to change positions every 15 to 30 minutes during sleep, so you may end up pushing the prop out of the way, but if it keeps you off your back, stick with it.
One product that stands out in a sea of untested "medical" devices is the Sona Pillow, which is FDA-approved for the treatment of snoring and mild sleep apnea. In 2004 one study showed that patients had significantly fewer apnea episodes per hour using the pillow—which is shaped so that you can sleep on either side and fit your lower arm comfortably underneath; your head tilts down so that your tongue stays forward in your mouth.
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What snoring aids have worked (or not worked) for you?
Avoid alcohol, antihistamines, and tranquilizing drugs—which depress your central nervous system and loosen your throat muscles—for at least three hours before bedtime. Run a humidifier to keep your throat moist. And if you're overweight, losing a few pounds might help open your airways. These and other lifestyle changes are often more effective than anything you'll find in the drugstore, says Dr. Rapoport.
