My husband has always snored. It is usually only an issue when he sleeps on his back or facing the middle of the bed. I always just nudged him to sleep on his other side and the problem was solved . Lately , he is really peeling the paint off the walls with the sounds he is making , and yes it is keeping me awake.
I have been sleeping with earplugs to try to cope with it , but they don’t drown him out.
No obvious changes in his health , so we are puzzled as to how to deal with it. We have other bedrooms and he has volunteered to sleep in another room , but I don’t want that to happen.
Does anyone have any experience with breathing strips, or other options ?
He needs to see a doctor and have a sleep study. Sleep apnea, which could be causing his snoring, is a real medical problem. My husband has sleep apnea and snores horribly (or did) and now uses a CPAP machine.
I don’t have any advice to give you about the snoring but I am a terrible sleeper and even H’s breathing keeps me awake. My solution is to listen to a podcast with my earbuds in or sometimes I just put my iPad between my two pillows and listen. Drowns out his breathing and I’m usually asleep in a few minutes. I’ve yet to listen to a whole podcast.
Same boat here and he refuses to consider a CPap even though he had a sleep study and they said he needed one. I run a air filter which somewhat helps and also I listen to Podcasts too. If I can get to sleep that’s a huge part of the battle, but if I get woken up for whatever reason, then it’s very hard to go back to sleep when he’s snoring. Good luck!
If the sleep study doesn’t figure out a way to cure it, I think separate bedrooms are the way to go. It is hard enough to get along with a spouse, and even tougher when you aren’t sleeping well! Do what works…
My DH was diagnosed by sleep clinic as "the worst " they had ever tested. They prescribed CPAP machine and insurance paid for it all. Machine was cumbersome, lots of work and little relief. For- profit sleep clinic and their supplier got insurance money and DH got no relief.
We bought a “zero-gravity” (and yes I know that’s a misnomer) recliner. He has slept well ever since. Keeping his head up at about 20degrees makes all the difference.
My friend ,on the other end of the problem, got a dental device and has slept happily ever after.
DH has sleep apnea and finally had to move to another bedroom so BOTH of us could sleep.
He uses CPAP machine and both of us now sleep fine.
BTW- he was getting “old” mentally before he started using the machine, in great part because his brain cells were being starved of oxygen! NOW he is MUCH sharper- just as he was 30 years ago.!
Sleep Apnea is NOT just an annoying sleeping disorder- it can be lethal .
Sleep apnea is a real and serious issue but there are a lot of folks out there willing to overcharge and scam as well for studies and machines. Do your research and weigh your options carefully even if recommended by your physician.
Another option might be those beds where you can raise the mattress on one side.
Mine could be heard downstairs , and also snored only on his back or side until I turned him over but with increasingly worse results. He was put on two antihistamines – allegra and flonase – after a course of prednisone to alleviate the swelling that had closed his sinues. No problem since, as long as he takes his meds. I mean, he still snores a little, but no louder than I do!
Another vote for a sleep study and CPAP machine. My husband resisted doing that for years, and finally agreed only reluctantly to humor me. But now he sleeps much, much better and so do I. He didn’t realize how much his sleep apnea was disrupting his own sleep until he started using the CPAP machine and was able to sleep properly.
H snored from the day I met him. I slept with ear plugs and had him ‘trained’ to roll over with a simple tap. Then he developed atrial fib. He did the sleep test and was diagnosed with apnea. He adjusted to the CPAP very quickly and LOVES it. Both of our nights are now restful. He says his years of brain fog cleared and he has much more energy and vitality. He has a CPAP for travel, one at the cabin and one by his bedside. Won’t go anywhere without one. (The afib seems to be unrelated but is well controlled with meds.)
In retrospect we both realize we’d been sleep deprived for years because of the ongoing disruptions. The CPAP has a white noise sound effect. It’s been a live saver.