What a snore

Oh, this takes me back, it does. To the earth shattering booms and irritating whistles, the sleep-deprived nights, the frantic rib-poking, the ever-so-temporary relief. Why is it that snorers can always fall asleep faster than you can?

Stupid question: they're not the ones having their eardrums assaulted.

The article tests snoring remedies and finds what the rest of us already knew: the only thing that works is making the snorer sleep on his side. But I confess, the method he found for inducing the posture was a new one on me.

Comments

Man.

I detect a level of animus that, I suspect, is the product of more than snoring.

(Don't you hate how people who you should feel nothing whatsoever about now still manage to evoke so much emotion? Even when you're over it, sometimes, you're never over it. Which is maddening.)

Posted by Freddie | September 20, 2007 7:02 PM

Snoring is bad. Bed farts are much worse.

Posted by Peter | September 20, 2007 11:27 PM

I love my CPAP, and I highly recommend getting one.

Now that I sleep better, I notice the snoring of my wife a lot more.

Posted by David Tufte | September 20, 2007 11:35 PM

Megan, why a snorer falls asleep faster depends on if they have apnea or not... if they have it, they fall asleep faster because they're exhausted. The article thing about 'oh if I just sleep on my side' is rather quaint... but only works in a smaller subset of people. If the person snores a lot, get a sleep study done, to figure out what it is... and what it is not. It's an old saw that leads to much amusement... but it would be a good thing to take seriously.

Even if, like me, they figure everything out, but say; "we can't help you." Because then your siginificant other gets the knowledge, that in those fits and starts? Yeah, you are actually NOT breathing, and your body wakes up to keep from dying. So now she can still accuse you of doing it just to piss her off, but her argument rings hollow...

amusingly, now my kids torture my ex for her snoring, because she can't say it's me. she still denies it, because like sweat, women never snore...

Posted by D | September 21, 2007 2:45 AM

Laser trimming of the fat tissue in the mouth, is about the best result I found. If you could keep your head cocked in the position it would be to open your larnyx when being given CPR...well, that works, but hard to maintain.

The rest really seems kind of worthless.

Posted by beneficial | September 21, 2007 7:06 AM

I think it was Wanda Sykes who had a line in her routine about snoring and sleep apnea.

Her husband has sleep apnea and she is worried one night he is going to stop breathing and she is going to roll over and say to herself "I'm going to call 911!!... just as soon as I wake up."

Posted by Jmo | September 21, 2007 9:36 AM

My snoring is a defense mechanism. If I sleep on my back, I wake up with back spasms. Fortunately, my snoring wakes up my wife, so I wake up with bruises instead.

Posted by Njorl | September 21, 2007 11:23 AM

If you snore chronically, you should get a sleep study done. If you do have sleep apnea, you should get it treated, either through surgery (ick) or by getting a CPAP. Sleep apnea can lead to serious heart problems if left untreated.

If you end up with a CPAP (or one of the other variations) machine, then you are breathing filtered, temperature controlled air . . . so if someone were to, um, release an unpleasant odor in the bed, you wouldn't smell it.

EI

Posted by Earnest Iconoclast | September 21, 2007 11:26 AM

Wait till you have sleep with a snorer for over 40 years.

After some 40 years my wife can not sleep well without hearing my snores.

Posted by spencer | September 21, 2007 1:38 PM

Ezra Klein snores like a bandsaw.

Pick me!

Posted by Mutt Yglecias | September 21, 2007 6:51 PM

Sleeping on your side doesn't always prevent snoring. On your back with your airway open helps tremendously. At the risk of sounding like a spammer I feel I should tell you of an alternative remedy for snoring that even works with a CPAP mask. My snoring was a problem for the spouse. My wife would often wake me to stop. We found an unexpected solution that has stopped my snoring: The SquidFace and ComfyRest pillows. The snoring relief on my back was an unexpected benefit of an invention I patented for being able to lie facedown comfortably and breathe without turning my head to the side. Also great for power naps. Snoring relief and many additional pain relief benefits are on my website. SquidFace.com

Posted by Bob Cuddy | September 22, 2007 12:50 PM

Whats the most common reason for snoring, its the weak tissues in the throat. So all the basic treatments revolve around it, even the CPAPs, sprays or sleeping on the side. What ever you choose, it should not be harmful, addictive, difficult to use and should not disturb your sleep cycle.

Posted by Adam | October 11, 2007 1:48 PM