Today (20th April) marks the start of National Stop Snoring week. Snoring and my desire for it to stop are something which readers of my earlier post “Learning to live with it, err him” will know all about.
Mr B is a snorer of epic proportion, his night time nasal noises are famed amongst friends he has stayed with (even in separate rooms he doesn’t go unheard).
This weekend Mr B had a well deserved night out, he crawled into bed in the wee small hours and my peace was shattered. On previous similar occasions I have resorted to taking a blanket downstairs or clambering into an unoccupied child’s cabin bed to spend an uncomfortable night squashed amongst the teddy bears.
This time I was determined I wasn’t shifting. So I nudged Mr B, then nudged him a bit harder and then harder still, and nothing. I shook him, I declared loudly that I wanted him to go and sleep downstairs, I even told him we were over (yes really). I huffed and puffed, writhed around and all to no effect. Mr B was oblivious, in his alcohol induced state he was completely unaware both of my discomfort and his horrendous snoring. By 5am I was literally in tears through lack of sleep and frustration.
According to the British Snoring & Sleep Apnoea Association the reason people snore more when they have been drinking alcohol is because it relaxes the muscles causing the oropharynx (the bit at the the back of your mouth) to collapse more readily causing snoring. This is fascinating information which has led me to one conclusion. Mr B will in future be left a blanket and pillow on the couch, and told in no uncertain terms that this will be his bed for the night when he next has a boys night out.
Luckily it is not all doom and gloom though, Friday night was awful but also a now unusual occurrence. After my previous post the lovely people at Snoreeze were kind enough to give us some products to try out.
To be honest, while I was willing to try anything I wasn’t convinced they would work. Mr B has previously been prescribed nasal drops to try and stop his snoring which were difficult to insert and made little or no difference. Still nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Mr B opted to try the throat spray, the nozzle is angled so it’s easy to use and you simply shake the bottle and spray three times to the back of the throat. It provides 8 hours of action for each application. The first night Mr B tried the spray I lay listening intently, and the snoring began as usual and continued. Night 2 we gave it another shot and whether he had not used the spray correctly the first night or it required some kind of build up, this night was different. The snoring, what there was of it was far lighter and easier to live with.
Since then MrB has used the throat spray every night and we have gone on to buy a second bottle so impressed are we with it. The snoring has all but stopped, and any that does persist is actually quite cute and snuffly (aaaw) as opposed to like a freight train rattling through my bedroom every night. They do several different products including nose strips and throat strips. Different types of snoring may be better effected by different products and you can find out which is most suited to you here. Personally we will be sticking to the throat spray and celebrating National Stop Snoring Week with harmony restored in the bedroom (thank you Snoreeze)
Disclaimer – Amazing as this product has been for us it cannot compete with inebriated men who a) forget to use it, and b) have further relaxed their oropharynx I with excess alcohol.
And now as promised to Mr B I will let the subject of his snoring lie, as long as he let’s me lie in peace (clever wasn’t that.)
Not In The Parenting Manual 