Breathing Matters > Snoring

Most patients who snore hyperventilate. My explanation for this is that by hyperventilating they increase their sympathetic arousal and keep themselves awake. Some patients have told me that if they work on their diaphragmatic breathing before they go to sleep that they are less likely to snore. There is a reasonable body of physiological as well as clinical evidence showing that working on diaphragmatic breathing will help reduce your tendency to snore. If you breathe diaphragmatically you increase the tone in the muscles surrounding your upper airway. A simple analogy is that your increase the tension downwards on them. This has been well documented in dog experiments where they were able to show that diaphragmatic breathing alone dramatically increased the pateny of the upper airway.

From a clinical perspective three studies have been published in the medical scientific literature suggesting that diaphragmatic breathing helps snorers. In the first study people were taught to sing (1). Those people who had the best reduction in snoring had no nasal problems and their snoring came on in middle age. In another study people who sang were shown to snore less but did not influence day time sleepiness (2). The final most impressive study was when people were taught to play the didgeridoo (3). Snoring and daytime sleepiness improved dramatically. Diaphragmatic breathing is important in singing and didgeridoo playing. None of the authors mentioned the importance of or potential contribution of diaphragmatic breathing to the results. Regardless there is a good chance that if you work on your breathing you will reduce your snoring. Relaxation techniques such as good breathing can also be important in weight reduction.

Further Reading
1. Ojay A, Ernst E. Can singing exercises reduce snoring? A pilot study. Complement Ther Med 2000; 8: 151-6.
2. Pai I, Lo S, Wolf D, Kajieker A. The effect of singing on snoring and daytime somnolence. Sleep Breath 2008; 12: 265-8.
3. Puhan MA, Suarez A Cascio CL et al. Didgeridoo plaing as alternative treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome: randomized controlled trial. BMJ 2006; 332: 266-270.