They say the first step is to admit you have a problem and, I’ll acknowledge, I did not want to admit it.
Numerous boyfriends had told me that I snored – “a LOT” one said with a particularly cutting inflection. And there was a particular surfing holiday when I woke up multiple times in the shared bedroom to a friend barking, “Shush!”
In the morning, I said to her, “I’m asleep. I don’t know I’m doing it. You can’t get mad about it,” but again, I was wrong – you can get mad about it and pull one of the mattresses to the living room for your snoring friend to sleep on the floor.
But it was the comment of my daughter, who slept in my room over the Christmas period, that really got me.
She looked at me kindly – you know it’s a problem if your 22-year-old daughter looks at you with such benevolent concern – and said, “Mummy, you snore really loudly.”
“Really?” I said, meekly. “I know I snore a little….”
“Not just a little!” she yelled. Or said. Who knows? “I’m actually worried it might be affecting your sleep.”
And with that, I realised I needed to do something about my snoring.
No, let me rephrase, I wanted to do something about my snoring. I didn’t actually need to do something about it because, frankly, it only bothers other people and I sleep right through the whole thing.
Menopause can make us snore more
It’s widely known that menopause can affect sleep overall. But as our levels of hormones drop with menopause, we can also snore more, according to the British Snoring and Sleep Apnoea Association.
The tone in the muscles that keep our airways open reduces. In some cases, snoring can indicate obstructive sleep apnoea, in which the airways narrow or close to the point the person stops breathing for short periods, which is obviously…not good.
Studies used to focus on men
Previously sleep apnoea was thought to primarily affect men, mainly because studies have focussed mainly on men as well as white people (surprise, surprise). A recent study found that 90% of women with moderate to severe sleep apnoea were undiagnosed.
Symptoms of sleep apnoea
Signs that you may be experiencing sleep apnoea at this stage of life – even if you haven’t before – include loud snoring, pauses in breathing during sleep, waking up gasping, and needing to pee often in the night. Daytime symptoms may include tiredness, headaches, problems concentrating, even depression. If you think this might be you, consult a doctor.
What you can do about snoring
Yet for me, snoring was the elephant bellow in the room. I also fretted about how unladylike snoring is. This is ridiculous and still, I fretted.
I decided I needed to do something about it. There are a lot of suggested lifestyle changes such as losing weight and sleeping on your side along with orofacial exercises for the mouth and face, and of course products.
While I’d like to lose a few pounds, I’m not overweight, and I already sleep on my side. Guidance on exercises says it takes weeks for the benefits to kick in. So I embarked on an immediate 3-part solution.
My 3-part treatment for snoring
Step 1: The snoring app
The first step I took was to install a snoring app on my phone that recorded and measured the nighttime window-rattling. I chose SnoreLab because it was free (with premium add-ons such as full-night recordings and trend analysis) and its interface looked easy to operate and understand.
One listen, and I realised something needed to be done.
Not only was my snoring sooo loud – graded on the app as “epic” (hurtful) – SnoreLab also showed that I spent more than 2 and a half hours at night snoring at this level. Perhaps my snoring was impacting my breathing and sleep.
So I knew the scope of the problem. Now I needed solutions.
Step 2: Nasal strips
The second part of my plan was to try nasal strips. You’ve probably seen these: They go across the nose and exert pressure to help keep the nasal passages more open. I know that breathing through my right nostril is more difficult than through my left normally, so I was hopeful about their effect.
I bought Breathe Right, the well-known brand which I thought was the Chanel of nose strips (£13.99 for 30). Pricewise it turns out to be more Anthropologie.
Apparently some fancy versions of sleep strips go for £30 or more for a month’s supply. I later saw some own-brand ones from places like Superdrug (£4.99 for 10) and Boots (£9.50 for 20). Note these are packaged with different counts in the box – something to calculate when comparing prices.
There are also nasal dilators that go in the nostrils, but I find – like Bernie Mac in Ocean’s 11 – that interferes with my social agenda.
Applying the strip was easy, simply peel and stick and after a few minutes, I forgot that it was there.
Part 3: Mouth tape
The third part of my solution is mouth tape. The first time someone mentioned taping their mouth at night, I imagined a full-on kidnapper version, perhaps executed with duct tape. In execution it’s a little less extreme: Putting a bit of tape over or across your mouth to keep it from flopping open when you relax.
Why would you use mouth tape for snoring?
There are known health benefits of breathing solely through your nose, including improving dry mouth and oral health, lowering blood pressure, improving oxygen levels, filtering allergens and warming the air, and more.
But there’s an IMPORTANT CAVEAT: This practice of taping the mouth at night, which gained lots of advocates via TikTok, has been called “dangerous” for some sleepers and the jury is still out over the effectiveness and how beneficial it is.
Check with your doctor before trying it. It’s definitely not for someone who feels like they’re not getting enough air unless they breathe through their mouth. There are instances in which you should never use mouth taping, according to the Cleveland Clinic, including when you have nasal congestion or obstruction, chronic allergies, enlarged tonsils, deviated septum or heart issues, among others.
For me, using the nasal strip made it easier to breathe through my nose, so I was happy to try this as an additional non-snoring technique.
Where to find mouth tape
Despite the dearth of medical proof about its effectiveness, there are plenty of retail options out there.
Healf has mouth tape that goes vertically over the mouth and sounds super-luxe. It’s made with organic bamboo silk, hypoallergenic, medical grade and suitable for those with sensitive skin or facial hair – luckily I don’t have to worry about that last bit because my menopause chin hairs are well-plucked.
Healf also have a full-mouth version…which to me looks like it’s less for sleeping and more for role play vibes (left) or a ‘Welcome to Gilead’ campaign (right).
Respire do a similar product with the slogan: “Quit being a mouth breather” which is frankly hilarious.
Keep in mind: If you go in for full-mouth tape, you’re stocked up for any censorship protests you’re attending.
My economy version of mouth tape
I used a lo-fi version available in my medicine cabinet: first aid tape. I placed a small vertical strip in the centre of my mouth – my mouth could still open slightly and the tape was “weak” enough that I would be able to reach up and pull it off in the night if I felt my breathing was constricted.
In fact, it worked a treat, although there was a bit of sticky residue that I had to gently remove the next morning. (One side effect of mouth tape as with nasal strips is that over time they can irritate the skin.)
The verdict
The result of my 3-step intervention?
Immediate success! As you can see from my sound and stats comparison, my snoring time and decibels were way down the first night I tried it, and once I settled down, I didn’t even notice the strip or the tape.
I woke up feeling incredibly rested, which may or may not be related but feels great.
Over the long-term I’ll keep doing the tongue and mouth exercises to tone my muscles more. But for now, my new nighttime routine also includes taping a couple of things to my face, hitting the start button on my app and turning off the light.
– Jennifer Howze
I always wanted to tape your mouth shut but mom and dad wouldn’t let me!
Ah yes, very helpful, Sis! Well, you finally got your wish 🤣🛌🤐🤫🫢👯♀️
Very informative, amusing and helpful. Thanks Jen.