Snoring doesn’t just ruin sleep, it strains relationships too. Snooze without the lose, with these top expert tips...

As anybody who shares a bed knows, when it comes to snoring, often it’s the person who ISN’T afflicted with the condition that actually suffers most.

Dr Chis Idzikowski, director of the Sleep Assessment and Advisory Service, and president of the sleep medicine section of the Royal Society Medicine, has these top tips:

• Don’t sleep on your back
Try not to sleep on your back, as this often means your tongue falls back and increases airway resistance. “Try and use pillows as bolsters to keep you on your side,” says Dr Idzikowski.

• Humidify your bedroom
A lot of snoring is caused either by nasal congestion or by allergies, so sleeping in cleaner air – for example, with a humidifier – should help ease this.

• Give up smoking
It’s bad for most things, so it’s not surprising smoking is bad for snoring too. Basically, cigarette smoke will irritate and inflame the linings of your nose and throat, making it more difficult to breathe – especially when you’re lying down at night.

• Lose weight
Again, as with many health issues, losing excess weight can really benefit snorers. “People who are overweight tend to snore more,” says Dr Idzikowski. “Losing weight can reduce fatty tissue in the back of the throat and decrease or even stop snoring.”

• Especially on your neck
The size of your neck has a lot of bearing on if you snore. So how do you know how big is too big? “If your collar size is greater than 17 inches AND you habitually snore AND have high blood pressure AND your partner tells you that you stop breathing,” warns Dr Idzikowski, “seek medical help!”

• Be careful with dinner
Avoid caffeine, heavy meals and dairy from two hours before bed. Some snoring is caused by allergic reactions that inflame the throat, or increase mucus production

• Tone up
“All exercising, including abdominal exercises, actually tone your muscles around the throat area which can lead to less snoring.”