Chronic snoring affects approximately 40% of adult men and 20% of adult women. In fact, snoring affects more than half the adult population over the age of 60. Given the known association between relative humidity and snoring, many sufferers wonder if a humidifier could help alleviate their snoring.
Humidifiers can help with snoring. Increases in relative humidity have been shown to decrease snoring index values. Humidifiers can reduce inflammation along the airways, relieve nasal congestion and throat irritation by adjusting the humidity to optimum levels and reducing dry air.
This article will explain snoring, its health impacts, how humidifiers help with snoring, the best humidifiers for reducing snoring, and answer some frequently asked questions.
Causes and Effects of Snoring
Snoring is essentially the noisy breathing sound produced by air passing through the relaxed tissues of the throat, causing them to vibrate. It is something that almost everyone experiences from time to time, but it can become a persistent problem for some people.
Studies suggest that during sleep, the muscles in the back of the throat relax, reducing the diameter of the airway and increasing air turbulence. The tissues of the neck and airway constrict when they relax, partially obstructing the airway and causing snoring.
Alcohol consumption, allergies, weight, cold, low humidity, and the anatomy of your airways can all contribute to snoring.
Dry air in your bedroom can dry up your nasal membranes and throat, limiting the amount of air you can inhale. This will cause snoring by forcing your throat tissue to vibrate.
How Does Snoring Affect Our Health?
According to the American Sleep Association, snoring alone without any apparent disease symptoms is relatively harmless (although annoying). Low-pitched snoring is considered normal, and it only occurs when your airways become congested or swollen during illness.
However, snoring can be a sign of a severe sleep disorder, sleep apnea, characterized by long pauses in breathing while sleeping. The symptoms of sleep apnea include:
- Loud snoring
- Fatigue
- Daytime sleepiness
- Headache
- Stroke
- High blood pressure
- Depression
- Memory issues
- Insomnia
- Anxiety
How humidifiers can help with snoring
Humidifiers are great devices for minimizing snoring; although, they are not a permanent solution for severe snoring or sleep apnea.
While low humidity does not cause snoring directly, studies have shown that increasing the relative humidity (RH) is associated with decreasing the snoring index – the measure of how many snoring events a person has.
Another measure is the Snore Score – this is the percentage of time out of your total sleep time that you snored. So, if you experience a decrease in the snoring index from increased humidity levels, it means you have a lower snore score – which is a great thing!
Breathing in dry air also irritates the throat and nose tissues, aggravating any existing snoring.
Humidifiers contain water, which is turned into tiny droplets and sprayed into the air to raise humidity levels. This soothes the throat, opens up congested nasal passages, and reduces the risk of snoring.
In this way humidifiers can keep the humidity level at the EPA’s suggested level of 30-50 % Relative Humidity.
Types of Humidifiers That Can Help With Snoring
The types of humidifiers that can reduce snoring caused by dry air are:
- Cool mist
- Warm mist
- Ultrasonic
Each of these humidifiers alleviate snoring equally by improving the humidity of your home.
However, warm mist humidifiers are typically quieter than cool mist humidifiers, while ultrasonic humidifiers tend to be almost silent. A key feature in a humidifier that will be operating while you are asleep.
Is A Warm Mist Humidifier Good for Sleep Apnea?
Warm mist humidifiers are suitable for sleep apnea because they provide a warm mist that soothes the sinuses and allows for easy breathing. Using a warm humidifier with a CPAP machine is the preferable setup for people with sleep apnea.
It would be best to choose the humidifiers compatible with your CPAP machine.
What is the Best Humidifier to Sleep with?
Ultrasonic humidifiers are highly efficient and quiet and are the best choice for sleeping. Ultrasonic humidifiers that generate noise levels less than 30 dB are ideal.
Plentiful Air has a complete guide to the quietest humidifiers available here.
Testing to know if a Humidifier can Help with Snoring
The easiest way to determine if using a humidifier will help reduce snoring is to check the moisture level in your home. If the humidity levels fall below the recommended levels, dry air is most likely the cause of snoring, and addressing this will minimize the frequency of snoring.
To test the humidity levels in your home, use a hygrometer (such as AcuRite’s digital hygrometer). It will automatically measure the moisture in your air and tell you whether you need to humidify it.
