Sleep aids

[Unregistered]

I hope someone has my advice, because I'm at my wits end.

My spouse snores. Loudly. I can hear it from across the house and it keeps me up. I estimate I get about four hours of sleep a night because of this. When I'm alone in the house, I sleep like a rock for 10 hours, without waking up. Needless to say, its affecting my work, my health, and our marriage.

Are there any sleep aids that I can take and still fly? I need to literally knock myself out in order for the snoring to not bother me.

(Yes, this is a real post)

 

[flav8r]

My wife used to complain about my snoring until I recorded her the cat and my then baby girl all snoring in my bed.

The real point is that I've learned (thanks to the Army) that you can sleep anywhere, anytime with any amount of noise.

Have you tried sleeping with ear plugs?

 

[Sleepingsquirrel]

I always wondered why my grandparents slept in seperate bed rooms. I no longer wonder.

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

Double pillows helped my snoring but was uncomfortable. My wife bought a wedge thing for me that props me up a bit - doesn't stop the snoring but it's not as bad (according to her.)

 

[JOhnH]

This is just as bad for the spouses health, or maybe worse. You need to get them to submit to a physical examination and probably a sleep study. Then follow recommendations.

 

[DeeG]

I feel your pain, anon. My spouse snore loud enough to wake the dead as well. I'm convinced he has sleep apnea, but he has other opinions.

I have noticed though, that when he stops exercising and gains a bit of weight, the snoring gets worse. Now that he's back on his exercise program, he doesn't wake me up nearly as often as before.

I just tell him to roll on his side, and that seems to stop it.

Since I normally only get about 5 hours sleep a night, I may take a Benedryl or one of them OTC pills. I take them no less than 10 hours before wake up time. Any less than that, and I'm a groggy mess in the morning.

 

[Doggtyred]

If the spouse's snoring is the problem, why are you trying to treat yourself to fix it? (s)He needs to be evaluated, and if (s)he values your health and his/her marriage (s)he would consider doing so. Or have the spouse sleep in a different bedroom.

 

[sba55]

No, I don't think you'll find reasonable meds that will knock you out consistently without causing serious long-term health problems ((z)benzos, like zolpidem/ambien etc.). Benadryl will probably work short-term (although I wouldn't say that it will knock you out), but just like the prescription meds, you will develop a tolerance to it. The more you look into this, the more you'll realize that we really don't have any good long-term sleep meds. The ones that we do have are quite addictive, lose their efficacy over time, and shouldn't be used long-term due to side effects (which can be quite serious - google "benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome" - and they cause cognitive problems with long-term use, too).

The snoring can probably be improved/fixed long-term, though. We know how to do that pretty well. If they don't want to get it checked out (which I would obviously highly recommend), then there really aren't any good options apart from getting used to it or sleeping in a different room far away.

 

[Jim Logajan]

Besides gently persuading your spouse to be examined by a doctor, a couple of these might help (I have not tried ear plugs, though, so can't comment on their effectiveness):

Amazon.com link to that particular product:

http://www.amazon.com/Hearos-Xtreme...ef=sr_1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1356384909&sr=1-1

 

[AggieMike88]

For the OP has sleep apnea been ruled upon?

 

[Art VanDelay]

Yeah - what that other guy said ! You're going about this ABSOLUTLELY WRONG ! Your spouse has a problem and VERY likely is NOT getting very good sleep either. I'll bet you your spouse has either the beginning of sleep apnea if not full blown sleep apnea. Once your spouse gets a CPAP machine you'll BOTH get good sleep.

 

[haven]

I have started using those nasal strips. The wife says I don't snore nearly as much as I use to, and now my mouth and throat are not dried out in the morning. I must be sleeping with my mouth closed now.