Does your partner keep you up at night with their loud snoring? Or maybe you’re the snorer and you’re constantly feeling sleepy and unable to focus after a snore-filled night? Well, you may be in luck as sleep experts from Bed Kingdom have revealed that sleeping with a tennis ball in your pyjamas could be the answer to all your sleeping and snoring problems.
While snoring is fairly common, it can become a problem for yourself and the person you share the best mattress with. Snoring is caused by your mouth falling open in the night, a blocked nose, your tongue blocking the back of your throat, or in some cases, sleep apnea. Snoring isn’t necessarily damaging or dangerous, but it can disrupt your sleep quality, cause sore throats and bad breath, and lead to you and your partner getting a sleep divorce.
If your snoring has become a problem, there are many things you can do to stop it from happening, but the weirdest hack I’ve found is by using a tennis ball. To find out more, I spoke to sleep experts at online bedroom furniture retailer, Bed Kingdom who explained why they recommend the tennis ball snoring trick and other tips on how to stop snoring.
What is the tennis ball sleep hack?
According to Bed Kingdom, an effective and cost-saving hack to stop you from snoring is by taping or sewing a tennis ball into the back of your pyjamas or nightwear. When I heard this, I was initially skeptical but this trick is also recommended by the NHS.
How the tennis ball sleep hack works is it stops you from sleeping on your back by causing pressure and discomfort when you roll onto your back, and encouraging you to sleep on your side. While sleeping on your back is a pretty common sleep position, it can narrow and obstruct your airways and affect your breathing, which worsens your snoring. Many people who have tried the tennis ball sleep hack have said that it works brilliantly and helps them breathe better while they sleep. So, grab a tennis ball and hit the sheets!
Of course, like many sleep hacks, this tennis ball trick might not work for everyone. If you have a ‘Princess and the Pea’ type reaction to things being in your bed, having a tennis ball in your back might not be the best for you. While the tennis ball is meant to cause a sense of discomfort, it might be too uncomfortable for some and keep you up at night.
Instead, you can try to naturally change your sleep position. Side sleeping has many benefits including combating snoring, improves digestion, keeping your airways open, improving digestion and acid reflux, and reducing back pain. Try to stick to your sides when you sleep by investing in the right mattress for a side sleeping position, and make sure your body is kept in alignment to avoid any aches and pains. See these 5 tips for side sleepers for more details.
Rather than using a tennis ball, you can use a pillow barrier to stop you from flipping over. The NHS suggests buying a special pillow or bed wedge to encourage you to stay on your side while you sleep, and if you like using a body pillow, you can mould it to loop around your back so you’re less likely to roll onto your bed.
Other ways to stop snoring include making changes to your lifestyle like losing weight, try doctor-approved tongue and throat exercises or you could always ask your partner to pop in the best sleep headphones so they can’t hear you!
