Staying Motivated with SnoreGym
Staying Motivated With SnoreGym
If you have downloaded SnoreGym, congratulations! You have just unlocked a new exercise regime that could very well stop your snoring.
But …
We’ve all been there, starting out a new healthy habit with the best of intentions only for it to become neglected and eventually fizzle out into nothing. Whether it’s the gym in January or some other new-year-new-you resolution, new things are hard to stick to!
So what are the best ways to stay motivated with your new exercise regime?
1. Let SnoreGym remind you
Sometimes, despite our best intentions we simply forget. New routines are hard to establish so it is perfectly normal to forget to slot in those exercises when you meant to.
So, let us take care of that.
Helpfully, SnoreGym has a reminders feature. You can set as many reminders as you want and tailor them to repeat on certain days of the week at any time you please. SnoreGym will give you a little notification, letting you know that it’s time to exercise!
2. Set goals
New routines can be hard to maintain if you don’t know what you are aiming for.
With SnoreGym the ultimate goal is fairly obvious – to stop snoring. Whilst mouth exercises certainly have the capacity to do this, it could take a while. Therefore it is a good idea to set some intermediate goals to keep yourself motivated.
Intermediate goals are a great way of breaking up a big task into smaller, more manageable chunks. Firstly, set a goal for time spent exercising. We recommend doing at least 2 workouts or 10 minutes per day, but you can adapt this to suit you.
Being able to tick these boxes every day is a great motivator. SnoreGym will also let you know how long your daily streak is, and also if you are achieving your set goals.
Yes, our thumbs up, medals and trophies we present aren’t going to change your world, they’re a handy nudge to let you know that you’re well on track!
3. Routine and regularity
For a task to become habit, it needs to be regular and part of a daily routine. Exercises done religiously, every day at 8pm are far more likely to be stuck to than randomly exercising when you feel up to it or when you have a spare 5 minutes.
We believe a great technique to get SnoreGym to become part of your routine is to stick it on to another routine – toothbrushing! Most of us brush our teeth for a few minutes at least twice a day at pretty consistent times and for a set period of time. Simply extend it for another 5 minutes and mouth exercises will be as normal as brushing your teeth. The added benefit of a mirror to check you’re doing them right will ensure you get the most from your workout.
4. Involve others
We’re not going to sugar-coat it; you will probably look a bit silly when you do SnoreGym’s workouts. So why on Earth would you want to involve anyone else? With more conventional exercises it’s understandable; going for a run with someone else is arguably more enjoyable and motivating than doing it alone.
It’s not the most glamorous form of exercise, but the same applies for SnoreGym’s workouts. We share a lot with our nearest and dearest, so why not share these workouts? Especially given that they have the potential to greatly benefit each other’s sleep.
5. Track your progress
A single 5 minute workout isn’t going to change anything. However, 5 minute workouts, done twice a day, every day for several weeks could definitely. And it’s important to see that change if you are to stay motivated.
SnoreGym’s calendar view shows you the days you’ve exercised and how much of your target you are achieving. But those values are arbitrary and a bit abstract. We want to know if it’s improving your snoring. That’s where our sister app, SnoreLab, comes in!
SnoreLab records your snoring and gives you a Snore Score at the end of the night. This score is based on how often you were snoring and at what volumes. SnoreLab allows you to tag various remedies and factors to see how they influence your snoring. If you’ve achieved your SnoreGym goal for the day, be sure to tag it in SnoreLab.
Over time, SnoreLab should start to show a downward trend in your snoring – the best motivator possible.
6. Deal with excuses
Not only do you need to lose the excuses not to exercise, it’s important to create excuses to exercise.
Instead of focussing on the negatives that prevent you from exercising, try to think of the positives if you do exercise.
The sense of achievement, getting a step closer to your goal and even noticing changes in your snoring and sleep quality – these positive motivators should be enough to help you banish the negative excuses.
Was this post helpful?
How to Cope with a Snoring Partner
How to Cope with a Snoring Partner
Snoree, innocent by-snorer, passive snorer. There are many names, but to you, it really it doesn’t matter what you’re called when all you want is a bit of peace.
If you’re losing sleep because of your partner’s snoring, there are some things you can do to help yourself and help them. Here, we look at the significance of sleeping with a snorer and explore the ways you can stop the snoring or at least cope better!
Jump to tactics to deal with a partner’s snoring
Sleeping with a snorer
The dangers of sleep deprivation
You probably don’t need to be told that sleeping with a snorer has massive implications for your sleep quality. Having disturbed sleep isn’t pleasant and isn’t very healthy.
The mental impairment from moderate sleep deprivation equates to the effects of mild alcohol intoxication.
Over a longer period, chronic sleep debt can do irreversible damage to the brain and the rest of the body. Multiple studies have shown that getting less than six hours of sleep per night significantly increases the chance of an early death. This is due to an increased likelihood of a host of maladies:
- Stroke
- Anxiety and depression
- Dementia
- Weight gain
- Heart disease
- Reduced immunity
- Cancer
When you consider that sleep deprivation is closely linked to weight gain, and that weight gain facilitates snoring, one could even speculate that snoring is in-fact contagious!
The impact of snoring upon relationships
Living with snoring doesn’t just mean disrupted sleep but can entail a disrupted relationship too.
Conflicts can easily arise as a result of snoring, conjuring feelings of guilt and resentment, doing damage to your emotional and physical intimacy.
Some sources even cite snoring as the third leading cause of divorce in some countries [1]. One study in Australia reported that snoring was the sole cause of marriage breakdown in 50 of 300 women surveyed [2].
Tactics for partners of snorers – solving the problem
Snoring is not a life sentence for the snorer or the snoree. It has a cause and therefore has a solution too. Whilst the onus is mostly on the snorer, you already share the burden so why not share the solutions? These can often be approached as a couple …
Identify the problem
Make sure your partner knows that their snoring is a problem for you. If they are to stop snoring, they’re going to have to make some changes, but won’t do so if they don’t think their snoring is an issue.
Share lifestyle solutions
There are a number of lifestyle changes that can be adopted to help reduce snoring naturally. Engaging in these together can have benefits not only for the snoring, but for your relationship too.
If body weight is playing a part in your partner’s snoring, get involved in those things that can help them to lose weight. Show some solidarity with them by eating healthily, planning and cooking meals together, and by doing exercise you both enjoy.
Mouth exercises are another great way to tackle snoring for many people. It can sometimes feel a bit strange and silly doing them on your own, so why not make it more entertaining by doing them together?
Prop
Sleeping position is often factor in people’s snoring, as supine sleeping (on the back) massively increases the risk of snoring.
“Poke, nudge and roll” is a useful tactic in the short term, but soon enough, if it’s your partners preferred position, they will end up sleeping on their back again. And so the process repeats.
There are devices available for snorers to wear which look like a backpack to stop them rolling onto their backs, as well as some pillows to help keep them on their side.
Alternatively, you can instead address your shared sleeping position. Try sleeping back-to-back, propping each other onto your sides so that your partner can’t roll onto their back.
Observe
Two heads are better than one. Sometimes, the cause of snoring isn’t obvious and requires more investigation. With a fresh perspective as the snoree, you can help your partner to identify the cause of their snoring and find the things that really work.
Have you noticed a recent change in your partner’s snoring? Has this coincided with any behaviour or health changes? As the non-snorer, you are in the unique position of being able to see and hear the differences that the snorer may be oblivious to.
Tactics for partners of snorers – coping with the problem
If the solutions aren’t working and you just need some more sleep, there are ways to cope with the snoring without actually reducing the volume …
Get a head start
If you take a while to fall asleep, head to bed slightly earlier than your partner. Given that a snorer doesn’t wake themselves when they snore, then why should they wake you if you’re already fast asleep?
Unfortunately, this tactic is unlikely to work every time. The cyclical nature of sleep means you are still likely to catch the snoring sound during one of your lighter sleep phases. Nonetheless, it should at least prevent the “as soon as his head hits the pillow, he’s snoring” complaint.
Sleep separately
This is a solution that many couples cite as the saviour of their marriage. You’ll frequently hear accounts from couples who have slept separately for years due to someone’s snoring.
Whilst this solution is great for your health through banishing the snoring sound and getting some sleep, co-sleeping is still important for the health of a relationship.
In his book “Two in Bed: the Social System of Couple Bed Sharing”, sleep researcher Paul Rosenblatt examined how sharing a bed is important for couples. He described the importance of bed sharing for intimacy and comfort, as well as pre-sleep being a time that couples use to catch up, plan, make decisions and solve problems [3].
That said, and as many snoring couples will tell you, sleeping separately doesn’t necessarily mean the end of these benefits. Set aside that same time to enjoy each other’s company, before eventually doing the sleeping part in separate rooms.
Earplugs
Basic but effective, a good set of earplugs specifically designed for sleep can be indispensable for the partner of a snorer.
A simple multipack of foam earplugs will do the trick, but also shop around for ones that are sleep-specific: soft and comfortable when laid upon, and with properties that allow you to still hear your alarm in the morning.
White noise machines
Introducing more sound to a room plagued with snoring seems counter-intuitive, but there is some sense in using white noise to mask snoring.
White noise is a sound that contains all audible frequencies at the same intensity – similar to the notion of white light.
This doesn’t block the snoring sound, but instead masks it as the snoring frequencies blend in with the frequencies coming from the white noise machine. By playing this consistent sound before sleep, you are less likely to notice sudden changes to the sound profile of your room throughout the night.
Change how you perceive the snoring
“You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.”
In short, if you can’t stop the snoring, learn to cope with it. This quote comes from Jon Kabat Zinn, a medical professor who teaches mindfulness.
The mindfulness approach puts the onus on the snoree and is about changing the way you perceive your partner’s snoring. Try to emotionally detach from the snoring sound and instead treat it like your own personal soundscape.
There have been many accounts from frustrated partners who, instead of letting the snoring sounds irritate them, used it as a source of meditation and mindfulness. They objectively listened to the sounds, accepted them and lost no sleep as a result.
Was this post helpful?
References
- Wiseman R. Night School: The Life-Changing Science of Sleep. MacMillan, London 2014. p144
- Dilkes M and Adams A. Stop snoring the easy way and the real reasons you need to. Hachette UK 2017.
- Rosenblatt PC. Two in Bed: the Social System of Couple Bed Sharing. State University of New York Press: Albany, NY, 2006.