A Good Night's Rest: How to Stop Your Partner From Snoring

My man, K, had been snoring every night for about a year and a half. But when we first started living together, he hardly ever snored. If he did, it was because he was really tired or had a drink or two. Then after a few years, it became a regular thing, he snored every night. I would tease him and say that he tricked me into moving in and then started snoring well after I was settled and nested in the house.

On top of that, his alarm goes off at 5:15am. I wouldn’t sleep well and get woken up earlier than I needed to; Hardly a good sleeping situation for an HSP.

I’d been reading about hydrogen peroxide to experiment with it for cleaning. Since regular bleach is so toxic, I was looking to replace it with hydrogen peroxide. It’s non-toxic and can be used in about 30 other ways. You could even drink it for health reasons, although it has to be food grade and diluted in liquid. *Note: hydrogen peroxide can be dangerous if not handled properly. Consumed at 10% dilution could cause neurological damage.

I learned that some people found that their snoring went away after using hydrogen peroxide in a diffuser all night. I thought, Why not? It's a low-risk experiment. All I had to buy was a diffuser and hydrogen peroxide, which would cost less than $40 total. I chose to use a diffuser over a humidifer because you can add essential oils to a diffuser, but not to a humidifier. If the diffuser didn't work out for snoring, I could still use it to add lavender oil for better sleep.

I set up the diffuser on his side of the bed. I started off with just a capful of 3% hydrogen peroxide, filling it up to capacity with water and leaving the diffuser running all night or until it ran out. I started adding more and more hydrogen peroxide. If I added too much, it smelled like bleach.

At bedtime, K started to regularly set up the diffuser to run continuously. He did this for several weeks–– or about two months and I suggested adding a few more glugs of hydrogen peroxide. During this time, we were sleeping separately; he had gotten that really bad flu that was going on at the start of the year. We continued to sleep in different rooms for a while because we had gotten used to it. I like to read in bed and he likes to fall asleep in front of the TV, which is in the guest bedroom.

When we would sleep together, about once or twice a week, I noticed that the snoring was starting to go away. He did continue to use the diffuser for about another month and now he hardly ever snores! During the rare times he starts up, I nudge him to roll over and the snoring stops.

Using hydrogen peroxide in a diffuser helps with respiratory tract problems, so I suggested it to a friend. She usually has trouble with nasal congestion. She didn't know why or how she got this problem. Her father has sleep apnea and wondered if she could've had it too, but she didn't have the conditions that usually cause it; she isn't overweight, doesn't have a thick neck and doesn't snore.

She used a diffuser with hydrogen peroxide and this morning, she told me that for the first time in a long time, she woke up without a stuffy nose.

Directions

Set up the diffuser on the nightstand nearest the snorer.
Fill diffuser with 3% hydrogen peroxide about 1/4 or 1/3 of the way.
Add water to the top fill line and set to continuous.
Optional: Add a few drops of lavender oil for better sleep. Be careful and avoid adding too much, it is easier to add more than take away.

This VicTsing model can hold 400ml of water, which is larger than another model I had before at 300ml.

*Update: Since this post, I’ve been using this humidifier by Holmes. You can add hydrogen peroxide but not essential oils since it is not a diffuser.