Yep. A bear. I wish I was being overly dramatic.
It is so embarrassing learning something about yourself that:
1. You truly have no control over.
2. You can't witness yourself doing it in live action. (You can't confirm or deny any validity).
The embarrassment came when the Mrs. at the time, thought it would be funny to record me sleeping. Not only record it to play for me as a, "hey, we should get you to the doctor!"... It was more of a, "gather around kids, extended family members and friends (of hers)".
I am a very private person, so it was beyond soul crushing to be put on blast and not have any way to control it as it wasn't an everyday occurrence, but frequent enough that it mattered enough to humiliate a human being with excessive teasing..
So for the first few months, I would try to fall asleep after her and monitor when I was passing out, so if I caught myself snoring, I would wake myself up and reposition myself according to some web articles I read.
That kind of worked and not worked. Sure, I could stop the initial snore and see the sleep positions that would cause it...but I messed up my sleep by forcing myself to wake back up and ruined my sleep pattern. Another factor that causes snoring is not enough sleep which can mess up your natural sleep pattern.
So I was already messing it up and loosing sleep and ruining it even further and made things worse. Now since I went to bed AFTER my spouse at the time, I was naturally waking up after her, so she still had to deal with my snoring when she woke up, assuming my snoring didn't beat her alarm clock to it's duty.
Rough, right? I'll give you a few pointers to help you avoid embarrassment in just a moment. I want to point out that after time that situation did fizzle out and I had to start life from scratch. My and my kiddos. Life happens, you grow and get over it. However, I was hesitant to date after always remembering what the ex said about me sounding like a bear. I was really not trying to date or find any old black book... I was embarrassed in advance about any women spending the night. Why rush to scare someone off if my snoring is that bad.
So, I eventually went to go be seen. Found out I had sleep apnea from my symptoms and a semi pricy sleep study confirmed. Next step... try to get a device to connect myself to nightly... Yeah, I couldn't do it. My case wasn't that severe, had it been then sure, I'd use the device. I have insurance through my Fortune 500 employer, but they're insurance is definitely Fortune 50,000 status level.
So I tried the following methods to help me stop snoring:
Cut back on alcohol.
My liver was probably saying 'thank you' but also certain levels of consumption can cause restlessness.
Create a Sleep Schedule.
Sleep is important. Just as important as eating right is for physical health. You'll have better mental clarity when you wake the next morning, but more importantly it helps your body learn when it's time to turn down. Partying hard, and staying up late causes people to snore, so calm down and mellow out.
Position Yourself Properly.
If you are sleeping directly on your back, your tongue will position itself over your airway in a manner that breathing causes vibrations which equal snoring. Look into pillows, on the low end or adjustable beds on the higher end.
See Your Doctor.
This should be number one. We all don't really know what our underlying health issues are, so always consult with your doctor first. The steps mentioned have helped me and dozen others along with a few tips and tricks from programs that teach you exercises that help. You can check this one out as it is highly rated!