Snoring while sleeping can lead to oxygen deprivation! To prevent snoring in life, a female Chinese medicine practitioner recommends people with phlegm-damp constitution to drink tangerine peel tea!

You may not know you snore when you sleep! Chinese medicine practitioners remind that if you often feel dry mouth and tongue when you wake up in the morning, stomach discomfort or even gastroesophageal reflux, fatigue easily, never feel full no matter how long you sleep, and have dull thinking during the day, be careful of snoring or even sleep apnea. Long-term neglect can easily cause hypoxia in the body and chronically damage the foundation of health.

Is snoring not a disease? Be careful of lack of oxygen to your body, which will hurt your heart and brain!

"Snoring" is a symptom that makes others complain, but you yourself are completely unaware and cannot hear it. Some people selfishly think that they don't pay attention to it as it does not interfere with their sleep, while some people don't even know that they snore when they sleep. Little do they know that this is tantamount to chronic suicide!

Lin Qinyi, director of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department of Lukang Christian Hospital, said that from a health perspective, sleep and rest help the body "recharge". People who snore will have obstructed respiratory tracts, which affects the delivery of oxygen and causes hypoxia in the body. The normal blood oxygen level should be maintained at 98-100, but for those with severe sleep apnea problems, the blood oxygen level can even drop below 80. Long-term lack of oxygen in the body not only makes people feel tired, but also affects the health of the cardiovascular system and brain, and causes chronic inflammation in the body, thus indirectly making it easier to develop pain or chronic diseases.

Who snores when sleeping? Sleep apnea sufferers are not the only ones!

Why do people snore? "Nose/mouth - throat - trachea" is an unobstructed passage. When the airflow is disturbed, "snoring" will occur. From a Western medical perspective, a "backward tongue" blocking the respiratory tract is a common cause of snoring. Further research has revealed that people with swollen nasopharyngeal mucosa, allergic rhinitis, a short chin structure, an enlarged tongue, obesity, and sleep apnea are all contributors to annoying snoring.

People who snore will have obstructed breathing passages, which affects the delivery of oxygen and causes hypoxia in the body.

From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, Dr. Lin Qinyi said, "The tongue is not just a piece of meat, but includes many muscle groups that extend to the throat and trachea below." It is closely related to many meridians, including the Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian, the Foot Taiyang Bladder Meridian, the Foot Shaoyin Kidney Meridian, the Foot Jueyin Liver Meridian, the Foot Taiyin Spleen Meridian and the Ren Meridian. Therefore, if any meridian has poor blood circulation, it may cause loud snoring while sleeping!

Sleep quietly ~ Improve snoring, Chinese medicine auxiliary treatment is effective!

This argument also applies to the treatment of snoring. Western medicine, including reducing swelling, wearing braces or oxygen masks, and surgery, are the mainstream treatments for snoring. However, under the trend of integrated medicine, clinical findings show that TCM intervention and auxiliary treatment and acupuncture are particularly effective in improving mild to moderate snoring. Obese people and patients with allergic rhinitis can successfully lose weight and control allergic symptoms under the treatment of TCM, and their snoring will also be greatly improved.

Sanyinjiao point. (Photography by Luo Huiwen)

For daily health care, before going to bed, you can massage the "Sanyinjiao Point" on the inner side of the calf (the intersection of the spleen meridian, kidney meridian and liver meridian) to help the circulation of qi and blood in the meridians; or you can deeply press the "Lianquan Point" on the neck (the depression above the Adam's apple and near the root of the tongue when raising your head) to increase the elasticity of the jaw muscles, which can help reduce snoring symptoms.

Lianquan point. (Photography by Luo Huiwen)

In the middle of the cold winter, Chinese medicine physician Lin Qinyi recommends that people with phlegm-damp constitution can use tangerine peel and mint or ginger to make tea and drink it, which will help improve phlegm and dampness and prevent snoring.

People with phlegm-dampness constitution may be the next snorer! Drinking tangerine peel tea can change your fate

If you are sick, you need to see a doctor; if you are not sick, you still need to be careful and vigilant! For those who have not yet had the trouble of snoring, Chinese medicine practitioner Lin Qinyi reminds that in addition to people with a short chin and an overly enlarged tongue who are more likely to snore in the future due to structural problems, people with a "phlegm-damp constitution" should also be vigilant. People with phlegm-dampness constitution often suffer from obesity, swelling of the nasopharyngeal mucosa, and thick tongue coating. To reverse the fate of snoring and prevent snoring while sleeping, moderate weight loss is a must. Other recommended methods include: exercising more, avoiding the bad habit of eating and drinking too much for three meals, and eating less sweets and ice cream on weekdays.

In addition, drinking tea can also keep you away from snoring! In the middle of the cold winter, Chinese medicine practitioner Lin Qinyi recommends that people with phlegm-damp constitution who are afraid of heat and have dry mouth can take 1 piece of tangerine peel and 2 to 3 pieces of mint, brew them with hot water and drink them. The same ingredients can be brewed repeatedly on the same day until the taste is gone. People with phlegm-damp constitution who are afraid of cold can take 3 to 5 slices of ginger and 1 piece of tangerine peel, pour in 150c.c. of water and boil for about 10 minutes. Then add boiled water to adjust the concentration according to personal preference. It can replace daily drinking water. It should be noted that this tea should not be added with sugar, and try to avoid drinking it at night to avoid having to go to the toilet in the middle of the night.