These days, a lot of us are looking for essential oil home remedies for many common conditions.
One of these common ailments is snoring – whether it’s your own, your partner’s, or that of a friend.
Snoring is a severe irritant to one of the partners when trying to go to sleep. It’s not the most sexy topic to think about, but it happens none the less. Let’s face it, snoring is annoying!
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Using essential oils is one of the least intrusive ways that you can work towards stopping snoring naturally.
Read on to learn how you can start treating snoring at home.
Can Essential Oils Stop Snoring?
Research suggests that yes, essential oils can help with people suffering from snoring. This study recorded and tested snoring, and the relief thereof, after using essential oils before bed time.
In this study, both the snoring patients and their partners were quizzed before and after the application of essential oils. An astonishing 82% of patients’ partners reported a reduction in snoring when using essential oils. The partner is most suited for reporting in this study as they would be the ones noticing a change in snoring behaviors. The partners are also the ones most likely to be affected by insomnia while their significant other peacefully dozes away in dream land.
Use essential oils to help stop snoring.
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But why do we snore in the first place? Snoring is typically caused by the narrowing or partial blockage of the airway during sleep, which can result from various factors such as nasal congestion, sleep position, or structural issues in the throat and mouth.
Using essential oils for snoring correlates to the root cause of the snoring. Pick an essential oil that matches the cause.
Top 10 Best Essential Oils for Snoring
There are several great essential oils to help stop snoring. Depending on whether the snoring is due to nasal congestion, sleep position, or structural issues in the throat and mouth, take these factors into consideration when picking your essential oil(s).
Here is the list of best essential oils to use for snoring relief:
1. Thyme Essential Oil
Hands down, the best essential oil for snoring relief is thyme essential oil. It supports respiratory wellness, the immune system, muscular health and joints. It can also be used in cleaning because of its purifying qualities.
To use thyme for snoring relief, mix it with a carrier oil first. This is important as undiluted thyme will irritate the skin. Apply your blend at the bottoms of your big toes each night. Traditional reflexology charts describe these spots as the reflex for the neck area. A well thought-out foot massage is a great way to use thyme essential oil to help with snoring.
Thyme oil can help with snoring.
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You can also diffuse thyme into the air using your essential oil diffuser. Start your diffuser about half an hour before planning to go to bed. This ensures a bedroom filled with thyme aroma for easiest breathing as soon as you are ready to go to sleep.
If the scent of pure thyme oil is a bit too strong for you, you can also find thyme in some common essential oil blends that target the airways and breathing. Try Breathe Easier (Eden’s Garden), Breathe (doTerra), or R.C (Young Living) $18.00.
Avoid thyme oil during pregnancy and keep out of your nose, ears or eyes. Talk to your doctor if you have high blood pressure.
2. Marjoram Essential Oil
Stop snoring with marjoram essential oil.
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Another reportedly powerful essential oil to help with snoring is marjoram essential oil. Smelling marjoram oil before and while sleeping helps open up the airway passages. To that effect, it helps you not to snore.
Once the effect of marjoram essential oil kicks in and your body reacts to it, you don’t need it any more. This means that if you’re running marjoram in your diffuser blend, it’s ok to have your diffuser on the 2-hour shut-off setting. Don’t feel like you need the unit running all night to get snoring relief from marjoram essential oil.
The effectiveness of marjoram as a snoring remedy depends from person to person. Each individual reacts differently to any particular oil. There have been quite a few cases where snoring sufferers have reported their snoring stopped on the first night of using marjoram oil. Other snorers had to take it for 6 weeks to stop snoring. These reports just show that each person is different. Please don’t give up too quickly!
Avoid marjoram oil during pregnancy.
3. Eucalyptus Essential Oil
This Eucalyptus Oil is Certified Organic and sometimes you can find it for less than $10 per bottle.
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Eucalyptus is a herbal decongestant that helps to open your air passages. It has anti-inflammatory properties. Apart from help for snoring, eucalyptus is also a home remedy for the common cold and can help minimize flu symptoms. This is for the same reasons: because it opens up your nasal passages for better breathing.
It can also help with clearing of mucus in your nose, further opening up your ability to breathe more freely.
Eucalyptus essential oil is best taken via steam inhalation. It really works wonders and smells amazing!
Prepare a medium-sized bowl of steaming hot water and add a 3-5 drops of eucalyptus oil into it. Place a clean, dry towel over your head, lean your head and nose closely over the bowl, and breathe deeply. Try to stay in this steam inhalation treatment for at least 4-6 minutes. It is completely safe for both adults and children age 2+ alike.
Please always remember to test your choice of essential oil brand carefully and make sure you can use it as it was intended.
4. Valor Essential Oil
Young Living Valor Essential Oil Blend
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The valor essential oil blend by Young Living is an empowering combination of oils that helps the body correct its balance and alignment.
It is a blend of rosewood, blue tansy, spruce and frankincense. In the scientific study discussed earlier¹, Spruce was identified as one of the essential oils that significantly helped reduce snoring symptoms in patients. The study concludes that snoring and the relief thereof was not a mere placebo effect. You can find a link to this study in full under “Further Resources” at the bottom of this page.
The Valor blend will be a slightly pricier option for a snoring relief home remedy. But it is a very balanced smell and comforting aroma that might be worth the investment if you or your partner are acute snoring sufferers.
Use valor essential oil blended with a carrier oil and rub it onto the bottoms of your big toes before going to sleep. If you add valor to your oil diffuser at night, many people have had success with stopping the snoring with essential oils.
Less expensive alternatives for the Valor Blend
If you find the Young Living Valor blend too pricey, you can try the following 3 alternatives to Valor. They are not EXACTLY the valor blend, but pretty close.
- Plant Therapy “Self Esteem” Blend – contains Spruce, Ho Wood, Blue Tansy, and Frankincense
- DoTerra “Serenity” Blend – contains Lavender, Marjoram, Roman Chamomile, Ylang Ylang, Sandalwood, and Vanilla Bean
- REVIVE “Courage” Blend – contains Spruce, Camphor, Blue Tansy, Frankincense, and Geranium
5. Lemon Essential Oil
Organic Lemon Essential Oil from Plant Therapy
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The powers of lemon oil don’t stop at cleaning or uplifting the moods. As another anti-inflammatory powerhouse, lemon essential oil can soothe a sore throat and help you breathe easier. The trick to stopping snoring is to try and find ways to make your breathing less difficult.
Lemon is part of just about every essential oil starter kit and a very popular scent. It’s highly unlikely that you, your partner or your kids are going to complain about it. Be sure to use your bottle of lemon oil up quickly though as it only has a shelf life of about 1 year.
6. Peppermint Essential Oil
Organic Peppermint Oil
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Peppermint essential oil has purifying properties that make it easier to breathe. Additionally, peppermint can help relieve head and neck tension. You may be sleeping in uncomfortable positions, or experience restlessness due to insomnia or sleep apnea.
Peppermint is also a great support for seasonal flu symptoms, cough & cold, or immunity boosting.
The easiest way to apply peppermint essential oil for snoring is to use it in a roll-on bottle and apply it to your neck before sleep. You can make your own rollers with an inexpensive carrier oil such as fractionated coconut oil, or get a ready-made one here.
7. Clove Bud essential oil
Clove Bud Essential Oil
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Clove essential oil is often associated with potential benefits for respiratory health due to its antimicrobial properties. Antimicrobial means that it could kill or slow the spread of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, or fungi such as mold and mildew.
If your snoring might be due to seasonal allergies, cough or congestion, or cold & flu, consider adding Clove essential oil to your home remedy routine.
The oil smells quite strongly on its own, so I recommend adding it to a diffuser blend, massage blend, or roller bottle blend that you can apply on your neck & chest.
8. Pine essential oil
Edens Garden’s Pine Essential Oil
$11.95 for 5ml
Pine essential oil has quite the complex aroma as the needles, branches and cones are all put through a steam distillation method together. It’s fresh and invigorating, smelling like a walk in the forest.
The aroma of pine essential oil can provide a sense of relief from respiratory congestion. Inhaling the oil might help open up your airways and provide temporary relief from nasal congestion and stuffiness.
Pine oil is strong, so I recommend blending it with something soothing like Lavender, Chamomile or Helichrysum essential oils for a snore-no-more essential oil blend.
9. Sage essential oil
Sage Essential Oil
$11.95 for 5ml
Sage oil is often used to soothe discomforts of the respiratory systems. It has anti-spasmodic properties that can help address spasms, such as those associated with coughs, chest pain, and cramps ¹.
10. Fennel essential oil
Fennel Essential Oil
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Fennel oil may help open up your nasal passages and help reduce snoring. Due to its anti-inflammatory properties, it can reduce inflammation in the throat or nose, and improve the flow of air while sleeping.
How to Use Essential Oils for Snoring
Essential oils are a great way to naturally treat snoring and help you stop snoring altogether. And there are many ways to use your oils.
Run an aromatherapy diffuser on your bedside table with a Snore No More diffuser blend.
With any of the oils for snoring discussed here, you can either:
- Diffuse them into the air of your bedroom with your electronic diffuser.
- Make a room spray using this simple spray mixture with purified water.
- Apply them to the base of your feet, especially at the bottom of the big toe, mixed with a carrier oil like sweet almond oil or jojoba oil.
- Do a steam inhalation with a bowl of hot water, essential oil droplets in it, a towel over your head, and 4-6 minutes of deep breathing.
- Make a roller bottle following these steps and use your favorite oils for snoring.
Blends for Easier Breathing
Some of the essential oils best for snoring smell quite strongly on their own. This is why many essential oil companies also have “Breathe Easy” types of blends. These blends have many of the oils mentioned above in them. Yet, they are professionally combined into a nice, well-rounded blend.
- Breathe Easier (Edens Garden)
- Breathe (doTerra)
- RespirAid (Plant Therapy)
- R.C. (Young Living) (less pricey than the valor blend)
- Breathe Easy (REVIVE) (also available as an easy roll-on)
Final Thoughts
Are you currently using essential oils to help stop snoring? Please share with us in the comments below what’s working for you!
The best essential oils for snoring include Thyme, Marjoram, and the Valor blend.
If you or someone you know is dealing with persistent snoring, consider consulting a healthcare professional or a sleep specialist. They can help identify the underlying cause of the snoring and provide appropriate recommendations for treatment.
References
¹ Sage oil benefits, New Directions Aromatics: https://www.newdirectionsaromatics.ca/blog/products/all-about-sage-oil.html
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