If you're being kept awake by your partner's snoring, you can try taping a tennis ball to their back. Photo / 123rf
If you're being kept awake by your partner's snoring, you can try taping a tennis ball to their back. Photo / 123rf
There's nothing like collapsing into bed at the end of a long day ready for a good night's sleep - only to be interrupted by your partner's snoring.
If their incessant rumblings are depriving you of sleep and driving you crazy, a tennis ball might be the answer, reports The Sun.
Yes, it sounds weird, but there's logic behind it.
UK expert Dr Sophie Bostock explained during an appearance on a British talk show that snoring is usually the result of sleeping on your back, or at least gets worse if you're in that position.
But if you attach an object like a tennis ball to the back of your pj's, it then becomes impossible for you to sleep on your back and therefore prevents snoring.
Bostock explained that regular snoring has been on the rise since lockdown and it's possibly due to less time spent exercising and more time spent behind a desk.
She suggested the tennis ball trick could save you from sleeplessness and salvage your relationship at the same time.
"Snoring gets worse when you lie on your back, because when you lie on your back your mouth is more likely to open," she said.
"Anything you can do to keep yourself leaning on the side should help. A tennis ball sewn into the back of your pyjamas can make it uncomfortable."
But the surprising advice left the talk show hosts shocked. One even labelled it "extreme".
And the method isn't recommended by all sleep experts. Therapist and author of Sleep Ninja Karl Rollison suggested using something a little bit gentler than a hard tennis ball.
"When we sleep on our backs the tongue and soft palate relax, succumb to gravity and rest on the back of the throat and make a vibrating noise," he told Tyla.
Some experts recommend sewing a tennis ball to your pj's to keep you sleeping on your side. Photo / Getty Images
"The jaw also relaxes so the lips open and the mouth becomes an organic echo chamber amplifying the sound.
"So, when we snore our heads become big, squidgy speakers playing really bad music."
Rollison explained that sleeping on your side gives you better airflow and puts less pressure on the airways.
"This is one of the reasons unconscious people are placed in the recovery position."
His solution? Sleeping with a backpack on.
This "old-school" method was often used by soldiers to prevent them from snoring and giving away their location.
"Many years ago, I cracked three ribs doing martial arts and if I shifted my position during sleep I woke up in agony, so I placed a pillow in a rucksack and wore it loosely on my back," he revealed.
"I slept like a baby. This method physically prevents you from rolling onto your back without the pain of having a tennis ball on it."
