Having to listen to someone snore is never fun. However, if that person is a stranger seated next to you on a trans-continental or trans-Atlantic flight, it’s even worse. You probably also don’t want to be the one snoring and offending all of the people seated in your cabin. How do you avoid snoring on an airplane? Below are a few tips:

How to avoid snoring on a plane

1. Consider an over-the-counter solution. There are a myriad of other-the-counter products that can assist with snoring. Some of the most effective and unobtrusive of these are Breath Right strips, plastic strips that fit snugly over the bridge of your nose and help to open up your nasal passages. Also helpful is SnoreEclipse, a small plastic band that attaches to the base of your nose and also helps to open up your nasal passages.

2. Stay well-hydrated. Airplane cabins have dry, recycled air that dries out a person’s nasal passages, making snoring worse. Avoid this by making sure to drink plenty of (non-alcoholic) fluids.

3. Keep your head elevated. Another way to help to keep from snoring on an airplane is to keep your head from drooping, not all that easy in today’s cramped airline seats. One product that can help with this is an anti snoring pillow. This device is easy to pack; easy to inflate and fits loosely around your neck, helping you to sleep more comfortably as well as avoid snoring.

4. Don’t recline. Keeping your head elevated also means reducing the degree to which you recline your seat. The more you recline your seat, the greater the chance that you’ll end up snoring. When you recline, your tongue can fall back and partially block your air passage, causing you to snore. You probably don’t want to sit upright for a six-hour flight. However, realize that the more you recline, the more you’ll probably snore.

5. Plan to stay awake. As a last resort, plan on staying awake during your flight. Bring books to read, correspondence to catch up on and/or DVDs to watch. You might be surprised how calm and peaceful a full plane can be when the majority of your fellow travelers are asleep.

Snoring on an airplane doesn’t have to be a concern. With a little planning and a few snoring aids, you can be assured that you–and those sitting around you–will get the rest they need while you jet through the sky.

You might think of snoring as a mere nuisance, but, in many cases, it is more. Snoring can have both social and health ramifications. So, if you snore, there is every reason for you to want to stop.

When you snore, you affect not only your sleep but the sleep of your sleeping partner as well. Research shows that when you snore, you wake your sleeping partner more than twenty times an hour, which severely cuts into their restfulness. In many cases, partners of snorers are forced to sleep in separate rooms. Sleeping separately creates lack of intimacy and strains the relationship. This alone should motivate snorers to seek help.

Think snoring has no effect on your relationship? Think again.

Imagine yourself trying to drift into a restful night sleep next to your partner who sounds like a snorting hog.   Even if you are someone who falls asleep easily and sleeps soundly it would be near impossible and can get you pretty mad.