[bckr]

Another thing to look into is whether you have snoring / sleep apnea. Most people who do, it seems, are not aware of it. 2 easy, objective tests:

1) Ask your sleeping partner, if you have one, if you snore.

2) Record yourself sleeping. I used an app called SnoreLab which does audio analysis to give you a numerical rating and pulls clips of likely snoring moments so you don't have to scrub through the entire night's recording. The app also gives a pretty exhaustive list of recommendations for fixing snoring.

Many people have snoring / apnea and don't know it / are in denial. Poor sleep quality / being tired is a symptom. Fixing this can add quality years to your life, so worth looking into.

[qwerty456127]

I often snore when I sleep on my back. So I always sleep on my belly and don't snore. This developed before I even finished high school. I have never been (and am not) even slightly overweight.

[muffinman26]

Sleep apnea often develops during puberty when the voice box changes, which lines up with the high-school timeframe. Being overweight can certainly make it worse, but apparently an above-average number of firefighters have sleep apnea, and they're not exactly an overweight group.

Not saying you have sleep apnea or that sleeping on your side/belly isn't enough to deal with it, simply some information.

(It's certainly possible that the reason an above-average number of fire-fighters have sleep apnea is that 1) they're more likely to have people hear them snoring, and 2) the people screened out of the military for sleep apnea often respond by becoming firefighters.)

[bckr]

Weight is often a cause but is not necessary to produce apnea. The human breathing apparatus is just weird.

I'm glad you have a way to prevent snoring. But I wonder if sleeping on your belly isn't also bad for your sleep. Everything I've read recommends side sleeping for back-snorers. I've seen some sources say belly sleeping is bad for you as well.

In any case, good luck on your health journey