To what lengths would you go to stifle the thunderous snorts and buzz-saw growls of a spouse or roommate, just so you can get a good night's sleep? Dozens of anti-snoring devices crowd the market, ranging from slightly absurd to moderately torturous.
"Some of them are more medieval than others," says Dr. Kim Hutchison, associate professor of sleep medicine in the department of neurology at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Ore. And some of the devices, she says, even have some basis in fact.
"When you sleep, the back of your throat relaxes. That narrows your airway and, as you're breathing in, it causes it to vibrate," explains Hutchison. So, many anti-snoring products are aimed at opening up that airway, or the tunnels that lead to it. For example, you can buy hollow nose plugs that, instead of closing the nostrils, prop them open.
"If you have a deviated septum or something like that, those could help open up your nose and decrease snoring," says Hutchison, but they won't help everyone because "most snoring appears in the back of your throat."
Other devices are designed to force sleepers to turn on their sides.
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My wife got a nighttime 'appliance' (like a plastic mouth guard) that works pretty well.
ReplyDeleteLosing weight can be surprisingly effective.
ReplyDeleteI have tried both above. My issue became apnoea which has longer term implications from obesity to heart failure. This is very serious and my "snoring" became literally my body struggling to breath. This results in oxygen deprivation to the brain and heart. I just began using a CPAP device; problem solved.
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