Thursday 29 December 2016

Wake Yourself Into Snore-Free Sleep?

So why is snoring a big problem for people? Well, there are certainly a number of reasons, a major one being the fact that snoring frequently coincides with lack of breathing during sleep. Also, if you sleep with a partner, it can be annoying to the extreme and keep your partner up all night, whether he or she has a snoring problem or not! This is bad for you, of course, but definitely worse for your relationship.

However, one of the main issues that people find tough with snoring and sleep apnea is a lack of sleep. A lack of sustained, restful, full-blown, relaxed sleep. The kind where the dreams are strong and restful. The real reason for good sleep, after all.

The consequences of missing out on this kind of quality sleep can be killer for a lot of people, and result in lost productivity, moodiness and not to mention total lack of energy during the day. It's enough that people frequently look to snoring mouthpieces like this one to calm their snoring and ensure a solid bunch of winks.

A Chinese company called VVFly, meanwhile, has a different way of tackling snoring: instead of attacking the issue at the core like a mouthpiece, they have a device called the Snore Circle that actually "transmits beeps and vibrations into a snorer's ear to stop snoring when it detects it." It's an interesting approach, for sure:

The CEO, Johnson Luo, who is also a snorer, said that the device doesn’t wake the snorer up, but just irritates the snorer enough to change position and stop snoring. The beeps and vibrations sent by the device vary in 54 forms according to the seriousness of the snoring.

According to the article on Forbes.com, the massively different customer experiences may be par for the course with this device:

Professor Li Taoping, director of the Respiratory and Sleep Research Center at Guangzhou Southern Medical University, said that snoring results from various causes, such as having narrower air passages, being overweight or out of shape, use of certain medicines, excessive drinking or smoking, and sleeping in poor positions. As a result, different methods and tools have varying influence on different people. That is why the users of Snore Circle have such different experiences from the device.

Now, this is certainly a device that we wouldn't recommend (especially because it never really addresses the initial or main cause of snoring), but that's OK, as it's only available in Mainland China at this point. But, there does seem to be one very interesting and frankly, useful reason to consider the Snore Circle:

What is also special about the Snore Circle is that it has Bluetooth that can send data to its mobile app, also of the same name, which can track and record one’s sleeping quality and snoring reduction.

So the power of a sleep lab in a Bluetooth device? Why yes, friends. Very, very cool. Cool enough, apparently, that the company as of this writing has already raised over $250,000 on funding site IndieGoGo to potentially get the product to more people.

So is the Snore Circle a stunning snore-killer like we've never seen before? Er, probably not. And the idea of "slightly bothering" the snorer perhaps up to a hundred times per night doesn't exactly sound like an experience most of us would like to be a part of.

But, in our eyes, what makes the Snore Circle so interesting is the fact that it uses your smart phone to track exactly how your snoring patterns work. Like a sleep lab in an earpiece's clothing, if it actually works as stated.

And that may be well worth the money for many folks.

Wake Yourself Into Snore-Free Sleep? is available on TSMR



source http://snoringmouthpiecereview.org/sleep-health/wake-yourself-into-snore-free-sleep

Monday 12 December 2016

Dispelling Some Sleep Myths With Professional Help!

There are a lot of myths about virtually everything - let's face it, when you live in a world where "fake news" is not only more popular, but more believed than real news, you're going to get some fake-outs. But in the world of sleep, there are always ways to second guess. Am I getting enough sleep? Is my health destroying my sleep? And it goes on from there.

sleep-mythsThere are some simple truths, however, and a key one is that we all need a good amount of sleep to survive. For most people, that means anywhere from 6-8 hours of sleep per night. This is the same kind of sleep that can be easily interrupted by snoring, which is why many people may be overestimating the sheer amount of sleep they're actually receiving.

But, leave it up to this Fortune Article to go all Myth-Busters on sleep:

If you can’t recall your dreams, you’re not sleeping deeply. Not true. It’s normal not to remember your dreams, but most likely you are still having dream sleep otherwise known as REM (“rapid eye movement”) sleep every night. In fact, most people remember their dreams only because they may be waking up frequently in the middle of the night (from disorders such as sleep apnea) or because they were in the last stage of sleep when the alarm went off.

Frankly, I'd never heard of this one before. But there you go... the folks behind the fake news sites must be cooking away in their fake sleep lab with this one. Not as bad as this one:

You can’t have sleep apnea if you’re not fat. Not true. Sleep apnea may be related to being obese, but it can also be found in children and thin adults. Facial bone structure related to a small upper airway also contributes to sleep apnea. Physicians who diagnose and treat sleep disorders look for signs such as a small jaw, a recessed chin, teeth crowding, small nasal passages or a deviated septum (which means the thin wall between the nasal passages is displaced to one side).

Yep, that one is a bit of a shocker. It's important to remember that snoring usually comes from your jaw and epiglottis region, and has nothing to do with obesity at all. That's why mouthpieces like the Good Morning Snore Solution are in such popular demand by our readers. While obesity does mean the likelihood that you snore is much higher because it's also likely you have more movable fat cells in your neck and throat region, it certainly isn't a guarantee, either. No matter your body shape, you're at risk of obstructive sleep apnea - whether you like it or not.

You can make up for lost weeknight sleep on the weekend. Not true. While you may be able to work off some sleep debt by sleeping more on the weekends, such sleep deprivation during the work week and binge sleeping on the weekends can contribute to insomnia. It disrupts circadian rhythms and makes it hard to fall and stay asleep. It’s best to set the same wake time seven days a week and get into bed when you’re feeling sleepy.

This one is interesting as well. My wife is a big proponent of this one, and I frankly can't wait to show it to her. Sleep daily, folks, and you'll be much better off than if you think that you can somehow "catch up".

Alcohol helps you sleep better. Not true. A nightcap before bed may calm you down and make it easier to fall asleep, but it tends to disrupt the quality of sleep. The depressant effects of alcohol may wear off in the middle of the night, increasing nighttime awakenings. Alcohol also reduces REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep and increases sleep-disordered breathing, which may lead to even more nighttime awakenings. And for some people, it can induce gastroesophageal reflux, which can cause discomfort and awakening.

About this one, all I can say is I find it all a bit hilarious. Apparently the myth-meister that started shilling this one has never come by my bedside after a couple of good whiskies!
See the rest of these myths at http://www.forbes.com/sites/henrymiller/2016/11/30/a-bakers-dozen-important-facts-about-sleep-and-sleep-disorders/, and learn a little something.

Remember that checking a couple of sources, especially when it comes to health decisions, is ALWAYS a great idea. There is never a need to diagnose yourself with a dire fatal illness when a second source might dispel that kind of madness.

And remember also: worrying causes a ton of stress. Stress can make sleeping difficult. So don't believe everything you read, OK?

Dispelling Some Sleep Myths With Professional Help! was originally published to The Snoring Mouthpiece Review



source http://snoringmouthpiecereview.org/sleep-health/dispelling-some-sleep-myths-with-professional-help