Picture this: it’s 4am. Your alarm is going to start blaring in a few short hours telling you to get out of bed and get ready for the work day. You’ve been trying to fall asleep for the last three hours to no avail. This is not the first time you’ve sat up at such an ungodly hour only to run over the grocery list in your mind for the umpteenth time.

This probably won’t be the last, either. That is, unless you get treatment, or consider a solid snoring solution like what is noted here in our ZQuiet review.

Chances are you’re suffering from insomnia. That annoying, and potentially deadly, sleep disorder that keeps you up at all hours of the night only to make you feel sleepy and unproductive during the day. It’s important to understand that you are not alone in this, as this is a serious, serious issue that affects thousands of people around the world. In fact, that number is probably in the millions, when you really think about it.

There are various ways to treat sleep issues and they don’t always rely on medication. For a snoring issue, as an example, most folks try the ZQuiet mouthpiece. Meanwhile, for insomnia, a lot of folks turn to sleeping pills. But, many people are afraid to take sleeping pills because they worry about developing a dependence on them. Would you be surprised to know that changing your diet and the practice of acupuncture might help with your sleeplessness?

“Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care …”

Truly, it adds insult to injury at 3 a.m. that a quote from Macbeth should rattle around in the head of someone with a life as mundane as mine.

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As many as 30 to 35 percent of adults report insomnia ‘” difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep ‘” according to the National Sleep Foundation. The problem is more common in adults who are older, in women, in people who are stressed and those with medical issues or problems such as depression.

While some people have problems such as sleep apnea that require medical attention, alternative approaches and changes in lifestyle can be helpful for many.

Joanne Neville, clinical director at Southwest Acupuncture College, in Gunbarrel, says sleep issues are “probably one of our top five ailments people come seeking acupuncture for in our clinic. We treat about 800 patients (total) a month, so that’s a lot of people who have sleep issues.”

Neville says the clinic generally combines acupuncture with Chinese herbs.

“Auricular (ear) acupuncture is really excellent for resetting the mind,” she says. “It helps to calm a person down. We incorporate a lot of that for sleep issues.”

Clinicians also assess pain levels, since some people sleep poorly because of pain, as well as problems with anxiety and potential issues with diet. The combination of acupuncture and herbs is tailored to each individual.

“Three people can come in with insomnia and three people may go out with a completely different formula,” she says. “We treat what we see.”

Nutritional therapist Esther Cohen says many of her clients report sleep issues. She says our lifestyles are overstimulating us.

Via: http://www.dailycamera.com/lifestyles/ci_30228496/acupuncture-diet-may-help-sleep-problems

While many people think of acupuncture for tension headaches and irritable bowels, not many are familiar with all the benefits of this ancient Chinese medicine. The beauty of a customized treatment is that it makes you special. It targets your specific sleep issues and works at balancing your body. It can be frustrating to try something friends or family have done to combat your particular issue only to have it not work for you. With acupuncture you know that the treatment plan that is laid out for you is specifically for you.

Acupuncture used to be one of those mystical medicinal practices that celebrities used. It was under scrutiny in the West as the benefits weren’t completely obvious. That’s what happens any time a new medicine is brought to a new country. Now acupuncture is more mainstream and easier to find.

If you’re having troubles with your sleep, or lack thereof, it might be in your best interests to meet with an acupuncturist and get those tiny needles stuck in your skin. That is, as long as it won’t make you squeamish.

Time and again we have heard how technology has left the majority of the population sleep-deprived. Perhaps, no one will argue about that considering how many can no longer take their eyes away from their smartphones or laptops anymore as they keep themselves updated on the online world. Virtual life has become synonymous with real life and most can no longer distinguish the boundaries between the two that a lot of people give up sleep in order to satiate their #FOMO or fear of missing out. The popularity of social media is also a big factor why everyone is so obsessed with technology. Using social media can be cool, as you can learn great things from ZQuiet reviews, world news, classic history – if it’s information, it’s on the web! Everyone’s using it and it proves helpful at times too.

Now, what will you do if you find out can work the other way around. Instead of making you constantly lose sleep, this time technology will make sure you get a good night’s sleep every single day because you deserve nothing less. There is never a need to settle for a Life with sleep apnea. Now, we’ve heard about wonder pillows and mattresses that let you sleep like a baby but are pro-sleep technologies limited to these things alone? It’s high time we find out.

Shepherd Blue sleep tracking headband

The Shepherd Blue headband sends two different frequency noises through your ears, which causes the mind to perceive a third tone as an auditory illusion. This process is called binaural beats, and scientists have started to find evidence that it could improve your mood and sleep.

The headband is also sleep tracker — it measures your body positions, cycles, and sleep quality. Plus, a Business Insider writer had some vivid dreams when she tested out.

2breathe chest strap

Deep breathing can help you cope with stress — even the Apple Watch has an app to encourage you to breathe better. But the 2breathe sleep monitor will help you regulate your breath as you fall asleep.

The 2breathe unit sits on your chest — attached by a strap — and measures your respiration rate. The device is linked to an app on your phone via BlueTooth, which will sync to your breath. It guides you to breathe more deeply by playing tones through your phone — just follow along to relax your mind and body. The app will turn off when it detects you’re asleep.

(Via: http://www.nigeriatoday.ng/2017/10/tech-gadgets-9-gadgets-that-will-help-you-sleep-better/)

When it comes to sleep health, tracking plays a big part in ensuring you enjoy better quality sleep than most people do. The use of binaural beats is also effective as it generally improves your mood, which helps with sleeping faster and deeper. Breathing plays a big role in your sleep too. The frequent breathing pauses associated with sleep apnea is a major factor why patients with this condition are chronically sleep-deprived but not anymore. Give at least these two products a try and begin to experience better sleep that you have been missing out on for so long.

In a nutshell, it looks exactly like a standard AC wall outlet and plugs right into the wall. It’s only about 1-inch deep and allows you to use the power ports as a pass-through outlet for lamps, chargers, whatever.

To set it up, download the free Nightingale sound app (iOS and Android) and follow the onscreen instructions, which include setting up a quick account. You get the choice of using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, both worked well, but you’ll get a little more range with Wi-Fi.

The app sets the system up for your room, including a schedule and a few specific conditions for creating the right sound blanket. Among the setup preferences are choices to neutralize snoring or the right sounds for a youth’s bedroom. Sounds include crickets, loons, whale songs, rainstorm or my choice of lakeshore.

(Via: https://phys.org/news/2017-08-gadgets-environment.html)

You can sleep more soundly at night by setting the perfect ambiance that is conducive for sleeping. For some, this isn’t just possible because of the location of their house or the fact that they are sharing the room with other people. With the help of the nightingale smart home sleep system, you’ll be able to sleep through the night without a fuss unlike before since you’ll no longer be bothered by the noise made by others and it induces the perfect setting to make you drowsy and fall asleep sooner. Hearing about these products will make you think tech experts got something right after all and not just be the cause of your sleep woes and that of a million others.

However, if your problem is a health condition such as sleep apnea, merely using pro-sleep technologies like these are not enough to address the disorder. What you need is something prescribed by doctors that are proven to address sleep apnea without being too much of a hassle to your life. Losing sleep or compromising your health will no longer be a problem for you from now on if you do something about it today.

Not everyone is created equal. We may have the same needs and interests but there are many things that differentiate us from one another. It’s what made life on this planet so much brighter and exciting. Yet despite our diversity, some things just do not change. Sleep, for instance, is a universal need that nobody can resist or avoid just as much as eating and breathing. It’s something we all need, whether we have to use a snoring mouthpiece like the ZQuiet or not. Imagine yourself without sleep for days at a time. You feel like a human zombie, right? Sleep deprivation not only makes you dizzy and cranky but it is likewise detrimental to your health. Sleep restores our body and enables us to face a new day with enough energy and mental focus we all need to survive the day and finish all our tasks.

However, getting a good night’s sleep is easier said than done if you are someone suffering from a sleep disorder known as sleep apnea. Those with sleep apnea often snore but not all snorers have sleep apnea. What’s scary about this situation is the breathing pauses that characterizes sleep apnea. You stop breathing because your brain is in a dilemma of whether to breathe or sleep, which is why you drift on and off in sleep. The sleeper is rarely conscious of this, but it does happen. It is even a major discomfort to the person sleeping beside them as the snoring is so loud they lose just as much sleep as the one with sleep apnea. It’s kind of a no win situation, no matter how you look at it.

Diseases often present themselves differently in men and women. Not separating the results means that the symptoms most common in men during clinical trials are the ones that get more attention in popular medical studies. As such, doctors misdiagnose women because our symptoms for certain ailments don’t match the symptoms doctors are taught to look for. This frustrating fact holds true for sleep apnea, a common sleep disorder in which people experience one or more pauses in breathing and shallow breathing while sleeping. One in five Americans have mild obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Folks with sleep apnea stop breathing in their sleep, and, spoiler alert, we need to breathe to live. But women with sleep apnea are misdiagnosed with depression, hypertension, and hypochondria, among other things, and it’s a huge issue. Being misdiagnosed can cause women to not get the treatment they need.

(Via: https://www.bustle.com/p/what-does-sleep-apnea-feel-like-why-this-sleep-disorder-is-often-misdiagnosed-in-women-2980844)

People tend to ignore sleep apnea because many have been known to snore for ages and it’s become that annoying some people just have. Some possibly even die from it without knowing it was their sleep apnea that caused their death since they likely haven’t consulted a doctor regarding this condition. The symptoms are really quite bothersome, though, and waking up gasping for air is not new to these people. Imagine living in a constant 50/50 situation each night because of sleep apnea.

These are some of the most common and most noticeable symptoms associated with it:

Noticeable interruptions in breathing: The most noticeable sign of sleep apnea is the hallmark of the condition: a noticeable interruption in breathing. You won’t be awake to notice this for yourself, but if you record yourself or have someone watch you, there may be significant pauses in your breathing pattern. If this happens intermittently, you almost certainly have sleep apnea.

Snoring: Snoring by itself is not another indication, but the symptoms of both sleep apnea and snoring are caused by similar underlying root causes. If you know you snore frequently, you could be at higher risk.

Fatigue: Sleep apnea interferes with your ability to sleep ordinarily. If you wake up feeling fatigued or have less energy than usual, it could be a sign that your sleep has been interrupted throughout the night.

(Via: https://www.praguepost.com/lifestyle/sleep-apnea)

These are just some of the symptoms of sleep apnea and these alone can make you lose more sleep and predispose you to more health problems when not addressed right away. The usual treatment is CPAP but compliance is low since it is very inconvenient to use than those prescribed with it stop using the machine after a few days or weeks of use.

The inconvenience in the use of CPAP is no excuse, though, to skip treatment if you still want to live long.

Sleeping has evolved to become such a luxury and no longer a life necessity that it used to be. People seldom get to sleep all eight hours of uninterrupted sleep like we used to because distractions are everywhere keeping us away from our bed and make us stay up until the early morning hours. We can’t get enough of the web and social media and it has greatly changed our sleeping habits too. That’s a lot of screen time, which is pumping a lot of blue light and telling your body that it’s daytime. Most people nowadays thrive at night partly because the Internet connection is faster and you don’t have others to compete with the bandwidth that slows down the speed.

Back then, people had nothing better else to do once night time falls so they simply sleep. Even the television did not have enough shows to air until cable TV came. But now, you won’t run out of things to do and see on the web. As long as you have a fast Internet connection, you’re free to do just about everything under the sun (under the moon, in this case), including to check out our ZQuiet review. However, there are also other things that keep people up at night and it is far from enjoyable, unlike social media. Medical conditions like sleep apnea is a terrible malady since it doesn’t only bother the person suffering from it but the patient’s significant other (partner or spouse) since the snoring is as terrible as the accompanying risks of such a diagnosis.

Untreated sleep apnea can increase blood sugar, blood fat, stress hormones, and blood pressure in just a few days, new research finds.

The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, adds further support for the consistent use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), a machine that increases air pressure in the throat to keep the airway open while a patient sleeps.

“This is one of the first studies to show real-time effects of sleep apnea on metabolism during the night,” says Jonathan Jun, assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the paper’s senior author.

Obstructive sleep apnea affects 20 to 30 percent of adults, previous studies showed. It occurs when the upper airway closes off during sleep, temporarily interrupting breathing.

(Via: http://www.futurity.org/sleep-apnea-1534552/)

Sleep apnea is a major health risk since it predisposes you to other equally deadly conditions like heart disease and diabetes. It is a major bother too because of the loud snoring and the mere fact that a person suffering from sleep apnea literally stops breathing many times during his/her sleep. The physical impacts of sleep apnea do also tend to build up over time, and as they build up, your chance of survival lessens.

The death last year of actor Carrie Fisher, best known for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise, was due to sleep apnoea and other causes, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office said in a statement on Friday.

Sleep apnoea is a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts.

Fisher died aged 60 on December 27th, four days after she became unresponsive on a flight from London to Los Angeles and was rushed to a hospital.

(Via: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/carrie-fisher-s-death-due-to-sleep-apnoea-and-other-causes-1.3124006)

You can really die from sleep apnea especially if you are older and already battling with pre-existing health conditions such as heart issues. Losing sleep is the least you want to suffer from as you age but that’s what you get with sleep apnea. Moreover, just be reminded again of the fact that your breathing temporarily stops if you have sleep apnea. It’s a deadly symptom for patients with cardiac conditions and death may be inevitable in a short span of time.

So, why face such a risk if there are interventions at your disposal that won’t just relieve you of the annoying symptoms of sleep apnea but save your life from such a great danger too? Most patients aren’t thrilled with conservative sleep apnea treatments like CPAP because the equipment is bulky, really expensive and sometimes actually doesn’t do the job at all! But do not lose hope because there are alternatives you can try that may not be as effective as CPAP but still good enough to save you (and your partner) from sleepless nights and hopefully extend your life to.

Newborns sleep almost all the time. Toddlers and kids still sleep longer than adults too because of their developing brains and bodies. But over time, sleeping hours of a person lessens until adulthood where responsibilities are plenty but lacking on sleep and rest. Our sleeping patterns also change with aging. Older people find it harder to sleep as they age and often wake up during the night or in the wee hours of the morning. Things like smart phones, tablets and laptops shoot blue light at us for hours, which also may affect our natural ability to catch some snoozes.

The elderly are often known as light sleepers with an average of 6.5 hours sleep at night. Many of them will likely benefit from more sleep if they read our ZQuiet review. Their sleep is often devoid of dreams and lacking in deep sleep that is the best part of sleeping in terms of quality and the health benefits you can get from it. Nocturia or excessive urination at night are also common problems experienced by older adults that have a big impact on the quantity and quality of their sleep.

It is generally accepted that people in middle age and beyond sleep about 1 hour less due to biological changes (not because they are super busy). The 1-hour sleep loss is considered natural and not unhealthy, says Judith E. Carroll, a psychiatrist who researches neuroscience and human behavior at the University of California, Los Angeles.

However, restorative sleep tends to decline with age. “The important point is that the overall need for quality sleep — deep sleep — is thought to remain, even though it is increasingly hard to get as the body ages,” Carroll says.

People spend less time in deep non-REM slumber, also called Delta sleep, which is a time for memory consolidation and the brain’s clearing of protein waste (including amyloid beta, linked to Alzheimer’s disease). Delta sleep restores people mentally and physiologically.

(Via: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2017/05/01/quality-sleep-aging/#.WQ0rTIiGPIU)

Sleeping does a lot of strange things to the body, especially for the younger generations. Unfortunately, the elderly don’t get to enjoy sleep as much as the younger ones even though they have more time on their hands now that they’re retired or out of work.

“Sleep changes with aging, but it doesn’t just change with aging; it can also start to explain aging itself,” says review co-author Matthew Walker, who leads the Sleep and Neuroimaging Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. “Every one of the major diseases that are killing us in first-world nations – from diabetes to obesity to Alzheimer’s disease to cancer – all of those things now have strong causal links to a lack of sleep. And all of those diseases significantly increase in likelihood the older that we get, and especially in dementia.”

Older adults’ sleep loss isn’t due to a busy schedule or simply needing less sleep. As the brain ages, neurons and circuits in the areas that regulate sleep slowly degrade, resulting in a decreased amount of non-REM sleep. Since non-REM deep sleep plays a key role in maintaining memory and cognition, that’s a problem. “There is a debate in the literature as to whether older adults need less sleep, or rather, older adults cannot generate the sleep that they nevertheless need. We discuss this debate at length in the review,” says Walker. “The evidence seems to favor one side – older adults do not have a reduced sleep need, but instead, an impaired ability to generate sleep. The elderly therefore suffer from an unmet sleep need.”

Ageing leads to decline in almost every measure scientists apply to slumber. “Sleep duration – how much time you spend asleep – decreases as you get older,” says study co-author Bryce Mander of University of California Berkeley. “Your sleep gets more fragmented as you get older. How much time you spend in individual stages of sleep, and the amount of time you spend in the deeper stages, in particular non-REM deep sleep, gets dramatically reduced as you get older. Even moving from one stage to another becomes less predictable and more disorganized.”

(Via: https://guardian.ng/features/health/why-sleep-quantity-quality-decline-as-people-get-older/)

The elderly have gone through so much in life and all these changes both good and bad can wreak havoc with their sleep. Even the different medications they take can also mess with their sleeping patterns. However, sleeping less in your older age isn’t really a problem at all if you still feel refreshed and energized upon waking up. It simply means that your sleeping requirements have changed and you can make do with 6-7 hours of sleep now than you did in the past.

The elderly need to go see a health provider, though, if they suffer from other sleep-related disorders like insomnia or sleep apnea and the annoying snoring that accompanies it because their health will further deteriorate if these issues are not addressed. While surgery is no longer an option for conditions like this among older people because of the risks involved, there are still other solutions to address sleep apnea, for instance. Anti-snoring gadgets like the ZQuiet can offer relief as well as the SnoreRX that are non-invasive but addresses the problem especially the snoring and breathing pauses that may exacerbate other pre-existing health conditions.

Alright, maybe the snoring device itself isn’t going to actually kill you, but there are some issues they just can’t solve. Of the various sleep disorders out there, one of the most major ones is sleep apnea: specifically obstructive sleep apnea. This means that while a person sleeps, their airways are being blocked enough that they will actually stop breathing. Many people who suffer with obstructive sleep apnea use a special machine to help them breathe at night.

There are some people who have found success with mouthpieces like ZQuiet while they sleep as there are those designed to keep your airways open by supporting one of the worst blockage culprits, your tongue, in place. While this is all well and good (and even desired) there is one disease that goes hand-in-hand with sleep apnea that mouthpieces can’t deal with. Heart disease:

In “Impact of Mandibular Advancement Therapy on Endothelial Function in Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea,” French researchers report on a randomized controlled trial of 150 patients with severe sleep apnea and no overt cardiovascular disease who received either a mandibular advancement device (MAD) or a sham oral appliance.

The researchers found MAD therapy significantly improved the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) scores, micro-arousal index scores, and symptoms of snoring, fatigue, and sleepiness. However, MAD did not improve endothelial function, a key predictor of cardiovascular disease, or lower blood pressure.

Continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, is considered the “gold standard” of obstructive sleep apnea treatment. However, many patients find it uncomfortable, and MAD is the most commonly prescribed alternative.

“Endothelial dysfunction is one of the intermediate mechanisms that potentially contribute to the increased risk of cardiovascular disease in OSA,” said lead study author Frédéric Gagnadoux, MD, professor of pulmonology at the University Hospital of Angers in France. “Whether MAD therapy improves endothelial function in OSA patients had not been evaluated before in properly controlled and adequately powered trials.”

Patients in the current study had an AHI > 30. They ranged in age from 18-70, and 86 percent were men. None had signs of cardiovascular disease. Although their AHI scores were indicative of severe sleep apnea, participants reported only mild daytime sleepiness. A strength of the study, which lasted two months, was that compliance with using MAD was high, as verified by researchers using a tiny embedded monitor.

Via: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170127112856.htm

It’s a daunting thing to grapple with. Being diagnosed with sleep apnea doesn’t mean your life is over, it just means there are more things you need to consider in order to remain healthy. The important thing to take away from this is that you can’t cut corners when it comes to addressing the issue. Sleep apnea is a serious disorder with real consequences that can start to pile up and create a potentially deadly situation. This goes beyond trying to stop snoring because it bothers your partner. When your life is at risk you need to do everything in your power to retain a quality of life and living that you are proud of. You can’t just slap a mouthpiece in and think everything is great. Will it stop the snoring? Sure! That’s what it’s designed to do. But these devices also have limitations. Your heart isn’t affected by what you wear in your mouth at night. It’s simply not enough to keep heart disease at bay. Listen to your doctor and make sure you’re doing what you can to have a happy, healthy sleep.

There are some outrageous sleep aids out there. The strap you put around your jaw to keep your mouth shut, tucking a tennis ball into your clothes to keep you from rolling over, and your standard mouthpiece. Some of these are tested and true, do what they’re supposed to do and are only slightly uncomfortable (as you’ll read about in our ZQuiet Reviews Complaints.) The human body can adapt to almost anything you throw at it so it’s easy to get used to putting a mouthpiece in every night. Of all the strangest sleep aids that are out there one of the most interesting right now has to be the 2breathe wearable device that looks an awful lot like a belt. It seems to work, though, so perhaps it’s worth the price:

2breathe Technologies Ltd., a pioneer in developing digital therapeutic devices, today announced that 2breathe^™, a new smart, connected device tackling sleeplessness via a patented guided-breathing technology, is now publicly available. The new product, will be showcased at Israel’s premier health and life sciences industry event IATI-BIOMED on May 26, 2016.

2breathe broadly-patented technology grew out of a FDA-cleared device for non-drug treatment of hypertension and stress, RESPeRATE, used by hundreds of thousands of doctors and patients.  RESPeRATE’s one “side effect” was that users reported dozing off during the session and improved sleep. The Company adapted the technology for smartphones and created the 2breathe platform to induce sleep.

2breathe uses smart, connected technology to deliver the ancient wisdom of sleep-inducing breathing exercises in an easy and effective manner. A sensor worn around the torso picks up the user’s inhale and exhale movements sending it to an iOS app via low energy Bluetooth. The app transforms, in real time, the breathing into tones that gradually guide the user to prolonged exhalation and slow breathing. Within minutes, neural sympathetic activity is reduced, the user begins to disassociate from both external and internal stimuli, and the mind and body relax into sleep. Once sleep is detected, 2breathe automatically shuts off and generates a report showing the falling asleep process breath-by-breath.

“We believe that tracking sleep is nice, but inducing sleep is better,” said Erez Gavish, Co-Founder and CEO. “164 million Americans struggle with sleep at least once a week which is not surprising considering the extent of modern day work schedules and life stresses. We’re excited to be able to offer a real breakthrough to help those who can not ‘shut off’ their minds and fall asleep.”

2breathe was recently introduced to the Japanese market by Teijin, Japan’s largest sleep provider and is now available to consumers for $179.95 directly at www.2breathe.com.

Via: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/2breathe-unveils-first-smart-device-to-induce-sleep-300265446.html

This brings new meaning to being snug and tight in your bed. It also adds a level of coziness that you may not be familiar with. The only major downside might be to those who sleep on their stomachs. Having the buckle right under your ribs and crushed under your body weight may have some impact on how the product works. In fact, if you are a stomach sleeper, we’d advise you to stay clear of the situation. If you otherwise suffer from sleep disorders like insomnia, this relatively natural way to fall asleep without the use of medication might be just what you need. It’s interesting that it induces sleep and one can’t help but wonder the effect it may have on those who snore. For bedroom technology this is definitely something to keep an eye on.