Tag: sleep issues

Battle For The Future Of Sleep: Snore Mouthpieces Vs. The Smart Bed

posted by under ZQuiet , ,

No matter how you look at it, technology has changed our lives immeasurably over the past 20 years. Just think of it: now, we carry 6-10 ounce devices that have about 50-100 times the computer power that a laptop in 1995 did. I mean, that’s simply amazing (and please, don’t take my “computing power” estimates as fact: I ain’t no computer scientist! 😉 ).

So what does technology do? It solves problems. Or at least it disrupts and creates new problems that can be solved (I hate to go back to cell phones again, but yep, for many people they’ve BECOME a problem).  And what is one of the biggest problems for many people in Western societies? Snoring. Yes, I said it. And yes, it is a little “First World”, but the fact is, snoring STILL affects such a large percentage of the population that it’s almost crazy. I mean, come on! Shouldn’t we have done a little more about this by now?

And did we? Yes. First, we created the mandibular advancing snoring mouthpiece, which remains an extremely effective device, especially with solid entries recently such as the Zquiet, VitalSleep and SnoreRX. Then we adapted and made it better by creating the Tongue Stabilizing Device Mouthpiece, or TSD, an example well represented by the Good Morning Snore Solution. Our ZQuiet review is quite comprehensive, by the way.

But people are always looking for a better, more comfortable way. It simply makes sense, and apparently technology is looking to provide this. So you have a smart phone, right? What about a Smart Bed? Sleep Number thinks it’s got one:

the invention of a bed that automatically moves to adjusts a sleeper’s position when it detects a snoring fit, saving their partner from decamping to the sofa in an attempt to get a good night’s sleep.

The 360 Smart Bed, which can adjust its mattress to fit different body positions, track its owner’s sleeping habits and wake them at the optimum time, can detect the sound of snoring and in response raises the sleeper’s head by a few degrees to clear the airwaves.

Developed by mattress company Sleep Number and due to be put on sale this year, it can also warm up owners’ feet and send data about their sleeping patterns to an app.

It’s an interesting move, for sure. And we applaud Sleep Number for giving it a shot. As we have noted just recently in our post about the Snore Circle, tech companies seem to be going whole hog looking to sell products to help people sleep.

They also have what I would call “creative” ideas about how snoring can be stopped. Now don’t get me wrong: these folks don’t invest millions of dollars in a product that they think is not going to work (or sell, for that matter).

So, let’s jump ahead and propose hypothetically that the Sleep Number 360 does stop your snoring. Great! Fantastic even. The real question, though, is how many people can actually afford the Sleep Number 360. When you look at the snoring mouthpiece market and see that it is rare for a mouthpiece to cost more than $100, and compare it to Sleep Number, which currently runs models anywhere from $1000-3000USD, you can see that this is probably going to be ridiculously unaffordable for all but the richest folks out there.

The key question here for many people will be: Which is more affordable, snoring surgery or the Sleep Number 360? It sounds crazy, but when you consider it is very likely that the costs are similar, maybe it ain’t so bad sticking to a tried and true device that costs less than $125?

Lack Of Sleep Effects: Are You Getting Dumber?

posted by under SnoreRX , ,

Some people have a love-hate relationship with sleep. It just does not make any sense how some people can loathe sleeping when it offers us a temporary reprieve from all of our worries in life. Aside from that, we feel better upon arising because our body had a chance to rest and recuperate in our slumber. Sleep has a lot of benefits and it’s pretty obvious why we need it in our lives even if we aren’t always thrilled that our body demands it so much from us.

However, the world is now filled with tech distractions that take our time away from what few hours we have left for sleep. During the day, our schedule is often jam-packed from sunrise to sunset as we try to survive the daily commute, daily grind, and everything else everybody expects from us throughout the day. More often than not, we sacrifice sleep to increase our productiveness. We extend our day all through the wee hours of the morning as we try to catch up on deadlines. What we fail to realize is that we do our body more harm by skipping sleep than what we like to believe.

A chronic lack of sleep not only impairs cognitive abilities but also increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes. Current research discussed at the Congress of the European Academy of Neurology in Amsterdam show that not only the amount of sleep is important but also whether it is done at the right time.

“Too little sleep reduces our cognitive abilities and has a negative impact on physical health. Unfortunately, this crucial topic is still all too often undervalued in the health care sector,” warned Prof Pierre Maquet, head of the Neurology Department at Liège University in Belgium at the 3rd Congress of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) in Amsterdam.

1.5 hours less sleep than our grandparents

On average, Americans today sleep 6.5 hours a night and Europeans about seven. Prof Maquet: “This is about one and a half hours less than our grandparents used to sleep. That means we suffer from a chronic lack of sleep.” Not least, this situation impacts the processing of information in the brain. Prof Maquet: “Above all else, a lack of sleep impairs the ability to retain new information in the memory. The information can be absorbed but not permanently stored in the brain. Instead, it is lost in the long term. Apparently the memory traces laid down following every new item of information remain fragile until they are firmed up and incorporated in the long-term memory while a person is asleep.”

(Via: http://www.news-medical.net/news/20170624/Chronic-lack-of-sleep-reduces-cognitive-abilities-negatively-impacts-physical-health.aspx)

Sleep deprivation can leave you like a literal walking zombie. You may be awake but your mind is drifting somewhere else because it is simply exhausted. Your body has a natural sleep drive that will signal your brain it needs sleep but if you keep on ignoring it, it may start to malfunction.

Don’t forget that new memory and learning pathways are formed during sleep. You need to sleep adequately for these pathways to even form. Moreover, memories are only formed once your brain encodes it. But the brain can only encode a certain memory if you paid attention to it when you did it. You’ll have a hard time remembering anything that happened during the day if you weren’t able to consolidate all these information at night during your sleep.

Perhaps you won’t realize how you’re slowly becoming unhappy since not lack of sleep also inhibits your basic brain functions. Such important daily activities as problem solving skills, creative thought, and stress management become crippled with seven or less hours of sleep. According to a University of Rochester study, when you’re asleep, your brain works to remove toxic proteins from itself. However, it is unable to do this while you’re awake, and the greater the buildup of these toxic proteins, the worse it is for your mind.

Not all sleepless nights happen by choice. Issues like anxiety, an overabundance of school work or insomnia are just a few major contributing factors to not being able to sleep. However, these are generally not choices people make to be part of their lives.

Next time you’re hanging out with friends and one of them gloats about their lack of sleep, understand what they’re advocating for – becoming a dumber, fatter cry baby of a person and putting reciprocal pressure on others to be this way as well, because, as the author John Ray once wrote – misery loves company. 

(Via: http://www.montanakaimin.com/opinion/college-sleep-culture-is-toxic/article_addb1112-f4a3-11e6-8f05-0340dc8dc135.html)

There is nothing worth glorifying when you boast about your chronic sleepless state. Your body sacrifices greatly if you keep up this lifestyle. Your health deteriorates and you perform poorly on various aspects of life especially on activities that require you to think and solve problems. If you are not intellectually-gifted yourself, try to save yourself from more misfortune or embarrassment by getting that needed shut-eye each night. Your body deserves to rest after a hard day’s work, so don’t deprive it of the chance to rest once night time falls. Tomorrow is another day and leave your work as it is.

Other times, you lose sleep not of your own volition. Certain sleep disorders prevent you from enjoying a good night’s sleep. Take sleep apnea for example. The loud snoring sound isn’t just absolutely irritating but the breathing pauses in your sleep are even scarier. If you aren’t comfortable with CPAP and are looking for a more convenient solution to your snoring, https://snoringmouthpiecereview.org/snorerx may be an excellent choice for you. Another alternative can be https://snoringmouthpiecereview.org/good-morning-snore-solution. These mouthpieces are designed to correct certain anatomical problems to reduce the breathing pauses and the consequential snoring that follows.

Sleep Commando, Anyone? The Benefits Of Sleeping Naked…

posted by under sleeptight , ,

Many people take sleep for granted, especially at a time when everything revolves around technology. I’m sure many of you can relate to seeing yourself all tucked in bed but still fiddling with your smartphone, right? Too much technology use can mess up with your sleep and negatively affect your health over time. Aside from hiding that phone, why don’t you try sleeping commando to improve your sleep?

Although sleeping bare naked is something you haven’t done since you were an infant probably, sleeping in matching sleepwear and nighties are just too irresistible for many. Although men probably won’t have any qualms about this, sleeping with nothing on might be an issue for women – especially the single ladies. For couples, this is the perfect excuse to enjoy more skin contact and some cuddling, perhaps. And imagine how comfortable you will feel during summer when the heat is just unbearable and sleeping with your clothes on makes you all sweaty and feeling hot.

What if I told you in just 10 seconds a day, you can sleep better, make more money, reduce stress, and lose weight? Sleeping naked can do all these things and more. All you have to do is take off your clothes. While there are countless strategies floating around out there to help you improve in these areas, none is as simple—and many are less effective—as stripping down before you go to sleep.

Since only 8% of people sleep naked, most everyone can discover the benefits of sleeping in the buff. This may sound far-fetched, but hear me out before you throw those cozy flannel pajamas on.

(Via: https://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2016/09/13/4-reasons-sleeping-naked-makes-you-healthier-and-wealthier/#1ec4e57169b4)

Ancient people had no qualms sleeping naked because clothing wasn’t really as essential as food. But now that we can have everything we possibly want in just a snap of a finger, it may be an issue. However, we learn more through technology because we have access to sites that provide helpful information without us having to go to the library ourselves and search up on something manually. We now know that sleeping commando is actually good for our health.

One in four Britains sleep in the nude – but do you know its serious health benefits?

According to GP Dr Sarah Brewer, sleeping naked could aid weight loss, as the body overproduces the hormone cortisol when it gets too warm, resulting in an increased appetite.

Sleeping in the buff could also reduce the risk of getting thrush, as airing the intimate area helps to stop fungus’ from thriving in the warm, moist environment.

Going nude may also boost male fertility, as the hormone testosterone is released at night, with its production being reduced if a man gets too hot.

Couples could also benefit, as sleeping naked makes people feel more loving, as well as the sight of bare skin stimulating arousal.

(Via: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4382388/Sleeping-naked-seriously-benefit-health.html)

If you still have your doubts, then it might be high time to give it a try so you can experience yourself the benefits offered by clothe-free sleeping.

Only 12 percent of Americans sleep naked, according to a poll from the National Sleep Foundation, but it is highly recommended by both researchers and doctors.

The human body is designed to decrease in temperature during sleep, and not only does sleeping in the nude keep you comfortable through the night, but it determines when your body is ready to fall asleep and when it is time to wake up. 

One study found that even the slightest cooling of the skin helps individuals fall into a much deeper sleep, according to Seeker.

Cooling the body is especially beneficial to the elderly, and this research confirms previous studies that found warmer skin, in both humans and animals, disrupts sleep.

(Via: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3736531/Do-sleep-naked-Experts-say-skipping-clothes-bedtime-keeps-bacteria-bay-boost-immune-system.html)

So, what are you waiting for? Strip off your clothes and sleep bare naked tonight and enjoy the cool air on your skin. With luck, you’ll sleep soundly throughout the night for the first time in a long time. This spring and well into summer, the temperature is expected to go up and up, so now is the perfect time to sleep commando. Of course, only do this if you sleep by yourself in your own room for single individuals but not a problem at all for married couples. Not only you feel cooler and sleep better but your health improves when you sleep soundly at night.

However, if you are suffering from a sleeping disorder, sleeping commando may not be enough to solve your problem. So, check this link for a possible solution to issues involving snoring or sleep apnea: https://snoringmouthpiecereview.org/good-morning-snore-solution. You can also check out this one so you have more options to choose from: https://snoringmouthpiecereview.org/sleeptight.

What Exactly Is Sleep Apnea?

posted by under SnoreRX , ,

For most of us who have no medical background, we don’t necessarily try to make sense of everything that is happening to us. For instance, if you snore or your partner does, then that’s simply it. You or your partner snores. Irritating as it may be and leaves you deprived of precious sleep, snoring is just the tip of the iceberg. It is the characteristic symptom of a more serious sleeping disorder that is known as sleep apnea.

However, that term does not make any sense to us lay people. What does it have to do with snoring? What happens when you sleep if you have it? How can you tell that your snoring is due to sleep apnea? To better understand what sleep apnea is all about and how deadly it is, read on.

Sleep apnea is highly prevalent in patients with cardiovascular disease. These disordered breathing events are associated with a profile of perturbations that include intermittent hypoxia, oxidative stress, sympathetic activation, and endothelial dysfunction, all of which are critical mediators of cardiovascular disease. Evidence supports a causal association of sleep apnea with the incidence and morbidity of hypertension, coronary heart disease, arrhythmia, heart failure, and stroke. Several discoveries in the pathogenesis, along with developments in the treatment of sleep apnea, have accumulated in recent years. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms of sleep apnea, the evidence that addresses the links between sleep apnea and cardiovascular disease, and research that has addressed the effect of sleep apnea treatment on cardiovascular disease and clinical endpoints. Finally, we review the recent development in sleep apnea treatment options, with special consideration of treating patients with heart disease.

(Via: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/876364)

In short…

About 60 percent of everybody who snores has some degree of sleep apnea.

Snoring and having been witnessed to have pauses in breathing increases the likelihood of having sleep apnea to upwards of 80 percent.

Obstructive sleep apnea is caused when the muscles in the airway relax/collapse, preventing the sleeper from breathing until the sleeper arouses from the apnea.

Apneas can last more than a minute, and the associated arousals are disruptive to sleep (although it is rare for the sleeper to be aware of the apneas or arousals).

Someone with moderate sleep apnea will have 15 to 30 apneas in an hour.

Some people with severe sleep apnea can stop breathing more than 100 times an hour.

It’s important to identify and treat sleep apnea (which will eliminate snoring) not only to improve sleep quality, but because of the health risks associated with untreated sleep apnea.

Things like hypertension, stroke, diabetes, heart attack, atrial fibrillation and depression are just a few of the health risks that come with sleep apnea.

(Via: http://www.htrnews.com/story/life/2017/04/03/sleep-apnea-symptoms-sleep-study-holy-family-memorial-manitowoc/99889032/)

By now you probably have a clearer understanding of this sleeping disorder and what happens to your body when you are diagnosed with it. While we often associate snoring with adults, kids can snore too and likewise suffer from sleep apnea. And considering their young age and growing body, such a condition can have detrimental effects on their health and well-being.

A recent study set out to investigate the effect of sleep apnea on the brains of 7- to 11-year-olds. In total, 16 children with obstructive sleep apnea were evaluated at the University of Chicago‘s pediatric sleep laboratory. All children underwent neurocognitive tests and were scanned using MRI.

The study team was headed up by Dr. Leila Kheirandish-Gozal, director of pediatric clinical sleep research at the University of Chicago. The team worked in conjunction with researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles, who analyzed the images.

The test results and brain scans were compared with a further nine children without sleep apnea, matched for gender, age, weight, and ethnicity. They also compared the children with sleep apnea with a database of 191 MRI scans in a pre-existing National Institutes of Health (NIH) database.

Once the analysis was complete, the results were striking. The children with obstructive sleep apnea had substantial reductions in the volume of gray matter – the information processing part of the brain.

(Via: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/316437.php)

It is a parent’s responsibility to ensure that young children get enough sleep as they grow up. A growing body not only needs proper diet, supplementation, and active play but enough sleep at night as well. And when in the unfortunate event that a young child already snores and suffers from sleep apnea, see a doctor right away to undergo a sleep test to get a diagnosis.

Kids may have a hard time complying with a CPAP treatment. Even adults struggle with it too. But knowing how breathing is affected during sleep by this sleep disorder, it is important to take action right away or put their health and life at risk. Not all the time surgery is warranted to really beat sleep apnea. Check this out https://snoringmouthpiecereview.org/zquiet because it is an anti-snoring mouthpiece that children can conveniently use. Or, try a similar solution with this alternative mouthpiece: https://snoringmouthpiecereview.org/snorerx. Kids can manage to sleep soundly at night with these mouthpieces in place, unlike other sleep apnea managements that are not quite kid-friendly.

If You Build It: Can Our Offices Impact Our Sleep?

posted by under Sleep Health ,

For those who work outside the home, you spend more time in a potentially cold, square building than you do in your comfortable home. The average person works 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. That’s a lot of time to spend out of the house. We all know that the relationships we have at work can influence our home lives, but can the buildings themselves hold any power over how we sleep or how we feel after we’ve punched out for the day? The answer to that is a bit astounding:

The key to working better, sleeping better, and feeling better could be rooted in the design, maintenance, and operation of the buildings where we spend the majority of our time, a new Harvard study has found.

The national study, conducted by researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Center for Health and the Global Environment (CHGE) and SUNY Upstate Medical, is the first to show that working in high-performing, green-certified buildings can improve employee decision-making using objective cognitive simulations.

Researchers looked at 10 high-performing buildings in five cities across the United States, including Harvard’s double LEED Platinum Blackstone Southbuilding. The team collaborated with the Office for Sustainability (OFS) and Harvard Real Estate to use Blackstone as a “living laboratory” to study the relationship between building conditions and occupants’ productivity and well-being.

The study found that occupants in high-performing, green-certified office environments scored 26 percent higher on tests of cognitive function, had 30 percent fewer symptoms of sick building syndrome, and had 6 percent higher sleep quality scores than those in high-performing but noncertified buildings.

“Our University is the perfect test bed for innovation and research related to buildings and health. Through our partnership with the Office for Sustainability, we were able to kick off our study at the Blackstone buildings at Harvard before scaling our research to four other cities across the U.S.” said Piers MacNaughton, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Chan School and project manager for the study.

Twenty-four Harvard employees agreed to participate in the weeklong health assessment, which included two cognitive function tests, daily surveys, and wearing watches that tracked sleep quality. On each testing day, environmental conditions, such as thermal conditions and lighting, were also monitored in each participants’ workspace.

In addition to the overall effect from being in a better building, several specific factors were found to have impacts on participants’ cognitive function scores. The high-performing, green-certified buildings used in the study had environments more frequently within the thermal comfort zone defined by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) organization, which resulted in 5.4 percent higher cognitive function scores. Brighter, blue-enriched lighting, such as daylighting, in the green-certified buildings was also associated with better sleep quality at night, which in turn led to better cognitive performance the following day. This finding supports research showing the impacts of lighting on circadian rhythm; a bigger contrast in daytime and nighttime light exposures can help regulate the release of melatonin, the hormone responsible for inducing sleep.

Via: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/02/study-opens-the-door-to-better-sleep-work-and-health/

It seems that no matter how hard we try to keep our work lives and our home lives separate, it’s interesting to see how the buildings that we actually work in can have such an impact on more than just our productivity. If you’re feeling extra sleepy at work, maybe you need to anonymously forward this study to your boss. Small changes like light and greenery can have such a huge impact on how we work and what we can accomplish. If you’ve got that boss whose constantly riding everyone and demanding production be sped up, this may be something they need to consider. Instead of that corner office for themselves, maybe they need to look at changing those lightbulbs.

When It Comes To Snoring Devices, Be Careful!

posted by under Good Morning Snore Solution , , ,

What can I say? We live in a world where you have to watch out for scams. There are con-men (and ladies) out there that are trying to get every last dollar with their snake oils and wild claims. Heck, there is a president of the USA that has played one of the largest con games in the history of US politics who plans to sleep his way through his presidency, hire Nazis for his cabinet, and give the entire economy away to corporate interests (not so sure that Hillary wouldn’t, but that’s another matter).

nsf-mypillowSo we’re probably all about sick of con games at this point. It’s enough so that many are probably having difficulties sleeping at night! And on the latter point, it looks like another scam has come about: this one from a product that has become popular, despite some claims that even the FTC is balking about:

Lindell claims that the pillow is a cure-all for almost any sleep problem. Whether it’s snoring, sleep apnea, tossing and turning, waking up in pain— they can be solved with MyPillow.

Commercials explain that “MyPillow helps you get and stay in deep restorative REM sleep all night long” because it “keeps your neck supported and aligned to your exact individual need.”

How does Lindell know? He explains in one commercial, “I had all these problems too.”

One customer testimonial on the company’s website even called MyPillow “a God-send.”

Via: http://ijr.com/2016/11/736624-mypillow-commercials-promise-to-cure-all-sorts-of-sleep-problems-theres-just-1-major-problem/

All right, so this is all good. I don’t know of many pillow manufacturers that don’t claim that they’re the bomb, do you? I mean, you’re running a pillow company, and people use pillows to get a good night sleep. Why wouldn’t you want to big up your pillows (particularly if they’re premium, like the MyPillow)? Er, here’s why:

Court documents produced by TruthInAdvertising.org list the problems MyPillow claims to cure without sufficient proof, which includes but is not limited to, TMJ, insomnia, snoring, fibromyalgia, and Restless Leg Syndrome. They also assert that MyPillow does not clearly state that their National Sleep Foundation endorsement is not completely based on the merit of the pillow, but appears to be paid for.

Ha! Not a shock, friends. The National Sleep Foundation may be accepting bribes in order to put their stamp on things? We’re shocked! This coming from a “foundation” that boasts one of the worst snoring mouthpiece pages in the history of the Internet? Yes. Of course. I’m not entirely sure why people would be surprised. It’s not as if the NSF is an organization known for it’s honesty, after all.

The hilarious point about “MyPillow” is that there literally could be absolutely zero ways that it could help with TMJ. I mean, how is this even possible? According to WebMD:

Your temporomandibular joint is a hinge that connects your jaw to the temporal bones of your skull, which are in front of each ear. It lets you move your jaw up and down and side to side, so you can talk, chew, and yawn.

Problems with your jaw and the muscles in your face that control it are known as temporomandibular disorders (TMD). But you may hear it wrongly called TMJ, after the joint.

So how is a pillow going to help with a jaw problem? That’s just clinically insane. Now, only the most gullible of all pillow purchasers will assume that a pillow can cure something to do with their jaw structures, but this is truly hilarious.

The fact that another of the claims on the manufacturer’s website is that the MyPillow actually stops snoring is absolutely ridiculous as well. Now, I will admit that not all people want to use a mandibular advancing mouth guard like the ZQuiet, as an example, but there actually is an alternative to these mouthpieces.

I am speaking of the Good Morning Snore Solution (link), of course, which does not have the same rigid construction nor discomfort issues that a MAD mouthpiece can have. TMJ sufferers that use the GMSS have also offered solid testimonials in its favor – basically because it is the only mouthpiece of its kind, and really does not affect the positioning of one’s jaw.

Snoring Scams Are Out There – Watch Out!

Now, it’s unlikely you’ve been a victim of a snoring scam, but it is important to be very, very diligent when researching these types of advice. I can give some real credit for the State Of California for going after the MyPillow scamsters, because it really doesn’t happen as much as it should. So stay aware, people. And if you have a snoring issue, just use a mouthpiece!