Sleep Apnea, Mouthpieces And Your Sleep

Sleeping with someone who snores can be stressful as you also lose sleep each night. But the danger is actually twice as bad for the snoring partner because this condition, while it may appear funny and embarrassing to some, is actually a major health risk. Snoring is usually a major symptom of sleep apnea. This sleeping condition causes the person to suffer from constant breathing gaps in their slumber, lasting from several seconds and occur all throughout their sleep. The human brain is essentially choosing between breathing and sleeping in your slumber, meaning you can easily die in your sleep without you knowing.

It is quite common but only a handful get themselves checked for it. Many of these people simply dismiss the snoring thinking it is one of those things you have to accept in life. But how badly mistaken they are. It may not follow that those who snore have sleep apnea but the majority of sleep apnea sufferers snore in their slumber. Having TMJ can actually make it worse! This can go on for years and it significantly puts your health at risk. You are predisposed to other more chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and stroke if not treated promptly.

Some 90 million American adults snore, according to sleepfoundation.org, and many could find relief with general health solutions. The Mayo Clinic recommends getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night if you snore, for example, or losing weight since overweight people can have extra throat tissues that contribute to snoring. 

There are also expensive, extensive solutions like oral devices, according to dentist Gene Sambataro. The mandibular advancement device designed to remove obstructions in the airway, for example, “is one of the most widely-accepted dental appliances for the treatment of sleep apnea, useful in forcing the lower jaw down and forward slightly,” he says. 

(Via: https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/odd-but-effective-ways-stop-snoring/UilcBeHzvPGy7dY1X3fJeN/)

Not getting enough sleep is a major risk factor in itself. There is no cure yet to snoring but it does not mean it can’t be managed. You don’t even have to go under the knife or sleep with a CPAP mask on to beat sleep apnea because there is a growing list of handy and more cost-effective solutions to snoring like anti-snoring gadgets among many others that can reduce the risk of sleep apnea and put an end to your loud snoring.

Examples of these oral mouthpieces are ZQuiet and SnoreRx that are quite affordable and enable the person to sleep better at night without making loud noises that can also disrupt their partner’s sleep.

It’s been hard to ignore the proliferation of sleep brands, most notably Casper, the direct-to-consumer company whose ads cover subway walls and pop up in podcasts. In 2015, I succumbed to the brand’s cheery messaging—notably the three little pigs cuddled up with the Big Bad Wolf. Their free shipping and surprising risk-free 100-night test drive, some version of which is offered by most companies now, led me to buy the one model they offered at the time, which used memory foam instead of traditional spring coils. But now it was clear we were fed up with sharing that bed, which wasn’t doing it for us and only made my twitching worse.

We first tested what are known as hybrid mattresses—those with a mix of memory foam and innerspring coils—in the optimistic hope that we’d both be instantly pleased. According to Natalie Dautovich, a scientist for the National Sleep Foundation, hybrid styles are popular because they serve as a compromise for many couples. “There’s softer, more body-conforming memory foam,” Ms. Dautovich said, “but then there’s an innerspring core for the partner who will want more support.”

(Via: https://www.wsj.com/articles/rough-time-sleeping-next-to-your-partner-these-technologies-might-help-1524160609)

There is no quick fix when it comes to sleep apnea. It takes continued use of these devices as well as making certain lifestyle changes in conjunction with the medical management as prescribed by a sleep specialist. Aside from oral mouthpieces, there are other sleep accessories you can use that will enhance your sleep in the form of pillows, mattresses, blankets, etc. that are specially manufactured now to target the snoring market.

There is no more need for partners to fight anymore every time a partner snores but more importantly than that, reducing the risk on their help caused by sleep apnea and chronic sleep deprivation more than makes up for the additional costs these innovative sleep products entail. We all are unique, so try whatever interests you and you feel can better address your snoring problem and find out which one works best for you. You may need to mix and match 2 or more of these snoring solutions but it is a must because you can’t just keep on losing sleep anymore.

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