November 2017

Snoring and Acid Reflux

Chin Strap For Snoring

Snoring And Acid Reflux

Health experts claim that people who suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), commonly called as acid reflux, usually suffer from snoring, and in the worst cases, experience chest pains not related to heart problems. Studies show that acid reflux can also lead to coughing, sore throat, sinusitis, and wheezing, in addition to chest pains and snoring.

In acid reflux, the stomach content flow into the lower part of the esophagus, which is the tube from the throat region to the stomach. One of the most common symptoms of acid reflux is heartburn, where other symptoms can be recurring chest pain, dry cough, and sore throat. The person can also experience constant tiredness and this can be an indication of some complication.

When the acid reflux becomes much persistent, it can disrupt the life of the person and damage the esophagus. This type of acid reflux is usually called gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Acid reflux is not a pleasant situation to be, especially if the person confuses the problem with heart issues. After all, chronic snoring, or that caused by sleep apnea can result in heat issues, diabetes, hypertension. In any case, sleep loses due to snoring, irrespective of the cause, can result in overeating to compensate, which can in turn lead to gain in weight.

Weight gain can further aggravate the snoring problem and can lead to diabetes, hypertension, artery problems, and many more. Therefore, if your snoring and resulting daytime sleepiness and fatigue are caused by acid reflux, it needs to be taken care as fast as possible.

In the opinion of many doctors, acid reflux can be minimized by having wise eating habits. Experts say that it will be beneficial to eat smaller meals and not to have dinner close to bedtime. A good strategy will be to eat dinner four or five hours before bedtime. If you eat close to bedtime, it can lead to increased acid levels in the stomach, which is the main cause of GERD.

If you snore at night and experience tiredness and fatigue in the morning, you will have to get professional help to find the underlying cause. If acid reflux is not the cause of your snoring and resultant tiredness, simple snoring aids like a chin strap for snoring might help you fix the issue and help you have a good sleep.

Causes and Effects of Snoring in Children

Snoring Solutions

Snoring In Children

Snoring is a condition mostly known to affect adults and the elderly. However, new studies have proven that snoring affects about 20 percent of the children in the US.

Mostly, snoring in children is caused due to common factors like cold or the presence of any allergies. However, it might also be caused due to other problems like a deviated septum or sleep apnea. Snoring is not persistent among children as it is in adults and occurs only on a small percentage of them. Nonetheless, it should be treated early, as repeated snoring episodes can hinder the normal development of the child.

Causes of Snoring in Children

Inflamed Tonsils and Adenoid – Inflamed tonsils and adenoids are one of the key causes of snoring in children. When inflamed, these glands can cause obstruction in the airways, thus resulting in snoring. Such inflammations are either inherent or occur due to specific infections like tonsillitis.

Abnormal Anatomy – Abnormal anatomical development of a child can also lead to snoring. It can also lead to the snoring to increase as the child gets older. Abnormalities can result in the development of narrow throat, small jaws, deformed nostrils, deviated septum, thin airways, and inappropriate alignment of the teeth.

Muscle and Nerve Coordination Issues – Lack of proper coordination between the nerves and the muscles can result in the breathing to become irregular. If the child has any kind of nerve damage or low muscle action, it can lead to the improper functioning of the airways thus resulting in low air intake and snoring.

Effects of Snoring on the Child’s Health

Children are vulnerable to a host of issues because of snoring since they are in their crucial developmental period. Snoring is known to have an effect on the physical, mental, and emotional health of a child. Continuous snoring among children can even translate into heart diseases and other respiratory ailments. Besides, snoring in children can also lead to developing hypertension and high cholesterol from an early age.

Another notable effect of snoring is in the mental and emotional well being of a child. Snoring can lead to a decreased quality of sleep, which can considerably affect the child’s ability to concentrate and remain alert during the day thus draining them of energy. Note that all the said health issues can become quite complicated if left untreated when the child grows up.

Solutions

There are many treatment methods for curing snoring among children. This mainly involves making adjustments in the diet or by teaching them with various physical exercises involving the neck areas. However, these snoring solutions only relieve snoring to some extent. Using devices like an anti snoring mouth guard is the best way to fully cure snoring among children.

When compared to other treatment options, anti snoring mouth guards are compatible for use by children and permanently cure snoring with regular use. Besides, these mouth guards can also help in the proper alignment of the jaws in the child, thus preventing any instances of snoring in the future.

Why Use a Snore Stop Mouthpiece for Sleep Apnea alongside Therapeutic Singing

Snore Stop

Stop Snoring

Sleep apnea occurs due to breathing cessations and may last from a few seconds to an hour during sleep. In fact, when the tissues forming the soft palate in mouth or tongue recede, it causes an airway obstruction and a vibration when you inhale or exhale. This vibration is felt in the back of the throat and remains unknown even though you snap out of the sleep gasping for breath.

One of the trusted and relied remedies for the sleep disorder is the snore stop mouthpiece. The benefit of using the mouth guard for snoring and obstructive sleep apnea is that they keep the lower jaw forward and clear the obstruction in the back of the throat for a free-flowing air during sleep. In fact, you can also combine alternate snoring remedies to enhance the betterment of sleep and reduce the episodes and symptoms of sleep apnea.

One such remedy is singing – not reciting the lines of a music track but exercising by targeting the muscles as well as tissues in the mouth. By practicing regular therapeutic singing anytime during the day, you can enhance the muscle tone over a period of time and avoid the airway blockage which disrupts the sleep.

Sleep apnea specialists say that singing is a form of therapy, which strengthens the pharyngeal muscles and reduces the snoring loudness, frequency, as well as severity of the symptom. Studies show that snoring can be reduced if the patients perform singing exercises precisely, regularly, and persist with it for more than 3 months or so.

Singing can be quite a fun thing to do whether you have apnea or not and you need not be a singer either. Furthermore, singing as a therapy would improve the sleep patterns and provides non-invasive remedies, such as snore stop mouthpieces, and with no side effects at all. When you combine both of the remedies for snoring and mild-to-moderate sleep apnea, chances are you do not need to undergo an invasive surgery such as palatial implants.

It is also to be noted that while singing as a therapy for apnea is relatively new to alternate treatment methods, therapeutic singing can also be used to treat depression and stress. After all, snoring can be due to any of the two causative factors and only best remedies take the stress out of the sleep.

How Playing a Wind Instrument may Help you to Overcome Snoring

Snoring Remedies

Overcome Snoring Issues

A Didgeridoo resembles the look of a long Vuvuzela and has been trendy for many years not only in Australia but also in many other cultures world over. However, not many know that a Didgeridoo can be used to alleviate standard cases of snoring or snoring related issues. In fact, many studies say that it is one of the most counted-on wind instruments to stop snoring just like many of the anti snoring devices.

Just like singing aloud, or using a stop snoring mouthpiece, there is a reason why playing a Didgeridoo may help one to overcome snoring. Snoring occurs due to a vibration when the airway gets partially blocked in the nasal cavity or the back of the throat during sleep. A proper exercise for the tissues in the mouth would improve the airway structure for a free flow of air. The upper airway allowing you to breathe freely would clear the snoring issues, provided one masters playing the Didgeridoo.

There is a flipside to this though, even as playing the instrument is quite fun and motivates the snorers to try alternate snoring remedies. However, there are people who feel even airing a balloon is somewhat tough. Didgeridoo is not that difficult to play for an instrument except for you practice. Further, to persist with the snoring remedy with practice can be backed up with a proper schedule.

Researchers suggest that those who practice playing the wind instrument have felt a marginal improvement in the sleep quality, with snoring reduced substantially during sleep. Just as you learn to cope up with wind force and master the technique as time moves on, increase practice time to an hour each day in a week.

You should play the wind instrument using your breath only – ‘circular breathing’ as some people say it. Start with small targets like half an hour to one hour in the starting few days in the first week with Didgeridoo experiment. You won’t just play the instrument for snoring; you breathe through the nose, release air via the mouth using the muscles in the cheek as well as tongue to exert air force, and produce the loud sound of a Didgeridoo.

The Use of Tongue Stabilizing Device for Sleep Apnea and Snoring

Anti Snoring Mouth Guard

Tongue Stabilizing Device

Sleep apnea is characterized by breathing cessations that may last a few minutes to up to an hour of sleep and loud snoring. Apnea episodes recur in sleep due to a receding throat and especially a partial airway blockage in the back of the throat. If you have sleep apnea, the doctor would prescribe you to wear an oral device to counter the issues, which is known as Oral Appliance Therapy (OAT).

While the most common and comfortable oral appliance for sleep apnea is the anti snoring mouth guard, there are also alternatives to treat the medical condition. Each and every oral appliance for sleep apnea tries to properly align the structure of the upper airway and facilitate free air flow during sleep. While the stop snoring mouthpiece does this by advancing the lower jaw forward, a tongue stabilizing device uses suction method for the same.

An anti snoring mouth guard made of high quality resin can be custom fitted into the jaws to keep the mandible forward. The oral appliance is essentially tried as an alternative for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure therapy by sleep apnea patients. The loud noise produced by a CPAP machine puts off certain patients and thus the anti snoring mouth guard comes to the rescue of the sleep apnea patients.

Tongue stabilizing device, on the other hand, is often put on the lips and has a hole through which you can put the tongue. The plastic device is used to keep the tongue in an advanced position to alleviate the obstruction in the upper airway. Being said that, using the oral device on the tongue could be somewhat uncomfortable, say those who have used the device. Moreover, if you have sleep apnea, it is important to know whether you can put the tongue out past the teeth to secure the tongue stabilizing device in place.

Chances are you may need to keep on using the tongue stabilizing device if the obstruction in the upper airway is due to a tongue enlargement like macroglossia. However, there are cleaning routines to be followed when using the tongue stabilizing device on a routine course in order to prevent unpleasant odors. In a general sense, if you have Frenulum, it is likely that you may not be able to make full use of the tongue stabilizing device for sleep apnea and snoring.

Connection between Daily Headache and Snoring

Snoring Devices

Headache And Snoring

Studies show that snoring is not just a headache to the people trying to sleep near the snorer, but can also cause headache to the snorer. Some of the recent studies establish a link between chronic snoring and headaches. However, it is not clear if the snoring causes headaches or if it is the other way around.

A study conducted by the National Institute on Aging found that people who suffer from chronic headaches were like to be chronic snorers when compared to those who suffered from headaches occasionally. “We have known that headaches are common in people with sleep apnea, but we found that snoring per se is an important predictor of headaches, even in people without apnea,” said Ann I. Scher, PhD, the lead researcher of the study.

Scher compared 206 subjects who suffered from chronic headaches, which was defined as a minimum of fifteen headaches per month, with 507 subjects who suffered from headaches occasionally. It was reported that twenty four percent of the chronic headache sufferers were also chronic snorers. After making adjustments for the various characteristics like alcohol consumption and obesity, which are associated with snoring, the daily headache sufferers were about 3 times likely to report snoring, when compared to those who had headaches occasionally.

Scher is planning to do further studies to find if anti snoring devices can also help to cut down headaches in chronic snorers. “The headaches could be causing the snoring, or the snoring could be causing the headaches, or both,” she said. “Chronic headaches can result in disturbed sleep, and pain medications can aggravate [snoring]. On the other side, sleep deprivation or excessive sleep can trigger migraine attacks in some people.”

Stephen Silberstein, MD, who is a specialist in headache opinioned that people with frequent headaches might not be cured just by curbing the snoring problem with some stop snoring solutions. “Snoring is merely a symptom,” he said. “I think it is important to find out why people are snoring. If they have sleep apnea then snoring strips aren’t going to fix the problem. And if it is something else, they need to know what it is.”

Silberstein added that a common cause of chronic headaches is medication overuse, and some of the medications can also lead to snoring. “Any acute medication taken in excess can produce daily headaches,” he said. Apparently, sedatives and muscle relaxant medications are known to trigger snoring issues.

Different Types of Sleep Apnea

Snoring Mouth Guard

Types Of Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder in which a person stops breathing for a few seconds while sleeping. Most of us might be well aware of the most prevalent type of sleep apnea, which is obstructive sleep apnea. However, it usually goes unrecognized that there are other types of sleep apneas. The different types of sleep apnea are explained below.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)

OSA is the most common form of sleep apnea. It is estimated that Obstructive Sleep Apnea affects about four percent of men and two percent of women. OSA is caused by complete or partial blockage of airways while sleeping.

During apnea, the air will not be able to move beyond the obstruction decreasing the flow of oxygenated blood to the brain. The brain will have to awaken partially from sleep to make the body breathe. Usually, this will be accompanied by loud chocking, gasping, or snorting sounds as the person takes deep breath to fight the obstruction.

Symptoms of OSA can include loud snoring, excessive daytime sleepiness, frequent breaks in breathing while sleeping, restless sleep, and irritability or depression.

Central Sleep Apnea

CSA happens when brain momentarily fails to signal the muscles that control breathing. OSA can be thought as a mechanical problem, whereas CSA is more of a communication issue. CSA is much less common than OSA, and as per some estimates, almost 20% of the cases of sleep apnea are CSA.

The cause of CSA is often times medical conditions and problems affecting the brain. Different causes can lead to varied symptoms and different types of CSA. Symptoms include irregular breathing or stopping breathing during sleep, chronic fatigue, breath shortness leading to awakenings, morning headaches, difficulty in concentrating, mood swings, and snoring (not as prevalent as in cases of OSA).

Mixed Sleep Apnea or Complex Sleep Apnea

Complex Sleep Apnea shows a combination of both OSA and CSA symptoms. Some of the OSA patients being treated with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machines can develop symptoms of CSA. This has been noticed in sleep labs and a recent research found that about fifteen percent of the sleep apnea patients believed to have OSA actually suffered from mixed sleep apnea.

As per the study, the airways of the patients were freed during CPAP treatment for patients with OSA by splinting them open. However, the patients continued to face difficulty on breathing. Their OSA symptoms shifted to CSA symptoms with CPAP therapy.

These are some of the different types of sleep apnea. If you have symptoms of any of the above sleep disorders, visit a physician at the earliest and make sure that the health condition is properly dealt with. If the symptom is just snoring, you can try an anti snoring mouth guard or some other anti snoring aids to counter the issues before it turns worse.

Why Dentists Recommend Using Snoring Mouthpiece

Snore Guard

Snoring Mouthpiece Benefits

People having apnea episodes often loudly snores and encounters breathing cessations for sleep intervals, which may range from a few minutes to an hour in sleep. Apnea happens when the tongue and soft palates recede in the back of the throat, partially blocking the airway and lessening the oxygen pumped to the inner organs including the heart as well as the brain. In fact, the body wakes up shortly when the oxygen levels in the blood drop too low than normal during sleep apnea.

In fact, apnea episodes may recur many times over in sleep making you feel exhausted the next morning. In addition to loud snoring and sleep lethargy, apnea may lead to a lapse in concentration, headache, insomnia, depression, or even a gradual reduction in sex drive. However, apnea is not a sleep disorder that you cannot diagnose or treat – the aforementioned symptoms can be diagnosed by a medic, who would then suggest remedial action for the condition.

One of the popular remedies to cure mild to moderate sleep apnea is to wear an oral device. This is done to move the mandible forward and henceforth such anti snore guards are called the Mandibular Advancement Devices in Oral Appliance Therapy (OAT). Such stop snoring mouthpieces are front-line remedies for loud snoring and apnea and resembles the mouth guards used by athletes, but only in terms of looks.

Mandibular Advancement Devices aid in preventing the jaw from receding and keeps the airway open during sleep for a better flow of air. Some of the main benefits of Oral Appliance Therapy are as follows:

  • The snore guard is easy and comfortable to wear
  • Approved by Food and Drug Administration
  • Easy and affordable buy over-the-counter
  • Easy to travel with
  • Can be retrofitted into the mouth by a dentist

In fact, the appliance used in Oral Appliance Therapy can be used as a standalone or in conjunction with some of the apnea treatments like Positional Therapy. One of the benefits of trying conjunctive remedies for sleep apnea is changing the posture of sleep in the bed from supine position to side sleeping for improving the airflow. Further, even dentists recommend weight reduction as an effective way to clear apnea due to obesity.

The Safest and the Most Easiest Ways to Prevent Loud Snoring at Night

Snoring Aids

Prevent Loud Snoring

The ultimate objective for many of the snoring mouth guards is to advance the mandible forward and especially clear the airway blockages in the throat for a better flow of air. However, some people find it more comforting to raise the upper body and keep the airway closed so that breathing can be through the nose. Oftentimes, snorers try different kinds of postures on the bed to avoid the tongue from receding and partially block the airway in the back of the throat. Known as “positional therapy”, this is basically changing from the supine position to sleeping on the side.

Besides, there are alternative ways to circumvent the tongue receding issue, which triggers snoring, and one is to raise the upper body when in sleep. There are anti snoring pillows that let you raise the head by 6 inches or so and thereby reduce the loud grunting sounds that disrupt sleep. Such kinds of pillows also have hypoallergenic properties as well, that avoid the bedtime allergies that trigger snoring, besides providing a back support.

Raising the upper body using simple little tricks can provide breathing comfort also. In fact, there are many different ways to raise the upper body and some of the easiest ones are as follows. Note that these snoring aids can help you to control snoring due to a nasal congestion also owing to the angle and sleep posture.

When laying flat on the bed, the airway pressure pulling down the mouth palates may cause a vibration and, in turn, snoring. However, changing the sleep posture can help to reduce the airway pressure in the nasal cavity and may go a long way in clearing loud, persistent snoring at night.

For starters, raise the entire upper part of the bed by placing something just below the legs of the furniture, to the side where you place the pillow to be precise. This would raise the bed at an angle that produces the same comfort. However, some people may find the bed elevation trick taking a toll on the bodily comfort, especially the bedfellow, so you can use the anti snoring pillow to elevate the head. Besides, the advantage of using stop snoring pillows is that you can use the same alongside snoring aids such as the mouthpiece for snoring, which keeps the mandible forward and clears the partial congestion in the back of the throat.

 

Can Smoking Cause Snoring

Snoring Mouth Guard

Smoking Cause Snoring

Sleeping disorders such as snoring have become a common health problem these days and it affects more than a million of people every year. However, several snorers are still not aware of the fact that their lifestyle and daily habits also has a greater effect on our sleeping patterns and it may even make them fall prey to snoring.

It is significant to note that one of the major causes of snoring and many other sorts of breathing disorders is smoking. This means that you will be easily able to cut down or even stop snoring by quitting smoking. However, if that doesn’t help you, then you should consider about getting an anti snoring mouthpiece. Wearing a comfortable snoring mouth guard will certainly help you to relieve yourself from the disturbing snoring noise, thereby allowing you to enjoy a good night’s sleep.

How Smoking Leads to Snoring

The nicotine in cigarettes not only affects your sleeping patterns but it can also keep you awake at night. However, several smokers are not aware of this fact and they often claim that a puff of cigarette smoke helps them to relax and it helps them to enjoy a good night’s sleep. The reality is that nicotine simulates both your body and mind and interferes with the ability of your body to fall and stay asleep.

In addition to that, the induced release of adrenaline will also affect the natural sleep cycle of snorers. In fact, experts in the field of medical science claim that most passive smokers are unable to enjoy a normal deep sleep. Dependency and addiction on nicotine can delay or disrupt your sleep, which in turn results in sleeping disorders such as snoring.

It is true that either smoking can make a person fall prey to snoring or it can also make snoring severely worse. This is because the lungs of smokers are not efficient when compared to others, which in turn implies that he/she may frequently wake up during the night gasping for oxygen. These frequent wakeups can break the sleeping pattern and even make the condition worse.

Below are a few simple tips that will help you give up smoking and improve the quality of your sleep.

  • Replace smoking with other activities.
  • Avoid smoking in the early morning hours.
  • Use chewing gums or nicotine patches instead of smoking.

As said, smoking not only leads to snoring, but also to many other breathing issues. Therefore, it is better to quit smoking at the earliest and enjoy a healthy life.