August 2018

Everything you Need to Know about Catathrenia

August 30, 2018 Snoring-Aid.com Staff Snoring Remedies

Snoring Related Issues

Sleep health disorders that affect normal breathing of a person are always as dangerous as they sound. Catathrenia is one such sleep-related breathing disorder, which is characterized by groaning during the process of exhalation. Such sounds usually occur during REM sleep stages and are frequently preceded by a form of extremely slow breathing called “bradypnea”.

How Catathrenia Differs to Snoring and Sleep Apnea

While groaning happens during exhalation, snoring happens during inhalation. Although groaning sounds may cause irritation to a bedfellow, the sleep-related breathing disorder is not linked to any serious health conditions. While a person experiences catathrenia, there is no reduction in oxygen saturation of blood, which is common in Sleep Apnea.

Catathrenia patients seldom experience fragmented sleep or excessive sleepiness during the daytime, which is one of the symptoms of apnea. Most catathrenia patients get normal and adequate sleep each night and wake up feeling rested.

Can Catathrenia Be Detrimental to Sleep

While those who suffer from the sleep-related breathing disorder seldom notice symptoms and do not reveal daytime fatigue, groaning noises can still cause sleep disturbances to a bedmate. This is similar to how snoring causes an irritation to a bedmate. If groaning is frequent, it is recommended to treat your bedmate’s catathrenia to improve your sleep quality.

For the improvement of that, it is as much a bed partner’s need to treat the health condition in someone close; the same goes for Sleep Apnea and snoring too.

Remedies for Catathrenia

Sleep Apnea patients are recommended to use snore stop remedies for the betterment of sleep. Likewise, this sleep-related breathing disorder is not without treatments. One of the treatment options for catathrenia is continuous positive airway therapy, also known as CPAP. Other remedies for the health condition comprise wearing an oral appliance and undergoing a surgical procedure, depending on the underlying cause.

Besides, it is important to make groaning noises less audible to a bedmate. For that, you can tell them to wear earplugs during sleep or rely on a fan’s white noise to mask the sounds. Sleeping separately may be the last resort, depending on how comfortable you are sleeping with a catathrenia patient.

In case your sleep is disturbed, it is important to get a diagnosis to know what is going on with your partner’s sleep. Insufficient sleep cause lapses in concentration, reduce cognitive capabilities, and affect mood. Treatment is important since these things are all down to his or her sleep quality and they intervene with daily activities.

What is Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome

August 28, 2018 Snoring-Aid.com Staff Snoring Solutions

Snoring Related Issues

Snoring occurs during sleep due to a partial blockage in the upper airway, as a result of receding tongue or relaxing jaw, and the vibration of tissues. When the underlying causes of snoring start to progress from comparatively safe sound to being the sleep disorder called sleep apnea, which poses numerous risk factors or health concerns, it often develops first into Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome.

Snoring is a sign that some sort of resistance is happening in one’s upper respiratory system. The more this resistance, the more the breathing effort required to overcome the same. Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome happens when one’s breathing effort changes from being a snoring sign to a harmful sleep disorder. Not all people with the health disorder snore during sleep, even as symptoms may sound similar to heavy or labored breathing.

Reasons behind the sleep disorder are similar to that of Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome can be caused by narrowed airway, loose fatty throat tissues that recede into the airway, or even the tongue’s position that fall back. Those who suffer from this sleep disorder necessitate more breathing effort, which is similar to breathing through a straw.

Similar to sleep apnea, the patient’s brain in such a case has to arouse itself from deep sleep stages to increase the effort for respiration. When our brain is aroused constantly from deep sleep phases, it becomes unable to perform other significant tasks it has to finish so that one can feel refreshed in the morning. This is what leads to symptoms chronic fatigue as well as excessive sleepiness during the day, two symptoms comparable to OSA.

It is also seen that people can move from snoring to Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome due to aging and weight gain. While the former causes reduced muscle tone in the throat, the latter increases fatty throat tissues that cause more resistance to airflow. Women during pregnancy’s third trimester are also susceptible to develop the sleep disorder due to weight gain.

The disorder has the following consequences on a person’s sleep patterns and health.

Frequent waking up in between sleeping hours
Difficulty in going to sleep or staying asleep
A risk factor for chronic insomnia
Excessive sleepiness during the daytime

There are several treatments for Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome, which comprise CPAP too as a last resort. The main treatment comprises the use of snoring solutions, like mouthpieces or similar dental appliances used to treat OSA. The treatment also centers on those concerned with making behavioral and lifestyle changes. They include sufficient exercise and correct eating methods prior to bedtime to prevent weight gain, abstaining from alcohol as well as sleep sedatives, and positional therapy.

How Sleep Apnea Relates to Bone Loss

August 21, 2018 Snoring-Aid.com Staff Stop Snoring

Sleep Apnea and Bone Loss

You probably already know that when it comes to sleep disorders, Obstructive Sleep Apnea is an issue to be reckoned with. This condition serves as a gateway to a variety of health problems, including heart failure, stroke, and cancer. On that long list is another dangerous issue – osteoporosis. This condition is basically your bones growing weak and brittle due to loss of density.

Following are some of the possible ways in which OSA can lead to bone loss.

Apneas cause the oxygen level in the body to drop (hypoxia), which can drive up osteoclast activity and consequently raise bone re-absorption. Hypoxia induces the release of HIF, which assist cells in surviving the lack of oxygen. The problem though, is that one of the hormones, HIF-1α, stimulates the breaking down of bones. This even increases risk of cancer.
OSA patients generally have a lot of inflammation, which in an indirect way is bad for their bone densities. The joints are among the most badly affected by this particular problem.
Sleep stages and circadian factors have been seen to affect bone turnover too. For instance, Leptin, or the appetite hormone, tells you when you are full. OSA patients by and large have higher levels of this hormone in their systems, which inhibit serotonin production. This too adversely affects bone density.
OSA patients are seen to have much less Vitamin D in their bodies, as well as lower bone mineral density. This sufficiently explains the higher hip fracture rates among people of this category.
OSA is known to inhibit some hormones, such as TSH, which stimulate thyroid hormone emission, leutenizing hormone (LH), testosterone, and growth hormone (GH). The last one gets secreted chiefly during deep sleep, but OSA upsets this.
OSA degrades sleep quality and shortens sleep duration, and both of these things have been shown to cause issues like mild cognitive impairment, frailty, and depression.
Prolonged use of acid reducing medications has been seen to raise the probability of fractures, by at least 35%. On the other hand, lower acid levels impede calcium absorption, which is bad for the bones.

These are just some of the ways in which OSA could cause your bones to become fragile over the long term. The best way to deal with this is through the use of snoring solutions signed off by a specialist or expert, such as a sleep apnea mouth guard, for instance.

The Relationship between Sleep and Eating Disorders

August 14, 2018 Snoring-Aid.com Staff Snoring Remedies

Anti Snoring Remedies

There is a close relationship between proper sleep and eating disorders. In fact, many people are diagnosed with a number of sleep-related eating disorders. Usually, these types of disorders are characterized by the abnormal eating patterns of a person at night. Two of the most common type of sleep-related eating disorders are NS-RED and NES. In the case of Nocturnal Sleep-Related Eating Disorder (NS-RED) patients, they will be unaware of their binge eating episodes, unlike those who suffer from regular eating disorders. One of the main symptoms in this case is that the patients tend to eat food unconsciously during their sleep; such people often sleepwalk to the kitchen and eat food. So, people suffering from regular NS-RED symptoms, are more likely to gain weight. Additionally, the chances of developing type-two diabetes are more in such people.

Another type of sleep-related eating disorder is Night Eating Syndrome (NES). It is characterized by the binge eating of a person at night with complete awareness. In this case, the sufferers will not be able to sleep well unless they eat. The recurrent awakenings from sleep and the necessity of eating food in order to sleep back is one of the main symptoms of NES. Other than this, no appetite for breakfast and eating more food post-dinner are also some of the common symptoms that point towards NES.

The Relationship between Sleep and Disordered Eating in Obese People

There are many biological responses that get triggered in the body of a person if he is deprived of a proper sleep. Normally, there will be an increase in the amount of Ghrelin and Cortisol hormones released and a decrease in the amount of Leptin hormone produced in this case. The Ghrelin hormone makes a person feel that he is hungry and the Cortisol hormones play a major role in increasing the stress level of a person; the Leptin hormone is ‘I am full’ hormone. Here, people will feel unsatisfied even after they consume a full course meal. As a result, people who are deprived of proper sleep tend to eat more amount of food in an impulsive manner. Additionally, they are more likely to choose calorie-rich food, which results in weight gain.

Snoring may also trigger sleep disorders. In most cases, snorers will not be able to sleep well at night and hence, they tend to eat more so that they feel keyed up. In order to tackle this issue instantly, it is recommended to use any of the snoring aids with proper guidance. It is reported that sleep-related eating disorders are more prevalent in patients who are already the victims of Bulimia Nervosa (BN) and Binge Eating Disorder (BED). In the case of BED, patients eat a huge quantity of food at night that often results in sleeplessness and fatigue. This may cause a person to exhibit daytime grazing and overeating. Actually, this overeating is his strategy to feel energized throughout the day.

These factors explain the relationship between a poor sleep quality and eating disorders. Unfortunately, most healthcare professionals overlook this correlation; when a person report sleeping disorders, they usually prescribe medication without checking whether or not the patients are suffering from an eating disorder. As a result, the victims will not be able to improve their medical as well as behavioral issues. According to a recent study, addressing eating disorders as part of treating sleep issues not only targets fatal health problems but also alleviates daytime fatigue.

Sleeping Disorders Associated with BN and BED

Snoring Related Issues

Sleep-related eating disorders in a person may lead to depression and weight gain. Hence, it must be treated on time. Some of the most common sleep disorders that are associated mainly with Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorder are given below.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)

The chances of OSA are more in people who are obese. In addition, people who snore regularly may also develop obstructive sleep apnea. In this condition, the soft tissues and muscles at the backside of the tongue falls back resulting in an interrupted breathing pattern known as apnea. As a result of these apneas, patients tend to wake up regularly at night, noticeably with a loud gasp.

Apneas may last for 10 to 60 seconds and may occur around a hundred times a night depending on the intensity of the disorder in a person. This lack of sleep may result in daytime sleepiness, lack of concentration, eating disorders, etc. Hence, it is really crucial to take adequate treatments. Usually, doctors may prescribe using sleep apnea mouthpieces in most cases.

Sleep-Related Eating Disorders (SRED)

People suffering from SRED tend to consume food while they are asleep. The sad part is that they are doing this unconsciously, and hence, they will not be able to recollect it later. In this condition, the victims may eat the type of food that they usually avoid during daytime or they might even consume some inedible food.

Most of the SRED patients diet during daytime and as a result, they will not be able to control their hunger pangs at night and end up eating an enormous quantity of food. According to a recent study, women are more vulnerable to SRED; it is reported that around 5% of women in the world population is affected by SRED. Out of these, 15% of victims are diagnosed with eating disorders such as BN and BED.

3 Reasons Why Snoring Occurs and How to Alleviate it

August 10, 2018 Snoring-Aid.com Staff Stop Snoring

Stop Snoring Tips

It is a known fact that snoring not just causes sleep disturbances to both the snorer and the bedmate, but also leads to several severe health conditions. For instance, loud snoring is a symptom of Obstructive Sleep Apnea, which is characterized by breathing cessations during sleep and waking up gasping for breath. An apnea cycle could last from a few seconds to up to an hour in sleep. When snoring is loud and is an apnea symptom, a patient runs the risk of everything from lapses in concentration during the day to cardiovascular disease.

It is important to diagnose and understand the root cause of snoring to get the right remedies for it. Although even allergies and teeth structure can lead to snoring, the following are the main underlying causes of the health condition.

Mouth Breathing and Snoring

This refers to when one breathes through the mouth instead of the nose during sleep. It is recommended to identify if that is the reason why you snore with a medical checkup. Your snoring is likely due to mouth breathing if you snore only when the mouth is open. If so, keeping the mouth closed is the way to alleviate snoring. For that, you can use a chin strap for snoring.

Nasal Blockages and Snoring

If one’s nostrils are congested or if they collapse during sleep, it could cause blockages in the airway. One test to understand that is to close the nose’s one side by pressing it with the finger and then trying to take a breath with the mouth closed. If the nostril sags, then using a nasal dilator could help alleviate that and snoring. However, if nasal congestion is the reason behind constricted breathing, then probably allergies are causing that.

Tongue Falling and Snoring

When the tongue recedes into the throat’s back, it blocks the airway and thereby causes snoring. One way to test if that is the cause is to stick out the tongue as far as you can and grab it amid the teeth. If your snoring is alleviated in that position, it is likely due to tongue falling back into the throat. To prevent that, you can use a Mandibular Advancement Device to keep the lower jaw forward and keep the tongue from blocking the airway. Using a stop snoring mouthpiece will prevent that and will provide a free flow of air during sleep.

A Useful Guide to Sleep Apnea Mouth Guard

August 6, 2018 Snoring-Aid.com Staff Snoring Solutions

Anti Snoring Remedies

Sleep apnea is a serious disorder that occurs when a person suffers from interrupted breathing during the sleep. Usually, such people tend to wake up frequently with a loud gasp because of insufficient oxygen supply to their respiratory system.

There are two types of sleep apnea: Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Central Sleep Apnea. The former one, abbreviated OSA, is more common in the United States, and it occurs when the soft tissues located in the back of the throat collapse during sleep. This will block their airways, leading to a restricted airflow. In the case of Central Sleep Apnea, the airways are not blocked totally; instead, there will be instability in the respiratory system control center in this case. As a result, the brain will not be able to signal the soft tissues and muscles to function.

Both these types of sleep apnea may result in making a person prone to a series of health issues such as high blood pressure, heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, headaches, ADHD, depression, snoring, etc. In addition to that, untreated sleep apnea will also affect the performance of a person in his everyday activities as well.

Sleep Apnea Mouth Guard

It is really crucial to take adequate treatment if a person experiences any sleep apnea symptoms. Doctors usually recommend using oral devices in order to alleviate the symptoms related to the condition. Such mouthpieces are designed in such a way that they keep the airways open when a person sleeps. However, Central Sleep Apnea cannot be treated by using a sleep apnea mouth guard because its root causes will be associated with the nervous system of the person.

There are different types of mouth guards available to treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea though, and doctors suggest them to their patients depending on the intensity of the sleep disorder. Some of the commonly used aids to tackle sleep apnea are CPAP machine, Mandibular Advancement Devices, tongue retaining device, etc. Out of this, a CPAP machine is required only when a person is suffering from an acute stage of obstructive sleep apnea.

Sleep Apnea Mouth Guard and Snore Guard

Most people have a misconception that oral devices for sleep apnea and a snore guard are the same. Actually, sleep apnea mouthpieces are considered as medical appliances and cannot be used without a doctor’s prescription. On the other hand, a snore guard is not regarded as a medical device, and hence, it does not require a prescription. In some cases, a sleep apnea mouth guard may cure snoring issues, but the reverse cannot be assured. Below are some in-depth details about sleep apnea oral appliances.

Uses and Indications

Snoring Related Issues

Sleep apnea oral devices will be a good option for people who are in the initial stages of sleep apnea. In some cases, snorers who are not suffering from OSA, travelers, etc., can also use a sleep apnea mouth guard. There are many symptoms, that indicate the necessity of a mouth guard, and some of those signs are given below.

A sore throat
Snoring
Fragmented sleep
Irritability and fatigue
Daytime sleepiness
Memory loss and frequent headaches
Lack of concentration

Benefits of Using a Sleep Apnea Mouth Guard

Compliance – One of the main advantages of using a sleep apnea mouth guard is its compliance. In the case of CPAP machines, it will be a bit challenging for people to deal with it because of multiple tubes and filters associated with it. In fact, a recent study reports that 50% of CPAP users tend to discontinue it within the first three weeks. For such people, a dental device will be a realistic option.

Handiness – Even if you are using a CPAP machine, it will be hard to use it regularly. In such cases, a sleep apnea mouth device can be your savior since it is easier to use. Usually, people who are using CPAP machines will keep an alternate dental device in hand so that they can use it as a backup. For instance, consider a situation where you need to clean, repair, or replace their CPAP machines.

Comfort – Unlike CPAP machines, mouth guards engage only with your mouth. In addition, users will not have to stress about the side effects such as acne breakouts, skin reactions, ingrown hairs, or skin reactions while using an oral device. Another advantage is that a mouth guard will not affect the nostrils, and hence, it will be comfortable to use it even if you have flu or cold.

Ease of Use and Maintenance – Since there are no tubes or wires associated with a mouth guard, you can use it easily. Likewise, you can clean it easily as well; just soak it in a cleaning solution for a certain period of time and rinse it thoroughly using normal water. Note that the cleaning solution for different oral devices may vary depending on its material composition.

A Helpful Guide to Snoring and Apnea Chin Strap

August 2, 2018 Snoring-Aid.com Staff Snoring Solutions

Snoring Related Issues

Snoring has become one of the main reasons for concern these days, as it affects a majority of the population. Snoring occurs because of the vibration of tissues within the throat and nose that blocks the airways, which are caused as a result of the turbulent airflow through the restricted airways. This will also create an unappealing noise making it hard for the snorer as well as their partners to sleep peacefully.

Most people overlook snoring mainly out of embarrassment. However, snoring may lead to many serious health issues like sleep apnea, mental health issues, insomnia, etc., in some cases. Sometimes, it can also be an indicator of other health issues such as heart problems, liver problems, migraine, and many more. Thankfully, there are many snoring aids available, which help people to alleviate their snoring issues. For instance, consider a sleep apnea chin strap. This is one of the easiest and comfortable snoring aids, which snorers may consider for a quick relief. Nevertheless, it is recommended to consult a doctor before using any kind of snoring aids.

How Apnea Chin Strap Works

An apnea chin strap is made using a fabric and is designed in such a way it can be wrapped comfortably around the head of a snorer by means of stretchable straps. The chin strap will also have holes on each side so that the ears of snorer are held perfectly in place. Note that there are chinstraps without holes as well, but the ones with holes for the ear are better, because it will also alleviate the chances of apnea chin strap falling off when the person is asleep.

Snoring chin strap is used to keep the mouth of the snorer shut while sleeping in order to prevent the jaw muscles from falling backward. According to a recent study, around 60% of the total population in the United States is suffering from snoring problems, and out of that, almost 80% breathes through their mouth. Hence, this will be a viable option to stop snoring.

Advantages of Choosing an Apnea Chin Strap

No particular care is required when it comes to the storage of chin straps. You can keep it in the drawer with your clothes, on your nightstand, or any other convenient place.
The set up of an apnea chin strap is really simple. You just have to put the strap around the head and secure its bottom part around the jaw.
Chin strap does not require any type of particular cleaning products, unlike other snoring aids. There is no need to worry about your chin strap getting damaged either.