Anti snoring pillows are part of the arsenal that snorers and their sleeping partners turn to in an effort to minimize or eliminate snoring. The problem with getting relief from snoring is that no one thing works for everyone because everyone’s anatomy is different, and snoring can be caused by different things in different people. For some people losing weight can bring relief from snoring. For others, learning to sleep on their side can help. For still others, surgery or a continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) machine may be the only thing that helps. But for some, the answer can be as simple as an anti snoring pillow.
There are many factors that make snoring more probable, and heredity is one. Sometimes a snorer inherits enlarged adenoids or a narrow throat from a snoring parent. Snoring tends to increase after middle age because muscle tone in the throat diminishes and the throat becomes narrower. Men are twice as likely to snore as women because they typically have narrower airways. Allergies, upper respiratory infections, or a deviated septum in the nose cause blocked airways and contribute to snoring. Obesity is also a major risk factor due to poor muscle tone and excess fatty tissue in the back of the mouth.
Smoking and drinking alcohol increase the likelihood of snoring, as do prescription and non-prescription drugs that affect the body similarly to alcohol. And finally, non-optimal sleep posture increases sleeping by causing throat muscles to relax. Back sleepers are especially prone to snoring.
When a person sleeps deeply, muscles in the throat, mouth, and tongue relax, and the vibration of these slackened muscles with breathing causes snoring because the relaxed tissues partly obstruct the airway. For some snorers, the problem may only be occasional, but for others it is chronic and stressful on the snorer and others who lose sleep because of the noise. But even with occasional snorers, there’s no guarantee that their sleeping partner will get a decent night’s sleep on a given night.
Snoring, however, isn’t just an annoyance for some. Loud and chronic snoring can be a symptom of obstructive sleep apnea, in which the throat tissues actually block the airway and halt breathing. Sleep apnea sounds like loud snoring punctuated with periods of no breathing and 10 or more seconds of silence. Untreated sleep apnea can be dangerous, and even when it doesn’t threaten health, it can cause fatigue, heart problems, and headaches.
If snoring is chronic or causes daytime sleepiness (in the snorer as well as those kept awake by the snorer), then a medical evaluation may be in order. Ear nose and throat specialists know how to evaluate snoring and its potential damaging health effects. For people with relentless snoring and who may have sleep apnea, then custom-fitted oral appliances, surgical treatments, and CPAP machines may be necessary for relief from snoring.
The good news is that for many snorers, changes in lifestyle can grant relief from snoring. Cutting back on alcohol and tobacco consumption, weight loss, and a change in sleeping position can go a long way toward “curing” snoring. In people whose sleep posture contributes to snoring, special anti snoring pillows can help. If a temporary condition like a head cold is causing snoring, then decongestants and antihistimines may help snoring. Some people find that humidif iers help too.
Anti snoring pillows are designed to increase comfort and help stop snoring. The central part of the pillow is shallower than the edges. This causes the user’s head to align properly with the spinal cord no matter what position he or she is sleeping in. Often this relieves airway obstruction. Anti snoring pillows come in sizes close to standard bedding sizes. The fillings in them vary, and many come with an anti-allergy material that helps resist dust mites, which are a common cause of allergies. An added bonus for those for whom these pillows work is that it reduces neck stiffness in some cases.
By keeping the jaw forward and the chin away from the chest, an anti snoring pillow can result in much more restful sleep all around. They cost anywhere from US$20 to $50 each. Some people find that a good accessory to an anti snoring pillow is a thigh cushion and knee pillow. Made with a slight angle, these pillows are placed between the legs and make side sleeping more comfortable for many people.
Some models are made with an adjustable air chamber in the center of the pillow that can be customized by increasing or decreasing the amount of air using an inflation tube. Anti snore pillows are often made of materials that have not been widely available or affordable for long, such as latex. Some are made from the popular material commonly called “memory foam” with perforations that prevent the buildup of heat and keep the sleeper comfortable.
Covers made from hypoallergenic and anti-microbial materials are common with anti snore pillows too. Care of latex and memory foam anti snore pillows is often detailed in the packaging, but in general, these pillows do not need to be washed. The covers should be washed regularly, however, to promote cleanliness and discourage allergens from being trapped between the cover and the pillow.
There are many websites selling the se pillows, and they can often be bought at major retailers or bed and bath stores. While the only real way to know if they work is to try them, there is plenty of information on anti snore pillows available online. It can also be beneficial to ask around. Often information can be obtained by word of mouth that you’ll never find on a website. For instance, you can ask if side sleeping worked without the anti-snore pillow, and which was more comfortable. Sometimes non-snorers like the anti snoring pillows too, finding them more comfortable than regular bed pillows.
Snoring remedies have most likely been around as long as snoring has, with snorers or their sleeping partners trying any number of approaches to gain relief from snoring. For over 100 years, people have strapped balls to the back of their pajamas to make back sleeping too uncomfortable, and there are stories that during the American Civil War small cannonballs were sew n into the backs of uniforms so that soldiers would not sleep on their backs, snore, and therefore reveal their whereabouts. Clearly, avoidance of back sleeping has been known as an anti snoring technique for many years.
For people with chronic loud snoring and sleep apnea, an anti snoring pillow may not be enough to completely correct snoring, but it could be an adjunct to medications or the use of a CPAP machine in keeping the airways free from obstructions.
Anti snoring pillows, like most snoring treatments, are not a magic cure-all for snoring. Because people’s anatomies differ and because snoring can be caused by so many different things, they work better for some people than for others. Two of the good things about anti snoring pillows are:
1) they are not very expensive, particularly when compared with CPAP machines and surgery and
2) even if they don’t stop the snoring, people find them comfortable.
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