Are you or your partner a hardcore snorer? If yes, then read on (or skip to the bottom for the "climax")...
I have been a loud snorer for as long as I can remember. I attribute it to my genetics, as my father is one as well. My family tells me that sleeping next to me is like sleeping in a railway station. Be it a short nap during a car ride or a night of restful sleep, the snoring comes on like a ravenous bear at a campsite. Talking about campsites, my camping buddies can now vouch for my snoring too.
Many years ago, when I first heard of the term "sleep apnea", my hubby implored me to get tested right away. The results came out negative - I slept like a baby through the test, with no sign of chocking myself. I looked into surgery as well, to remove my Uvula (thats the one in the mouth, for those with a gutter brain), but backed out of it a couple of hours before the scheduled procedure, fearing having to be on a liquid diet for weeks. Back then (early 2000s), there were not many options for anit-snore devices. After that, hubby resigned to wearing industrial strength earplugs while sleeping next to me, and I continued to enjoy my snoring zen.
Until now. Of late, my adult daughter refuses to take a nap or sleep in the same bed with us, and even dreads sharing the same hotel room with us because of the "family-owned big-rig", to put it lightly. This once again set me on the path to finding "Snorevana". Putting all the technical advancements in this field in the last 20 years to good use, I first took the assistance of an app (what else??) called Snore Lab. The app recorded my snoring, night after night, and labeled the sound as "EPIC". In other circumstances, I would have been proud of this categorization, But not this time.
I did try a couple of expensive options, such as SmartNora - a device that raises your pillow each time you snore. It kept me awake all night and made my dark circles even darker!
I tried a couple of cheap ones too, like medicated drops to relax my throat muscles. That did nothing but leave a bad taste in my mouth, like other liquids associated with the bedroom, if you catch my drift.
Then I came across an anti-snoring mouthpiece called "Vital Sleep". I was a little skeptical at first to fall asleep with a foreign object in my mouth. But I decided to go ahead and give it a try as it had a lofty 60 day trial period. It looks and feels very much like dentures or a retainer and is easy to adjust to ones own mouth.
The first night I wore it, hubby teased me as he kissed me goodnight that he now has to sleep next to a Dracula (it looked like Dracula's teeth). But within 2 nights that "Dracula" had turned into a mouse! My snoring had greatly reduced. I would even wake up in the early hours of the morning feeling fully rested and ready to start the day. My loyal bedside buddy, the Snore Lab app, now demoted my snoring to "LIGHT"!
The way this mouthpiece works is it moves your jaw slightly while asleep and increases the airway passage in your throat so your tongue, Uvula and the roof of your throat dont collapse and cause the vibrating noise which comes out as a snore. This is not a solution for snoring caused due to issues in the nasal passage.
This morning, after less than a week of use, when hubby commented that he woke up alarmed in the middle of the night because the bedroom was so silent, I thought - Hallelujah! After 20 years, I have found my snoring solution and made haste to make a PSA on this product.
Do check out Vital Sleep, if you are in the same boat as I was. You really have nothing to lose. If this post helps even one couple, my job is done.
PS : This is not a paid promotion of any sort. Just some ramblings from a happy (and snore-free) camper.
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