If your partner snores, it can put a huge strain on your relationship. Sure, you love this person and they bring you all kinds of happiness. But when someone messes with the quality of your sleep it can drive you mad. Noisy sleepless nights, rushing to bed early to fall asleep before your partner does, covering your ears with your pillow and cursing under your breath. We’ve all been there. Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be this way. There are many snoring devices - also known as “snoring aids,” “snoring solutions,” or “anti-snoring devices” - that offer hope for those whose sleep is constantly disturbed by their partner. By finding a practical, compatible device, you can bring silence back into the bedroom, leading to better sleep for both of you. In this article we’ll explore and analyze the various snoring devices that are on the market to help you choose the one that best suits you or your partner.
Before diving into the snoring devices themselves, we need to first understand what causes snoring and the design principles behind these devices.
First things first, many people are surprised to learn that the overwhelming majority of snoring is caused by mouth breathing. While many people assume that all snoring is caused by blockages or issues with the nose, this is actually the exception, not the trend. Mouth breathing is the leading culprit.
Simply defined as “breathing through your mouth,” mouth breathing becomes the default form of respiration when our mouths are open. As it turns out, when we breathe through our mouths we are actually overbreathing. This means that we are inhaling more air than we actually need. While this doesn’t initially sound like much of an issue, overbreathing has many negative effects. Snoring is one of them.
Snoring results from the excessive amount of air being forced through a small gap at the back of your mouth, where your mouth meets your throat. While sleeping, the tissues in this area are relaxed. As the air is forced through, the extra air results in turbulence, leading to vibration of the mouth tissues. These vibrations are what cause the familiar, dreaded sound that we all know as snoring.
Since we now understand that the vast majority of snoring is caused by open mouth breathing, the way to solve this problem is blatantly obvious: stop mouth breathing. By preventing mouth breathing and utilizing nose breathing instead, your snoring probably will be solved in most cases.
But how do we prevent mouth breathing? Well, there are two trains of thought built into the design of snoring devices. The first is to make nose breathing easier by clearing the nasal passages or opening them up wider. The second is to simply prevent the mouth from opening, in turn making mouth breathing impossible and defaulting to nose breathing. These are the two primary functionalities that you’ll see across all the various snoring devices on the market.
In order to compare one snoring device to another, we need to determine what are the key determinants of snoring device effectiveness. Here are the main things to consider when evaluating different types of snoring devices.
By evaluating various snoring devices against these criteria, we can determine the real-world effectiveness of each device.
Now that we’ve talked about what causes snoring and what needs to be done to prevent it, let's take a look at the different snoring devices on the market. For each one, we’ll take a look at the four different evaluation criteria and score them 1 out of 5, 5 being the best.
Mandibular Advancement Devices (MADs) are designed on the principle that by increasing the size of the upper airway, there will be less resistance to airflow. They work by advancing the bottom jaw forward, in order to shift the jaw and tongue away from the back of the throat. If shifting the jaw forward sounds a bit extreme, well, it kind of is. Wearing a MAD often results in morning jaw pain. Over time, frequent use of a MAD can actually lead to the development of an underbite. For this reason, many MAD users start their morning by doing the “thinking man’s pose” in order to offset the change in their jaw position. Even with this extreme, painful experience, MADs are a far cry from a guaranteed snoring solution.
|
Efficacy |
Practicality |
Comfort |
Universality |
TOTAL |
|
3 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
8 |
Tongue Stabilizing Devices (TSDs) - also known as Tongue Retaining Devices - operate under the same principle as MADs, just with a slightly different function. They work by using suction to hold your tongue in a forward position, preventing it from falling backwards and collapsing towards your throat. Quite simply, you are sticking your tongue out all night using what looks like a baby’s pacifier, in order to keep your upper airway open. Although it does prevent snoring in some cases, this is a bit of a ridiculous look, feels quite silly, and often results in frequent drooling throughout the night.
|
Efficacy |
Practicality |
Comfort |
Universality |
TOTAL |
|
3 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
9 |
A chin strap is a common snoring device that is worn around your head. Essentially, it’s a piece of headgear that holds your bottom jaw closed throughout the night. The logic is that if you jaw is held closed, you won’t be able to mouth breathe. Although this is great in theory, in reality your lips are still able to move and therefore you can still experience mouth leaks. Plus, many people find them to be itchy, uncomfortable, or claustrophobia-inducing. It can be hard to sleep with that going on.
|
Efficacy |
Practicality |
Comfort |
Universality |
TOTAL |
|
3 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
9 |
Nasal strips or “nasal tape” are reflexive adhesive strips worn over the bridge of the nose. The strips pull the outsides of the nostrils outwards, expanding the perimeter and increasing the area through which air can flow. The design is inspired by the idea that if it is easier for air to flow through the nose, it is more likely that you will nose breathe instead of mouth breathe. This is a good theory, but ultimately many people still end up mouth breathing because there is nothing to hold their jaw in place. When they sleep, their jaw muscles relax and their mouth falls open. Plus, many people experience irritation and redness in the morning from peeling the strip off.
|
Efficacy |
Practicality |
Comfort |
Universality |
TOTAL |
|
3 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
10 |
Nasal dilators operate using the same functional principles as nasal strips. They are intended to expand the perimeter of the nostrils, allowing air to flow more easily through the nasal passages. However, the key difference is that Nasal dilators are snoring devices that are inserted into your nostrils. Although not overlyuncomfortable, many people find them to be a bit invasive. Others struggle with keeping them in place throughout the night and ultimately many people still end up mouth breathing because, again, there is nothing to keep your jaw from falling open. For this reason, nasal dilators, when used on their own, are only effective in certain situations.
|
Efficacy |
Practicality |
Comfort |
Universality |
TOTAL |
|
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
11 |
Before you call us biased, let’s take a look at the facts. First, SomniFix Strips hold the lips sealed together, not only preventing the jaw from opening, but also preventing air leaks through the lips. This inhibits mouth breathing and induces nose breathing more effectively than any other snoring solution. Second, SomniFix Strips use a gentle, skin-safe adhesive, making them easy to apply, easy to remove, and comfortable to the point where you will forget you’re even wearing one. Third, it is undoubtedly the snoring device that facilitates the most natural sleeping position. Sleep on your back? Your side? Your front? It doesn’t matter. No weird mouth positions, no cumbersome headgear, no stretching of the nostrils. Just natural comfort. Finally, for less than 60 cents a day both you and your partner can achieve silent, more restful sleep.
|
Efficacy |
Practicality |
Comfort |
Universality |
TOTAL |
|
5 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
18 |
A great day tomorrow starts with a great sleep tonight. Give SomniFix Strips a try tonight, completely risk-free! If you don’t love you sleep after 7 nights with SomniFix, we’ll refund your order. Join the tens of thousands of people who are now getting quieter, higher quality sleep every single night.
If you don't LOVE your sleep in 7 nights, we'll give your money back guaranteed! 🌟
