re anti-snore pillow

June 12, 2008

Kathy raises a valid point. Dwarfs who snore may have sleep apnea which can

be a health hazard, on top of the social hazard.

I had throat surgery for obstructive sleep apnea a couple decades ago and it

mitigated but didn't cure my snoring and decreased the number of apnea

(breathing cessation) episodes.

I had tried many things to not sleep on my back which is my consciously and

subconsciously preferred position - sewing objects in the back of my

nightshirt (they used to suggest a marble, but that wasn't dramatic enough to

impact

my positioning.) My problem was that I was such a sound sleeper, and my

subconscious preference to sleeping on my back was so strong that with a wiffle

ball sown into the back of my nightshirt I would wake up on my back anyway,

lying on top of the wiffle ball. I figured that couldn't have been good for me

neurologically! I have one of those foam pillows that claims to be good for

mitigating snoring, shaped generally like this one. I also try to sleep

propped up, like on my side, with something between my knees so my hips don't

ache when lying on my side, or fall asleep with my shoulders propped up as if

reading in bed. This doesn't stop me from snoring though, just mitigates it

somewhat and sometimes I wake up prone anyway, gravity and all that. The only

bed-partner in my room these days is a 15 year old blind poodle who is also

half-deaf and suffering from dementia, so usually I don't get much feedback,

although when stuck with me on holiday, my family reassures me I still snore.

My Dad actually finds the noise comforting, nostalgic. Yes, it's a weird

family. And they claim, as my last sleep study said, that I don't appear to

gasp or stop breathing in my sleep these days (before my surgery it was 126

episodes in a night.)

This pillow is interesting though - I haven't seen anything like this

before, beyond the familiar shape is the claim that something in it keeps one

from

sleeping on the back. I hope we hear from someone who has actually used this

model. I googled to see if I could find comments from actual users and

found a bit of discussion. Also found this shirt which looks interesting and

explains the concept better than I did above.

This is cheaper? I don't know which would be the better bet though.

I also found reports of a computerized one that apparently isn't on the

market yet.

Thanks for bringing this up Hillary.

**************Vote for your city's best dining and nightlife. City's Best

Recommended Posts