Have you ever had a look at some of the anti snore devices that are available on the market and wondered how those strange products came to be invented?  They were by no means deliberately intended as anti snore devices.  A few, like the nasal strips sold for decongestion, have helped a number of people stop snoring by chance.  But there are some which you know without a shadow of a doubt that they were created by a non-snorer who was required to live years in the same room as a snorer.

The Snore Ball

Many snorers are capable of stopping their snoring once they have rolled over on their sides.  Once on their side and if they continue to snore, then they probably have sleep apnea and require doctors’ help.  So, these are somewhat unkind anti snore devices created to forbid even the soundest sleeper from rolling over onto their backs.  Perhaps the inventors were trying to impose just a bit of their unhappiness onto the snorers of the world.

One such anti snoring product is known as the Snore Ball.  It came out in the early twentieth century.  It is a hard little ball that is strapped to the small of your back.  When you roll over onto your back, you immediately regret that you did and have no choice but roll over onto your side.  Some stick to your pajamas while others come with their own straps.

The Sandler Pillow

Along a similar vein, the Sandler Pillow also makes it next to impossible for a sleeper to snore on his or her back.  The pillow is named after inventor Peter Sandler.  It is a tiny, long pillow too thin for the whole head.

Shock Therapy

The most drastic and downright dangerous of anti snore devices has to be the Snore Stopper.  This is an anti snoring bracelet, which can be worn around the wrist.  When you start to snore, it gives you a jolt of electricity, which wakes you up.  The manufacturers claim that the sensation you feel from the Snore Stopper is no more painful than a “small pinch.”  You can’t help but wonder how many chronic snorers receive this as a wedding anniversary present.  (”Oh, honey, you REALLY shouldn’t have.”)

What’s even better is that there is also a Snore Stopper that is specifically for the tongue.  It shocks the tongue whenever it presses against the back of the mouth. Bon appetit.

Although it has been known for a long time now that children who have sleep apnea frequently display poor scores on IQ tests (typically scoring an average of 85 against a score of 101 for children who are not suffering from sleep apnea) one thing which has not been known until very recently is that this is produced by chemical changes within the brain. This means that an otherwise clever kid could well produce a mediocre performance as a result of nothing more than a sleeping problem which, in almost all cases, can be treated quite easily.

In a recent study carried out at the Hopkin’s Children’s Centre in Baltimore, 31 children between the ages of 6 and 16 (19 of whom had been diagnosed with severe sleep apnea) were examined with a special type or magnetic resonance imager (MRI) and it was discovered that those children with sleep apnea showed significant changes in the hippocampus and right frontal cortex which are parts of the brain which are associated with learning and higher mental function.

This same study also discovered that these kids were suffering from altered levels of three brain chemicals which indicated brain damage. This change to the chemistry of the brain resulting from the presence of sleep apnea may or may not be lasting and, at this point, further studies are required to see whether or not this effect can be reversed.

Even if reversal is possible however and the brain chemistry and cognitive function can be normalized, kids who have sleep apnea are going to suffer learning problems as long as they have untreated sleep apnea and certainly cannot rewind time and recapture this period of learning.

Of course, parents should already be looking out for signs of sleep apnea in their children but this study clearly indicates that an early diagnosis and treatment of this sleep problem might have a considerable affect on your child’s success in later life.

The signs of sleep apnea include numerous pauses in breathing during sleep that often result in an arousal from sleep and tossing and turning in bed. Children might also display loud or labored breathing, snoring, gasping, coughing and, sometimes, bed wetting at an age when should generally have passed.

Parents can also see that a child is sleeping in an unusual position, perhaps with their bottom sticking up in the air and with their head tilted back in an effort to keep their airway clear.

In the majority of cases child sleep apnea can be effectively treated by removing the tonsils and adenoids, or excess tissue from the nose or the back of the throat. Additionally, a CPAP machine (or pediatric CPAP) may also be used to give the child an airflow delivered using a mask worn during sleep to keep the airway open.

In itself child sleep apnea is incapacitating for any child and the effect of night after night of poor quality sleep will take their toll on your child. However, when this is combined with an impairment of your child’s IQ, it is imperative that you act as soon as you can to get this condition diagnosed and treated.