You might never guess it, but the strength of your tongue is a crucial factor to how well you sleep at night. Research has suggested that a weak tongue muscle is a root cause of loud snoring and obstructive sleep apnea, which can actually become a health concern. CPAP masks have been proven to help keep airways open during sleep, but a staggering amount of patients refuse to wear them because the feeling of the mask makes it just as impossible to fall and stay asleep. A new, tech-savvy device is in development to bridge the gap between effectiveness and usability.
Strengthen Your Tongue, Improve Your Sleep?
Snoozeal, a company headquartered in London, is currently working on a small electronic device to tackle both snoring and sleep apnea at once. Rather than putting on a cumbersome mask while trying to sleep, patients using this new device will insert it into their mouths for about 20 minutes a day, while they are awake, allowing it to send mild electric pulses into their tongue. Developers believe the daily conditioning will strengthen the tongue muscles enough to prevent disruptive snoring and obstructive sleep apnea at night.
A spokesperson from Snoozeal stated that they were hopeful that the majority of patients who use the device will be willing to use it for a mere 20 minutes during the day if it meant a restful night sleep for everyone in their household. If successful, it would be a stark contrast to the dramatically low use rate for CPAP masks. The little mouth-held device also syncs up with smartphones and applications, providing comprehensive feedback about the patient’s quality of sleep and whether or not they were snoring. Gathered data can show the patient in real time if the device is effective for them, and can be shared with doctors to better understand the extent of their sleep apnea issues.
Snoozeal has recently started a clinical study of more than 100 patients to gauge the effectiveness of their device and possibly fine-tune it before it hits the market. Each person in the study will first be evaluated in a separate sleep study. Results are not expected until March 2017.
Would you like to know more about Snoozeal’s device? You can view a full article posted by MedCity News by clicking here. Would you like to know more about sleep apnea treatments, including sinus surgery? Feel free to contact Florida Sinus & Snoring Specialists, Inc and our Plantation sinus and allergy specialists today.
