I consider myself to be something of an inconsistent snorer.
On the whole, I don’t regularly snore however I’ve found that over the last few years (and for some reason, particular exacerbated since I moved to London) that I have moments where I become that guy that snores and either amuses or frustrates everyone else around me with my snoring.
I think it’s partly due to ‘the type’ of snoring too. My snore is less of a loud rattling sound and more of a high pitched whistle. It’s the oddest thing every (my ‘kind’ friends made me get a sleep app to record it) and I have to admit, it’s woken me up SEVERAL times in the past.
It’s one thing when it annoys everyone else (that I can handle, hehe 😉 ) but when it starts to wake me up, it’s easily one of the most frustrating experiences to have travelling. 🙂
WHAT TYPE OF SNORING IS IT?
The good thing though is that I know the triggers for mine and it tends to fall into one of two main things – extreme tiredness (the kind of tiredness that can turn even the best of us into ‘droolers‘) or allergic reactions (particularly, hay fever in my case). There is the odd unexplained snore-fest in between but for the most part – it falls into one of those two categories.
Summer time is particularly tricky and there are times where even the best hay-fever medication just seems to do nothing for me. (For instance, if you look at our English Road Trip video here, you can see that less than halfway in, my eyes have gone a lot redder thanks to the hay-fever itchiness). Most people get blocked noses in Autumn or Winter, mine’s Summer all the way through.
WHAT CAUSES IT?
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, where after speaking to the experts (hey Doctor), I found out my kind of snoring is what you’d call nasal snoring.
Effectively, from what I recall, it’s when your nostrils get restricted and you end up breathing through your mouth. The sound as the air hits the back of your throat is pretty much what that snoring is.
I’d never really thought about it before (my thoughts typically go to getting nasal sprays, eye drops and anything else I can do to combat the blocked nose) and when it was explained to me (coupled with a bit of Googling from my end), it all made perfect sense.
HOW TO FIX IT.
Funny what a little bit of information does. Knowing exactly what was happening meant I could go ahead and fix the problem. (The snoring was turning less amusing and more irritating as summer went by).
Cue – Rhinomed Mute Snoring device ( 🙂 I make that sound like it’s meant to make you snore more instead of quite the opposite, which it does).
Finding this little device was a bit of a detour actually as I’d first heard about the sporting alternative of it (cyclists use it to keep their airways open in sporting events like Tour de France) and as it turns out, they had a device that does a similar thing, except for when you’re asleep!
Even the guys over at KLM (who should know a thing of two about on-flight snoring) highlight using it when travelling with them to get much better sleep on their flights and I quote “Occasionally, passengers tend to get a bit too relaxed when flying with us and drift off into a (not always so peaceful) sleep so perhaps Mute could come in handy when travelling!”
Between the Tour de France folk and the people over at KLM (all tied in with the fact that I just wanted a decent night’s sleep), I was pretty much sold on giving the Mute device a test run.
WHAT’S IT LIKE?
As it turns out, the Mute snoring device is surprisingly comfortable and very discreet! And this says a lot coming from me – I have constantly refused to wear contact lenses (I’ve tried like 5 different times) because of how unnatural they feel on my eyes. I was even told that with contact lenses, you’d get used to it after a few days and I never managed to so I skipped the contact lenses all together.
Long story short – I’m not a fan of uncomfortable products so I was particularly pleased to find out this one was very comfortable and was such a natural fit. (Also, being comfortable when you sleep is a HUGE deal!)
The best part about this though is that instant feeling of relief as soon as you put it on, when it opens up your nostrils. It’s funny how it takes things like having a blocked nose to make you appreciate those times you’ve taken for granted when you could just breathe properly.
The thing is, with travel, it’s so hard to predict when you’ll be surrounded by allergens or get nasal congestions so it’s at least a huge win to know how to manage it.
EXTRA PERKS!
Now I totally wasn’t looking for this but I appreciate it anyway – as it turns out, one of the other benefits of the device is that because it lets more air in, you get a much better quality of sleep and wake up more refreshed.
To be honest, with the extreme tiredness case – any sleep no matter how little always felt good but it was when I had a full on flare of hayfever I felt the biggest benefit here as anyone who’s ever attempted to sleep with a blocked nose will tell you, you always have awful sleep and wake up even more exhausted the next day.
Thing is, I’ve tried using one of those instant nasal sprays but effective as they are, even those have their limits as medical advise tells you to stop using them after 7 days of consistent use (otherwise your body gets used to the drug and you can’t breathe normally unless you use the inhalers). My hay fever is a summer long affair so soon enough, the 7 day ‘instant relief’ option goes out of the window. Additionally, the antihistamines never seem to work consistently.
The Mute device works perfectly for stopping nasal snoring as it puts me right in control and is done without any need for medication! #Winning (Obviously, results may vary depending on the individual but even a reduction in snoring is pretty much a win here).
You can see what it looks like properly in this video below (its very quickly become a travel essential for me). Skip to 0:50mins to see it.
WHERE TO GET IT?
I found it on Amazon in the US (it’s also available in places like Walgreens). In the UK, you can find it at your local Boots (or on the Boots.com website).
Obviously we’re all different so the device comes in 3 different sizes instead of a ‘one size fits all’ model.
The individual sizes are also adjustable so you’re pretty much guaranteed to find a size that fits. To start though, I reckon you should begin with a trial pack to figure out which size fits you best.
YOUR TURN!
If you do try these, please do let me know what you think! I’d never heard about them from friends before so I’d be intrigued to hear from someone else who’s tried these too. 🙂 (Maybe we can start a little ‘Snorers Anonymous‘ club of our very own?)
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