You have probably heard about anti-snore rings and wondered wether it is worth buying one. This article aims to give you the arguments for and against.
What Will I Learn?
Anti-Snore Ring – Is It Worth Buying?
So you’ve heard a lot of talk about anti-snore rings and are presently wondering if they work. That’s not surprising. Putting a ring on your finger to try and stop snoring is a pretty radical idea.
Admittedly, some people claim to have had great success with this type of snoring aid. However, there are plenty more who say they believe they wasted their money.
When you are debating the possible benefits of using an anti-snore ring, you need to remember you are dealing with an item that comes from deep within the realms of alternative medicine.
If you believe in the health benefits of acupuncture or acupressure, you may be willing to give an anti-snore ring the benefit of the doubt.
However, if you have are unfamiliar with these types of traditional Asian healing, you may be more inclined to try and control your snoring via a more conventional approach.
Options like MADs, TSDs, and internal nasal dilators work via means that are easy to understand. They directly address the physical factors that cause snoring by improving airflow at the back of the throat or behind the nose.
Remove the cause and you remove the effect. It’s simple science.
Anti-snore rings apply pressure to one of the fingers. This is meant to affect internal energy flow in a manner that prevents snoring.
It would be wrong to pooh-pooh the idea because although there is no proof that this can affect snoring, but it’s not an area that has benefited from study.
Why Do People Snore?
Although there can be many contributing factors, such as obesity, poor room humidity, or the presence of a medical condition such as diabetes or sleep apnea, the real reason behind snoring is always the same.
Snoring happens when restrictions in airflow cause turbulence behind the nose or at the back of the throat. This makes the flesh around the area of the obstruction start to vibrate. It’s this vibration of flesh that makes that terrible grunting noise.
If this is a hard concept for you to grasp, think of the way a trumpet player’s lips vibrate on the mouthpiece of his instrument and how this vibration of flesh produces a sound. Don’t lose sight of the reason the lips vibrate in the first place.
In the case of a trumpet player, the vibration happens because airflow is impeded because the lips are pursed. In the case of a mouth snorer, the obstruction is often caused or made worse when the tongue relaxes towards the back of the throat.
Nose snoring happens when nasal congestion or obstructions cause turbulence that’s sufficient to act on the tissues in the nasal cavity.
How Traditional Anti-Snoring Devices Work
Traditional anti-snoring devices tackle the problem at source. They achieve this by improving airflow during sleep and/or making the flesh less likely to vibrate.
Some anti-snoring sprays, for instance, contain a combination of natural compounds that help alleviate congestion and/or firm up the tissues at the back of the throat.
More popular options, such as MADs and TSDs, move the tongue forward so that it cannot cause the turbulence necessary to vibrate the flesh and produce sound.
MADs achieve this by realigning the jaw during sleep. They advance the lower jaw. When the jaw moves forward, the tongue does too.
TSDs work a little differently. They use suction to pull the tongue forward and hold it in place during sleep.
Once you have a grasp of the reasons why people snore, it’s easy to understand how all the aforementioned methods can keep snoring under control.
Now let’s take a look at the theory behind anti-snore rings. We also ask the question is it worth buying an anti-snore ring?
How An Anti-Snore Ring Works
To say we are no entering the realms of pseudoscience might be a little harsh. However, the anti-snore ring is a snoring remedy that stems from alternative medicine.
In a nutshell, anti-snore rings are supposed to work in a similar way to acupressure. It’s a healing art that’s closely related to acupuncture. Both systems aim to provide health benefits by improving energy flow.
Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine believe the human body contains a form of life energy. They call this energy Chi.
Chi flows through the body via a series of energy pathways called meridians. When the meridians are blocked in certain areas or present obstructions, it causes pain and disease.
Inserting needles into the meridians improves chi-flow and alleviates disease.
Although acupuncture is often only seen as a complementary medicine, it’s still used by medical practitioners in the west.
However, doctors in the western world believe acupuncture works by stimulating sensory nerves under the skin and within the muscles, causing the body to release pain-relieving endorphins and other beneficial compounds. [source]
Applying pressure to the meridians with the fingers (acupressure) allegedly improves chi flow in a similar way but acupuncture is generally believed to offer the most healing power.
A stop snoring ring is designed to prevent snoring by applying pressure to the meridians that pass through the little finger. Strange as it may seem, the hand you wear it one depends on your sex.
Women have to place their anti-snore ring on the little finger of their left hand. Men have to place the ring on the little finger of their right hand.
Anti-Snore Ring Variations
Even if you believe in the value of acupressure or are willing to keep an open mind, it’s hard not to have doubts when you discover not all anti-snore rings are the same.
The pressure-providing bumps on some rings are more pronounced than they are on others. Some have one bump, others have two.
There are anti-snore rings that have magnets embedded in them as well. With some, the magnets are only on one side, with others they are on both.
The manufacturers responsible for producing anti-snore rings with magnets often claim the magnetic energy improves circulation and helps align the ions in your blood.
Some manufacturers offer no explanation for the magnets at all and possibly only include them because they hope their presence will make the rings easier to sell.
Making claims about the beneficial effect of magnetism is easy. Backing the claims up is not. There is no proof rings of this type can improve circulation. Even if they could, how would that prevent the vibrations of flesh that produce snoring?
Nor is there any evidence such rings can alter the alignment of ions in the blood. Even if the could, why would that be necessary or a healthy thing to do?
Other Things to Know Before Buying a Ring to Stop Snoring
Good anti-snore rings are seldom one-size-fits-all. If you want to try and control your snoring by wearing this type of ring, you will need to be sure you are buying the correct size.
If you go for an adjustable option or one that appears to be only available in one size, you will need to take extra care.
Even when size options are available, there are still no guarantees the ring will fit. Many people who have bought this type of snoring aid complain their ring was too big, while others claim it was too small.
There are also a lot of complaints from people who claim their anti-snore ring was uncomfortable to wear. Be aware of that because it’s hard to sleep if you are wearing something that is causing you pain.
It’s also important to be aware you do not leave rings like this on your finger during the day. You are meant to place them on the correct finger 30 minutes before going to bed and then remove them when you awake.
Anti-Snore Ring Final Thoughts
There are many different types and brands of anti-snore ring available to buy online. Amazon has several options and, if you take some time to examine the customer feedback, you will see it is generally pretty poor.
Only 20-30 percent of customers appear to award products of this nature a full five out of five stars.
As far as the price goes, anti-snore rings can be very cheap to buy. It’s possible to pick up some options for less than five dollars, while a ring at the top end of the scale may cost up to five times that amount.
If you see one that costs more than that, unless it’s made from gold it’s going to be a very poor choice.
It’s also important to remember, there is no scientific proof that improving chi flow within the body is likely to improve airflow while sleeping or make flesh less likely to vibrate.
If you are really sold on the idea of acupressure having value as an anti-snoring aid, the best thing to do is probably to buy one of the cheapest options.
It’s the pressure that’s important, not the design and you are not going to wow anybody by having a flashy-looking ring on your pinky during sleep.
As for the concept of an anti-snore ring with magnets, it’s hard to see the point. This type of ring design is based on the value of acupressure.
Magnetic energy is unlikely to add any benefits at all. I hope this answers the question of whether it is worth buying an anti-snore ring
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