Tired of being told to leave the bedroom—because your snoring is giving your spouse a headache? Tired of having to “go to bed first”—so you can sleep through the jackhammer laying next to you?

Snoring that doesn’t interfere with the body’s ability to maintain oxygen levels during sleep—also called “simple“ or “nuisance” snoring—often can wreak havoc in our social lives. Fortunately, technology is catching up with this age-old complaint.

A new product from Nellcor Puritan Bennett, called QuietKnight, has improved oral appliance devices significantly from the days of the “football mouthguard” approach. With the QuietKnight, you can talk, yawn, even drink—with the appliance still in your mouth. Not only that, but the QuietKnight is adjustable. If your bedpartner still complains of snoring after your first few nights wearing it—you can adjust the device yourself to increase the airway opening it creates—with a few simple turns of a screw. Opening the airspace improves airflow—and in turn reduces and/or eliminates snoring.

Snoring is caused by the vibration of tissue in the airway as air is sucked into the lungs. Because snoring only occurs when the airway is too narrow to allow sufficient air to pass through—snoring is always a potential warning sign for obstructive sleep apnea—a condition where difficulty breathing actually causes insufficient oxygenation during sleep—and thus causes frequent arousals.

Distinguishing between simple snoring and obstructive sleep apnea can only be verified by spending a night in a sleep lab. If your test shows zero or only mild disruption to your oxygen levels during sleep, you are a likely candidate to benefit from an oral appliance. These devices also have the advantage of being small and lightweight. They fit easily into a purse or toilet kit, and they do not require electrical power to operate—which may make them a viable alternative to Nasal CPAP when in remote areas or camping.

To learn more about oral appliances for treatment of snoring and mild sleep apnea, visit the Puritan Bennett website, located at http://www.puritanbennett.com. You may want to put one of these on your holiday shopping list. Buy it for yourself—but then wear it as a gift for both you and your bedpartner!