A pillow designed to provide relief for snorers — and those around them — has been proven effective by a short-term study conducted by Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, a hospital official said.
The “creative pillow” was the result of a project financed by the Ministry of Education and led by Chang Gung University of Science and Technology’s Healthcare Institute and the hospital.
The pillow is designed to make snorers sleep on their side, while reducing snoring.
According to a survey on snoring the hospital conducted in 2006, 51.9 percent of the 4,011 people polled said they snored and 2.6 percent of respondents had sleep apnea.
Snoring is caused by obstructed nasal airways and is a warning sign of sleep apnea, the hospital said.
“Snoring not only impairs the snorer’s own sleep quality, but that of their family; chronic snoring also contributes to emotional problems such as aggression, depression, attention deficit syndrome or those that lead to domestic violence and family discord,” it said.
Many chronic snorers seek help from sleep specialists, who often suggest lifestyle changes such as weight loss, sleeping on their sides or even surgery, the hospital said.
“However, not every snorer can be effectively treated by surgery. The narrowing of the airways caused by morbid obesity or problems with facial structure, for example, are inoperable, and surgery is also not an option for those with neuromuscular disorders or severe internal diseases,” the hospital said. “So an alternative for these people is an imperative.”
Kenny Wen-Chyuan Chen (陳文詮), an assistant professor at the Healthcare Institute and co-creator of the pillow, said it was designed so that the middle of the front of the pillow is “taller,” forcing the sleeper’s head to tilt back, while the sides are lower to make it easier for the user to sleep on their side.
Sleeping on your back is more likely to obstruct your airway and cause snoring, Chen said.
To test the pillow’s effectiveness the hospital conducted a trial using people who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea.
The test subjects believed that the noise from their snoring was alleviated, while monitoring showed “a reduction of snoring frequency from 215 times to 156 times per night, which is a decrease of 27 percent,” Chen said.
The trial also found that the participants’ blood oxygen saturation during sleep increased from 85 percent to 88 percent, the hospital said.
“The results together indicate that the ‘creative pillow’ can make patients breathe more easily and thereby improve their and their spouses’ sleep quality,” the hospital said.
HOT-SPRING RETREAT: A hotel in Japan incurred a loss of about US$1,846 after a Taiwanese man failed to show up for his reservation due to a misunderstood message A Taiwanese man who failed to show up for a hotel reservation in Japan has apologized and offered compensation, the hotel said yesterday. The man, surnamed Lee (李), reserved a room at the Yufuin Tsubaki hot-spring hotel in Oita for the Lunar New Year holiday, but failed to show up on Friday. Lee yesterday called the hotel to apologize and offered to compensate the losses caused by his failure to show up, a hotel employee surnamed Yashiro said. Lee’s wife also called on Sunday to apologize, she said. Lee had booked a two-night stay with upscale seafood and beef meals, the hotel said. His
Two Taiwanese Americans were among those killed in a mass shooting at a dance studio in Monterey Park, California, on Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles (TECO LA) said it contacted local authorities, who confirmed that two of the 11 killed in the shooting were Taiwanese Americans. “TECO LA conveys our heartfelt condolences to the victims and their families, and sends our prayers to the injured for a speedy recovery,” it said in a statement. The office said it is assisting the relatives of one of the victims to travel from
A senior US senator on Monday questioned the willingness of some US allies to help defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion. Although Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) expects the US and Japan to respond in a war in the Taiwan Strait, he was “a little less confident what our other allies would do,” US Senator John Cornyn said. Australia and New Zealand have voiced support for Taiwan, but it “is a far cry from committing troops to repel an invasion,” Cornyn said during a discussion on China, Russia and the state of US military readiness at a forum hosted
Whisky connoisseurs are a rapidly growing demographic in Taiwan, driving prices ever higher as collectors vie for the most coveted editions. Although not a new pastime, whisky collection has been picking up steam in recent years. According to the Scotch Whisky Association, Taiwan was the third-largest buyer of Scotch whisky in 2021 in monetary terms. One collector, surnamed Fu (傅), said there are many types of whisky that are ripe for collecting. One that has skyrocketed in price in recent years is the Macallan 12-year-old Gran Reserva, which bears a striking purple label, said Fu, who has more than 10 years of experience as