A snoring chin strap is a device that keeps a person’s mouth closed in order to reduce snoring. Many snorers, some 85% of snorers, snore because they breathe through their mouths rather than through their noses. Mouth breathing may have been a result of a constant stuffy nose or because of some other activity that has trained a person to breath through their mouths rather than their noses. Breathing through the mouth can dry out a person's mouth and cause the throat tissues to vibrate. The vibrating is what causes snoring.
A snoring chin strap reduces snoring by keeping the mouth closed when a person sleeps. This procedure retrains the person to breath through their noses rather than their mouths when sleeping. The snoring chin strap can come in two forms: an adhesive strip and a jaw supporting strap. The adhesive strip goes under the chin and attaches to the snorer's cheek on either side, causing the mouth to remain closed. Without access to air through the mouth, a person is forced to breath through the nose.
The other form of snoring chin strap, a jaw supporting strap, goes under the chin and straps around the top of a person’s head. This strap supports the entire jaw and keeps it closed at night. The jaw supporting snoring chin strap gives the extra benefit of keeping the jaw forward in order to prevent the tongue from blocking a person’s airway. It also stops the head from falling forward when a person is asleep, which in turn keeps air passages more open. If the airways are more open, snoring is reduced.
The snoring chin strap may also be used in conjunction with nasal strips or mouthpieces in order to increase airflow. Using nasal strips is especially important for those with constant stuffy noses. A nasal strip opens nasal passages and allows for a person to breathe. Since the purpose of a snoring chin strap is to retrain a person to breath through their noses, it is hoped that its use is not a permanent fixture to the snorer's sleep habit. Once the person has been retrained, the snoring chin strap can be abandoned.
