Sleeping next to a snorer is like a perpetual hell from which escape can only be achieved by one partner being banished to the couch. Old tricks like sewing a tennis ball into the back of the snorer’s pajamas (so he can’t lie on his back where he is more likely to snore) don’t always work, but the Snore Activated Nudging Pillow might do the trick.

The pillow is a slightly friendlier alternative to nudging or pushing your partner in the middle of the night to stop the snoring. It contains a microphone that picks up the distinctive sonic pattern of snoring. When it does, an internal bladder inflates, prompting the snorer to change sleeping positions. It lifts part of the pillow four to seven inches and then immediately deflates, which should be enough movement to make the snorer roll over without waking them.

The microphone sensitivity can be adjusted, so if the non-snoring partner is a heavy sleeper the pillow can be set to inflate only at the loudest snores. Although the pillow won’t stop a snorer’s nocturnal noise-making for good, it might at least help make the nights more bearable. The $149.99 price tag is pretty steep, but it’s cheaper than couples counseling and may even reduce the number of nights spent sleeping on the couch.

The post Silent Nights: Pillow Nudges Snorer’s Head to Stop the Noise first appeared on Gajitz.

Sleep apnea, a disorder characterized by abnormal pauses in breathing during sleep, affects millions of people worldwide. It can be a scary experience for the sufferer, but since it often causes very loud snoring it can be an incredibly disturbing experience for others in the household as well.

The Kabe Group at Waseda University are developing a “robotic pillow” to help ease the symptoms of sleep apnea sufferers. The pillow is actually more like a big, soft teddy bear with moving arms. The bear’s body is a pillow and its robotic arms reach out to gently nudge the sleeper onto his side when his breathing is interrupted or his snoring becomes bothersome.

The system operates with a pulse oxymeter, a small device worn on the finger to measure oxygen concentration in the blood. When the wearer’s blood oxygen dips and it is apparent that he has stopped breathing, the pillow’s actuators go into action. The pillow can either cause the sleeper to roll over onto his side or wake him up entirely, depending on the severity of the breathing interruption.

While the concept seems to be a beneficial one that could help a lot of people, we have to wonder why it’s got to be so cutesy. The sleeping bear pillow with its sweet little face is complemented by the pulse oxymeter, which happens to be in the shape of a furry sheep with a bottle of milk in its mouth. Since sleep apnea affects more men than women, we’ve got to assume that the Kabe Group is just trying to humiliate those men into getting over their snoring problem.

The post Cuddly Robot Pillow Will Hug the Snoring Right Out of You first appeared on Gajitz.