Vital Sleep Review
VitalSleep Ratings
Effectiveness - 75%
Comfort - 58%
Quality - 68%
Service - 61%
66%
Good
It provides excellent value for money and peace of mind with the 12-month replacement guarantee. With the exception of the cleaning issue.
VitaSleep Review
There are over 100 different anti snore devices on the market at the time of writing, and while my wife is very supportive of my determination to find the best anti snoring device, even she might draw the line at testing all the available models. I was drawn to the Vita Sleep as I enjoy slightly different, maybe quirky designs, and when I initially saw this device I just knew I had to try it out. We affectionately refer to this device as Jaws, and when you see it for yourself you will understand why. The design is certainly unique maybe even a touch scary, but the reality is, the look is irrelevant if it stops your snoring then frankly who cares.
A Mad Device
The majority of anti-snore devices are what are known as MAD Devices, and the Vita Sleep falls into that category also. A MAD device is short for a Mandibular Advancement Device, and it works by manually moving your lower jaw forward a little, which effectively creates more space in the airway. As you breathe during the night, this extra space prevents the wearer from snoring. In some respects, it could be looked upon as a very low-tech solution to the problem, but the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. There is a lot of science and technology involved in the design of these devices.
My Personal Thoughts On The Vita Sleep Device
As I mentioned above, this device will never win any prizes for its looks, it is without a doubt, the ugliest piece of equipment I have ever tested, and strange as it may sound it wouldn’t surprise me if some people are actually put off trying this device for that very reason. I placed my order for this no snoring mouthpiece, on a Tuesday at 11.04 am. Even I was surprised when it was delivered the following day. This is an American made device and provided you order before 3pm your mouth guard will be despatched on the same day. It arrived well packaged and I eagerly unwrapped my parcel to inspect the device.
As with all of these products, the first thing I always do is to clean them thoroughly. I accept that they are brand new devices, but I will be putting this device into my mouth, so I want to ensure it is perfectly clean. This, as I expected, was where I encountered my first issue. Due to the design of this device, there are a lot of little nooks and crannies that need to be cleaned. This device was the most difficult of all of those tested to clean, and while I accept that you could throw it in a glass of water with a denture tablet (which is actually recommended once a week) I have to mark the Vita Sleep down in this regard.
On a positive note, the Vita Sleep is made from a BPA- and latex-free thermoplastic material and the entire product is sourced from and manufactured within the United States. In safety terms, it has been fully cleared by the United States food and drugs administration, which for me is essential considering I will be putting this in my mouth every night while I sleep.
I was impressed by the fitting process, as the Vita Sleep gives you two opportunities to ensure the perfect fit. First, you use the tried and tested boil and bite system to shape the mouthpiece individually to your mouth and teeth. This entails putting the device into boiling water for approximately ten seconds, which softens the material making it pliable. The user then bites down on the product which molds itself to the user’s mouth. Once you are satisfied with the feel of the guard in your mouth, you remove the snoring device and place it in cold water. The mouthpiece is now set to your personal mouth shape and should, in theory, be a comfortable tailor-made fit.
The Vita Sleep however also allows you to alter the placement of your lower jaw, by including a hex key style arrangement The supplied key lets you turn plastic screws on either side of the guard. This gives you total flexibility and enables you to change the distance with a range of up to seven millimeters again and again until you are happy. This is important, as some of the other devices are set and forget, which is a serious problem if you get the initial adjustment wrong.
The product comes in two distinct sizes, male and female, and at the time of writing the price was identical at $59.95. It comes with a full 30-day money back guarantee, which only begins from the day you receive your order. I want to commend the company for this flexible approach as it gives the user the chance to put the product to the test. I mean how can you claim a 30-day guarantee if, for the first ten days of the guarantee, you haven’t received the item?
In my tests, I found that the device worked well in reducing my snoring. I woke up feeling refreshed, and according to my wife I didn’t wake her up once. As this is the basic task of all of these products, I would have to call this a successful test. However, in my opinion, I didn’t find wearing the device a pleasant experience, and although I can’t put quite out my finger on it, this was one of my least favorite products.
Quality
When it comes to the quality of anti-snore devices, I would say that the Vita Sleep comes somewhere in the middle. The packaging and storage case that the device comes in was sturdy and reliable, and it was evident that a lot of thought and effort had gone into the mouthpiece itself. For me, I didn’t find it particularly comfortable, although my wife loved her one.
Regarding value for money, the Vita Sleep scores highly. Considering that you get a boil and bite mechanism, the capability of altering the lower jaw repeatedly, and the s Hex Toolkit to perform this procedure, the cost is very reasonable. If I had been asked to guess the price, with the knowledge I have from testing other products, I would have placed this in the $100-dollar range, so when you realize that you can get two of these devices for $100 I was rather shocked, to say the least. The company also claims that this no snoring mouthpiece will last between twelve and twenty-four months, a significant improvement over the competition
Cleaning And Maintenance
I would like to stress before you read any further, that I am not averse to cleaning, and that in a lot of cases I find the cleaning process to be quite therapeutic. Cleaning the VitalSleep, however, is not one of those cases. This anti-snoring device is an absolute nightmare to clean. There are crevices and gaps everywhere, that are just begging for bacteria to gather, and I don’t actually see what benefit all of the little cut outs actually bring to the party. Again I will admit that as I test out more and more devices, you do become used to certain things, and so when a product has a weakness, that is highlighted further. But even my wife complained about the extra time and effort it took to clean these mouthpieces, and yes we do take it in turns!!
Summary of VitalSleep Anti-Snoring Mouthpiece Review
Overall I feel that this product provides excellent value for money, but is possibly over designed. The adjustment options are first class, and give you the opportunity to fiddle and change things, but then there are so many holes and gaps that in my opinion seem a little unnecessary.
Pros
- American Made
- Full 30 Day Money Back Guarantee
- Long Lasting – Between 12 and 24 months
- One Year Free Replacement Guarantee
Cons
- Personally, I didn’t find it very comfortable to wear
- Cleaning the device is a real chore
One really huge bonus of this device is that it gives you a full 12-month guarantee, with free replacements. That speaks volumes for both their customer service and their faith in the product. One of the other features of the Vita Sleep is the slight side to side movement. This is quite unique in my experience, and something I found quite refreshing, and not as restrictive as many of the others. However, upon reading some other reviews there were many users who said this gave them the impression of being loose, or not as secure in the mouth. Obviously, I have no way of finding out whether these people had fitted their product properly or if they just didn’t like the feeling, but I felt it was important enough to warrant a mention in this review.
At this price point, the Vita Sleep deserves a recommendation. It wasn’t my personal favorite, but with the exception of the cleaning, there was nothing to dislike about it either. It provides excellent value for money and peace of mind with the 12-month replacement guarantee. If you like the sound of this anti snore mouthpiece and are not put off by the look of it, it is certainly worth trying, especially with that full 30-day money back guarantee.