For almost a full century, it has been medically known that the Sniff Position is the best position for maximally and naturally opening the upper breathing passages from the nasopharynx (where the nasal passages and the throat meet) to the voice box. The sniff position has been taught as the prime position in which to place a person requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation and medical airway management.

Now, for home and commercial use, the PopitzPillow is patented and FDA approved to help obtaining restful sleep, and to alleviate or improve snoring and mild obstructive sleep apnea. The PopitzPillow is used and recommended by Sleep Disorder Clinics. No other pillow can offer you the Sniff Position. Most other pillows place the sleeper in a neutral or a flexed neck position.

Invented by an Anesthesiologist, Dr. Michael Popitz, the pillow was originally designed and still used widely for positioning the patient for airway management in the operating room and emergency care situations. After studying the effects of different head and neck positions upon the airway patency, Dr. Popitz created several pillow designs all of which place the patient in the sniff position. The sniff position is bending the lower neck forward, but then tilting up the chin maximally. It was during use of the PopitzPillow in these settings that many doctors realized that the same opening effects the PopitzPillow has on the airway, allow it to be of great benefit to people trying to improve their sleep because of breathing obstruction, such as snoring and obstructive sleep apnea, two very common conditions.