4 ms·

tape your mouth during sleep

by GDC7 5y ago

adflux 5y ago
This... Its so wierd, but it improves my sleep. I dream more vividly aswell...
- Traubenfuchs 5y ago
  Dear diary, today hacker news made me tape my mouth shut before sleep. How am I gonna explain this to my partner? If it stops me from snoring and him from kicking me, that‘s a win for both of us though.
  - toast0 5y ago
    I suggest "Hey partner, my weird internet friends told me if I tape my mouth shut while I sleep, it might help with snoring and improve my quality of sleep, so I'm going to try it, let me know if it works" and if your partner is snarky, be prepared with eye rolls for him to say "why only at night?" One of my neighbors recommended thiamine supplements for help with night breathing, and my spouse was happy to have me try something. I'm sure she'd be happy to have me try taping my mouth shut overnight too. I had some success with the thiamine, but the first suppliment pill is a B-complex with lots of stuff (all at pretty high RDA %s) and something in there makes my muscles ache in addition to seeming to help with night breathing and smelling like a vitamine shop. I've now got a liquid I'm supposed to dropper into my mouth, but it tastes and smells like a vitamin shop, which is hard for me to tolerate, and it doesn't seem to work as well (lower dosage and as bottle has been used, the dropper isn't so full). The first couple or times I used it, I noticed when waking up that I was breathing through my nose and it felt easy; that's not normal for me, I can breathe through my nose, but it usually takes some amount of concious effort to do so.
    - s5300 5y ago
      What is the liquid?
      - toast0 5y ago
        It's just thiamine(b-1?) in liquid form, plus probably some water and random inactive ingredients. But unlike the pill I had, it doesn't have a laundry list of other B vitamins. And it's supposed to be closer to 100% RDA than the 500% RDA pill.
drBonkers 5y ago
what tape do you use?
- vakili 5y ago
  3M Micropore Surgical Tape.
elric 5y ago
Let me just chime in here, because while often a good idea, your comment is a little sparse, and this is an idea that can weird people out. Background: I was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea some years ago, and I've been sleeping with a CPAP device ever since. In general, CPAP follow-up and compliance rates are pretty terrible. Thankfully there's a very helpful community out there to help people with their various issues (reddit, apnea board, etc). I've basically tried everything and I've spoken to countless of people in the same boat. I'm just a guy on the internet, so take what I'm saying with a generous pinch of salt. One of the most common issues with snorers and apnics (is that a word?) alike, is that things get worse when the mouth is open. When you're on nasal CPAP, opening your mouth will cause a lot of the air to simply blow out your mouth, which will reduce your effective therapeutic pressure (i.e., CPAP is now practically useless). If you're using a full face mask, an open mouth can reduce the fit of the mask, allowing escape, usually near the chin. This, too, can result in a drop in pressure, though usually not as dramatic as with a nasal mask. There are basically zero good ways of preventing your mouth from opening at night. It happens to some people, not to others. No clue why. If it happens to you, nearly every "solution" sucks. Chin straps don't work, they will make your apnea worse by pulling your jaw into your airway, exactly where it's not supposed to be. Cervical collars are incredibly uncomfortable for sleeping. Mouthguards (like the kinds boxers use) are really uncomfortable for some people, but some people seem to tolerate them well enough. On to the tape: there's only one reason to use it: to keep your mouth shut at night. Mouth breathing = bad. Especially when on nasal CPAP. Use a low-stick tape that's skin safe. I use a piece roughly the size of a Charlie Chaplin moustache. That's wide enough to keep my mouth shut, and narrow enough so that I can still breathe out of the corners of my mouth if I really have to. I do occasionally suffer a corner-of mouth-leak, but as it's a narrow gap, the CPAP machine can easily cope. A word on aspirating vomit, as this seems to be a common concern. If you suffer from awful reflux, or are just unlucky enough to have to throw up while asleep, you're going to be having a bad time. Regardless of anything else. If you're on CPAP, there's a chance the pressure will be sending bits of goop down your airway. This is bad. If you're wearing a mouthguard, this will be worse. If you've taped your mouth, this too could make things worse. I once had threw up while on CPAP and mouth tape. Nothing bad happened, when the process started, it startled me and woke me up, I instinctively removed the tape and the CPAP mask before the vomit reached my mouth. Not fun, but no damage either.

tape your mouth during sleep

by GDC7 5y ago

tape your mouth during sleep

adflux 5y ago

This... Its so wierd, but it improves my sleep. I dream more vividly aswell...

Traubenfuchs 5y ago
Dear diary, today hacker news made me tape my mouth shut before sleep. How am I gonna explain this to my partner? If it stops me from snoring and him from kicking me, that‘s a win for both of us though.
- toast0 5y ago
  I suggest "Hey partner, my weird internet friends told me if I tape my mouth shut while I sleep, it might help with snoring and improve my quality of sleep, so I'm going to try it, let me know if it works" and if your partner is snarky, be prepared with eye rolls for him to say "why only at night?" One of my neighbors recommended thiamine supplements for help with night breathing, and my spouse was happy to have me try something. I'm sure she'd be happy to have me try taping my mouth shut overnight too. I had some success with the thiamine, but the first suppliment pill is a B-complex with lots of stuff (all at pretty high RDA %s) and something in there makes my muscles ache in addition to seeming to help with night breathing and smelling like a vitamine shop. I've now got a liquid I'm supposed to dropper into my mouth, but it tastes and smells like a vitamin shop, which is hard for me to tolerate, and it doesn't seem to work as well (lower dosage and as bottle has been used, the dropper isn't so full). The first couple or times I used it, I noticed when waking up that I was breathing through my nose and it felt easy; that's not normal for me, I can breathe through my nose, but it usually takes some amount of concious effort to do so.
  - s5300 5y ago
    What is the liquid?
    - toast0 5y ago
      It's just thiamine(b-1?) in liquid form, plus probably some water and random inactive ingredients. But unlike the pill I had, it doesn't have a laundry list of other B vitamins. And it's supposed to be closer to 100% RDA than the 500% RDA pill.

drBonkers 5y ago

what tape do you use?

vakili 5y ago
3M Micropore Surgical Tape.

elric 5y ago

Let me just chime in here, because while often a good idea, your comment is a little sparse, and this is an idea that can weird people out. Background: I was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea some years ago, and I've been sleeping with a CPAP device ever since. In general, CPAP follow-up and compliance rates are pretty terrible. Thankfully there's a very helpful community out there to help people with their various issues (reddit, apnea board, etc). I've basically tried everything and I've spoken to countless of people in the same boat. I'm just a guy on the internet, so take what I'm saying with a generous pinch of salt. One of the most common issues with snorers and apnics (is that a word?) alike, is that things get worse when the mouth is open. When you're on nasal CPAP, opening your mouth will cause a lot of the air to simply blow out your mouth, which will reduce your effective therapeutic pressure (i.e., CPAP is now practically useless). If you're using a full face mask, an open mouth can reduce the fit of the mask, allowing escape, usually near the chin. This, too, can result in a drop in pressure, though usually not as dramatic as with a nasal mask. There are basically zero good ways of preventing your mouth from opening at night. It happens to some people, not to others. No clue why. If it happens to you, nearly every "solution" sucks. Chin straps don't work, they will make your apnea worse by pulling your jaw into your airway, exactly where it's not supposed to be. Cervical collars are incredibly uncomfortable for sleeping. Mouthguards (like the kinds boxers use) are really uncomfortable for some people, but some people seem to tolerate them well enough. On to the tape: there's only one reason to use it: to keep your mouth shut at night. Mouth breathing = bad. Especially when on nasal CPAP. Use a low-stick tape that's skin safe. I use a piece roughly the size of a Charlie Chaplin moustache. That's wide enough to keep my mouth shut, and narrow enough so that I can still breathe out of the corners of my mouth if I really have to. I do occasionally suffer a corner-of mouth-leak, but as it's a narrow gap, the CPAP machine can easily cope. A word on aspirating vomit, as this seems to be a common concern. If you suffer from awful reflux, or are just unlucky enough to have to throw up while asleep, you're going to be having a bad time. Regardless of anything else. If you're on CPAP, there's a chance the pressure will be sending bits of goop down your airway. This is bad. If you're wearing a mouthguard, this will be worse. If you've taped your mouth, this too could make things worse. I once had threw up while on CPAP and mouth tape. Nothing bad happened, when the process started, it startled me and woke me up, I instinctively removed the tape and the CPAP mask before the vomit reached my mouth. Not fun, but no damage either.