3 ms·
As someone who's also suffered from poor sleep, related to nasal issues, I'm curious what you've tried. Have you tried mouth taping, chin straps, or breathe rig
by _9omd 5y ago
As someone who's also suffered from poor sleep, related to nasal issues, I'm curious what you've tried. Have you tried mouth taping, chin straps, or breathe right strips? How about dietary changes to reduce congestion? What about breathing exercises and exercise in general?
I've personally found mouth taping to be the most beneficial, along with breathing exercises (and general exercise) and eating a cleaner diet to reduce congestion. One thing I do is get in bed a bit early so I can do some breathing exercises and get my nasal breathing really dialed in before falling asleep.
I lay in bed on my back and progressively slow my nasal breathing, focusing on very long and complete exhales. I roll over onto my side when I'm ready to fall asleep. I've tried box breathing, and 4-7-8 breathing for this purpose, but I find the extended inhales to be energizing, and not conductive to falling asleep.
I actually did have a septoplasty and turbinate reduction back in 2015 before I'd ever even heard of empty nose syndrome. When I first listened to "Breath", by James Nestor and he talked about empty nose syndrome I recoiled in terror. I had anxiety for a bit, imagining I may have it and not have noticed and from imaging how my life could have turned out if I had a bad surgeon. After a few, I realized those fears were silly, and thanked my lucky stars that I didn't suffer that terrible fate.
The surgery helped my nasal breathing slightly, but it wasn't dramatic or life changing. Knowing about empty nose syndrome now, I would definitely try all other possibilities before going under the knife. I think the surgery can be life changing for some, so it may just depend on how bad your structural issues are and how good the surgeon is.
- lr4444lr 5y agoTried strips - none of them did anything. May try mouth taping since it seems low risk. I have asthma though (adult onset), which complicates things. I'm pretty good about exercise - my fitness tracker can nail my resting heart rate if nothing else! I'm just a little skeptical about its overall sleep tracking. I am pretty sure identifies waking and slow wave well, but overall, I just don't feel I sleep as deeply as I did even 5-6 years ago. I took percocet last year for a night right after surgery and I hit a level of restfulness that was unmistakably something I hadn't experienced for a long time. Can fall asleep on my back just fine, but for some reason, every night I wake up hot with a dry mouth about 3-5 hours in and I have to move to side sleeping to deal with the nose. I think I may just have to pony up for an in-clinic sleep study already and get some better data. I also have chronic muscle cramps and pains from exercise overexertion that are not going away, so again, I'm suspecting poor quality sleep. My diet is pretty good, and my blood tests haven't ever suggested mineral deficiency. I had nose surgery about 20 years ago for a deviated septum when I was in my late teens, and it did help, but it has since redeviated somewhat, though not nearly as bad as before. I think simply being younger and having more growth ahead of me at that age made tissue regrowth more likely.
- _9omd 5y agoWaking up with a dry mouth is a classic sign of nighttime mouth breathing, and potentially hyperventilation. I used to always wake with a dry mouth, and often breathing heavy. If you're able to breath through your nose, I would definitely recommend trying the mouth taping. I just use a very small strip right in the center of my lips (.5" x 1"), so I can actually still open the sides of my mouth and breath, which makes things feel less claustrophobic.