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On March 17th it will be world sleep day! (Who knew?)
While we have been slow to wake up to the news, the world is finally catching on to the fact that quality sleep is essential for overall health.
Some of the obstacles to achieving a good night’s sleep range from diet, and stress, to blue light and noise. But one factor that still slips under the radar is your Breath! Yes, I get it, you breathe in, you breathe out, what’s the big deal? As it turns out, how you breathe is a very big deal.
Specifically, whether you breath through your nose, or your mouth.
Now, most of us probably wouldn’t categorize ourselves as “mouth breathers,” but you’d be surprised at how often you do it. Some downsides to mouth breathing include dehydration – you lose 40% more water – and reduced oxygen – around 18% less than if you breathed through your nose.
Nasal breathing, in itself, delivers nitric oxide to your system, and this molecule is crucial for increasing circulation, and delivering oxygen to your cells. Nitric oxide also contributes significantly to your immune system, weight balance, your moods and sexual function.
When you breath through your mouth, you’re also bypassing your first line of defense against microscopic impurities that are caught by the mucus and cilia in your nasal passages that work ceaselessly to funnel these unwanted intruders to the back of your throat where they can be disposed of, and ultimately dealt with by your stomach acid.
Now, back to sleep!
When you get horizontal, gravity pulls down the tongue and soft tissues in your throat, which closes off your airways. Mouth breathing makes this worse. The result is snoring, sleep apnea, or both.
In his incredible book “Breath” James Nestor states “Forty-five percent of adults snore occasionally, and a quarter of the population snores constantly. Twenty-five percent of American adults over 30 choke on themselves because of sleep apnea; and an estimated eighty percent of moderate or severe cases are undiagnosed.” And, evidently, no amount of snoring is ok for your health!
So, what can we do?
You can take breathe classes in order to train yourself to practice more positive breathing techniques. You can tape your mouth shut at night (yes, it’s a real thing) forcing you to breath through your nose. And, of course, some people like to use chemical inhalers that can sometimes clear nasal passages.
Here at Kintsu we’ve had success with clients who suffer with these conditions by using a patented laser technique called NightLase therapy. This patient-friendly laser treatment reduces the effects of sleep apnea and decreases the amplitude of snoring by using a gentle, laser-induced tightening effect caused by the contraction of collagen in the oral mucosa tissue.
It’s a simple, and quick procedure that can have profound effects on this somewhat debilitating health condition.
We’re big fans of ancient practices that have stood the test of time, but sometimes a dose of modern technology can help you leapfrog forward to a state that provides a more solid foundation to work from.
However you get there, we at Kintsu wish you a Happy Sleep Awareness Month with many sweet dreams throughout March and beyond!