Nasal aids are among the well-known snoring remedies, but you need to choose the right one for you.
Nasal breathing aids aim to allow better breathing through the nose. Such products can only help those who suffer from nose problems and therefore breathe through the mouth.
But if you already breathe through your nose, then products like chin straps that support your jaw and tongue would be a better Noson consideration.
Nasal breathing aids are not a one-stop solution to snoring. Rather, you would need to couple it with some breathing exercises and maybe even tape your mouth or use a chin pad or strap to keep your jaw from dropping during the night. In an attempt to switch the breathing pattern back to nasal breathing both during the day and at night.
Nose strip
The most common and widely used nasal ventilation devices are nasal strips. They are designed similarly to the patches, except they also have one or two flat plastic bands.
The strips are worn over the nose, creating a pulling effect on the nostril, which makes breathing much easier. Many athletes use such strips to be able to breathe freely during competition.
Nose support
These devices are inserted into the nose to allow for greater airflow. Their main advantage is that they don’t fall off easily compared to nose strips.
Nose clips
This clamp-like device attaches to the nasal septum (part that separates the two nostrils) to apply pressure to the trigeminal nerve to widen the nasal passage.
Certain nose clips rely on a magnetic mechanism, thereby promoting increased blood flow and energizing nasal tissues to help keep the passages open.
7 tips for better nasal breathing
Most people take nasal breathing for granted. But for many chronic mouth breathers, breathing through your nose is a struggle, if not impossible. Not only is their quality of life reduced, but they also suffer from a variety of other health issues such as dry mouth, snoring, fatigue and poor sleep. In my last article I addressed 5 reasons why it is important to breathe through your nose. In this article, I’m going to talk about 7 ways to naturally improve nose breathing.
Before I dive into the various ways to improve breathing, a brief anatomy course is in order . The nasal septum is a thin piece of cartilage and bone that divides your nasal cavity down the middle. Nobody has a perfectly straight septum; each septum is slightly curved. Sometimes nasal trauma can dislocate the septum or move it away from its midline position. The turbinates are wing-like structures that line the side walls of your nose. It is covered with a mucous membrane and normally helps to smooth, warm and humidify the air. The turbinates and sinuses also produce about 2 liters of mucus every day. The turbinates swell and shrink, alternating from side to side every few hours. This is called the nasal cycle.
The front side walls make up your nostrils, soft cartilage covered with skin inside and out. The back of your nose is a large cavity ( called the nasopharynx ), and the passageway rotates 90 degrees down into the back of your throat. The nasopharynx is also where your ears connect via the Eustachian tubes.
If any part of the anatomy that I have described becomes partially or totally blocked, you will feel stuffy in your nose. Usually it is not one thing, but usually due to a combination of different reasons. For example, if you have a slightly deviated septum, suffering from mild allergies will cause your turbinates to swell and your nasal passages to narrow . This may not be enough to stop your nose from becoming blocked, but if you have weak nostrils or have had a rhinoplasty in the past that weakened the nostrils, inhaling with a stuffy nose can cause your nostrils to collapse.
The first thing to do, starting from the tip of your nose, is to find out if you have thin nostrils. If you have a very narrow nose, or if your nostril openings are very narrow and slit-like, you may be prone to having weak nostrils. Try this experiment: Take both index fingers and press them on your cheek right next to your nostrils. While pressing firmly on your cheeks, lift the skin of your cheeks up and to the side, pointing toward the outer corners of your eyes. Take a deep breath. Can you breathe much better through your nose? Let go and try again. If this maneuver works for you, you may benefit from using nasal dilator strips (one brand is called Breathe-Rite) at night. Sometimes the adhesives on these devices aren’t strong enough or irritate the skin. Another way to treat this condition is through various internal dilators (like Nozovent , Breathewitheez, nasal cones ) that you can find over the counter or over the internet.
Second, try saline nasal sprays. You can use the simple spray bottles that give off a fine mist, to more sophisticated methods like aerosol cans or even with a Waterpik machine (there’s a nose adapter you can buy for that). Another popular variant is a so-called nedi pot, which uses gravity to pour salt water into your nose and sinuses. You can either use pre-packaged salt or mix up your own recipe (one cup lukewarm water and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt with a pinch of baking soda). Whatever method you use, you need to use it frequently to get maximum results. In addition to removing mucus, pollutants and allergens, saline also has a mild decongestant effect.
Third, try not to eat anything within three hours of going to bed. If you still have food or juices in your stomach when you go to bed, they can passively go down your throat and not only prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep, but those same juices can get up your nose and cause swelling and inflammation. In addition, many people also stop breathing every now and then, creating a vacuum effect in the throat that actively sucks your gastric juices into your throat and nose.
Fourth, avoid drinking alcohol just before bed. Alcohol not only irritates the stomach, but also relaxes the throat muscles during sleep, which aggravates the process described in the previous paragraph.
Fifth, if you have any known allergies, especially to something in your bedroom, try to either remove it or reduce your exposure to it. For example, many people are allergic to dust or mold, and if you have a carpet or rug, it can harbor these allergens. Frequent washing of bedding in very hot water also helps. Investing in a quality HEPA filter should help even more. If you have pets, you should keep them out of your bedroom. When conservative measures are not enough to control allergies, you should see an allergist for a more formal evaluation.
Sixth, get regular exercise, especially outdoors. You not only train your heart and muscles, but also the nervous system in your nose. Vigorous physical activity activates your sympathetic nervous system, which constricts the blood vessels that supply your turbinates . This allows you to breathe through your nose better, with all the added benefits detailed in my previous article.
Finally, slow down and relax. Modern society has removed all natural built-in breaks throughout the day. Along with all the information overload and constant stimulation, non-stop running all day only adds to the increased levels of stress that everyone is experiencing. Between major activities, take about a minute to pause and stretch in what you’re Noson Nasen Dilatator doing, stand up and move, and do some breathing exercises. Stress can tighten muscles, causing you to breathe more shallowly, leading to physiological changes that can ultimately make nasal congestion worse.
These simple 7 steps won’t help everyone, but if you can go through the list and apply all of the steps, many, if not most, of you should feel an improvement in your ability to breathe through your nose. If you’ve tried all of these steps and still can’t breathe through your nose, seek medical help. An ENT (ear, nose and throat) doctor is the best doctor to take care of this condition.
In addition to what I’ve described above, if you’re a chronic mouth breather, your jaw is likely narrower than normal with some degree of crowding. Chronic mouth breathers also tend not to sleep well at night due to various breathing difficulties. I discuss these issues in my other articles (sleep apnea and upper airway resistance syndrome).
