用嘴呼吸可能会破坏你的睡眠

用嘴呼吸可能会破坏你的睡眠

Mouth breathing through the night can lead to diminished sleep quality, snoring and elevated stress.

整晚用嘴呼吸会导致睡眠质量下降、打鼾和压力大。

Living with a plugged nose isn't fun, but James Nestor was ready. Plus, it was for science.

鼻子被堵住的生活不好玩，但詹姆斯·内斯特已经准备好了。另外，这是为了科学。

While researching his recent book, "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art," Nestor let Stanford University scientists block his nostrils with silicone and surgical tape to measure the impacts of breathing through his mouth for 10 days.

内斯特在为他的新书《呼吸:一种消失的艺术的新科学》做研究时，让斯坦福大学的科学家们用硅胶和外科胶带堵住他的鼻孔，连续10天测量用嘴呼吸的影响。

"We knew it wasn't going to be good, because there's a very firm scientific foundation showing all the deleterious effects of mouth breathing, from periodontal disease to metabolic disorders," Nestor said. The surprise was just how quickly the experiment affected him.

内斯特说：“我们知道这不太好，因为有一个非常科学的基础，表明用嘴呼吸从牙周炎到代谢紊乱的所有有害影响。”令人惊讶的是实验对他影响之快。

Nestor's blood pressure rose 13 points, edging the writer into stage one hypertension. Measurements of heart rate variability showed his body was in a state of stress. His pulse went up, and he stumbled around in a mental fog.

内斯特的血压上升了13个百分点，使这位作家进入了高血压的第一阶段。心率变异性的测量显示他的身体处于压力状态。他的脉搏加快了，在精神的迷雾中跌跌撞撞。

He also snored for hours each night, developing obstructive sleep apnea. His blood oxygen levels dropped.

他还每晚打鼾好几个小时，患上了阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停。他的血氧含量下降了。

"We had no idea it was going to be that bad," Nestor said. "The snoring and sleep apnea was so dramatic, and it came on so quickly, that everyone was pretty floored."

“我们不知道情况会这么糟糕，”内斯特说。“鼾声和睡眠呼吸暂停太剧烈了，而且发生得太快，以至于每个人都非常震惊。”

What Nestor learned, aside from the hazards of being a research subject, was that mouth breathing can ruin a good night's sleep.

除了对研究对象造成危害之外，内斯特还了解到，嘴巴呼吸会破坏夜间的良好睡眠。

Breathing through your mouth at night puts you at higher risk for sleep disorders including snoring, sleep apnea and hypopnea, the partial blockage of air, scientists have found. Each of those, in turn, can lead to daytime fatigue.

科学家们发现，晚上用嘴呼吸会使你面临更高的睡眠障碍风险，包括打鼾、睡眠呼吸暂停和呼吸不足，即部分空气阻塞。每一种情况都会导致白天疲劳。

That doesn't mean you're doomed to wake up in a daze because you're prone to mouth breathing when you sleep. Experts have a long list of strategies designed to turn you into a nasal breather — including a low-cost breathing hack you can pick up at the corner store.

你睡觉的时候倾向于用嘴呼吸，这并不意味着你一定会在昏昏沉沉中醒来。专家们有一长串的方法可以让你成为一个鼻呼吸者——包括一种低成本呼吸技巧，你可以在街角商店买到。

What causes nighttime mouth breathing?
夜间用嘴呼吸的原因是什么?

There is a long list of reasons why people breathe through their mouths at night, said Dr. Steven Park, a surgeon with a specialty in sleep medicine, and the host of the podcast, "Breathe Better, Sleep Better, Live Better."

睡眠医学专业的外科医生、播客“呼吸更好、睡眠更好、生活更好”的主持人史蒂文·帕克博士说，人们在夜间用嘴呼吸的原因有一长串。

"The most common reason is if your nose is stuffy," Park said. "From allergies, or if you have a deviated septum. Lots of medications can also cause nasal congestion."

“最常见的原因是鼻子不通气，”帕克说。“因为过敏，或者你的鼻中隔弯曲。很多药物也会导致鼻塞。”

Those problems are aggravated by lying down, he explained.

他解释说，这些问题会因为躺下来而加剧。

"Generally when you lie down the blood vessels inside your nose fill up with blood," he said, explaining that the rush of blood causes swelling and constriction. If you can't breathe easily through your nose, you're likely to open your mouth for air, Park said.

“通常情况下，当你躺下的时候，你鼻子里的血管会充满血液，”他解释说，涌来的血液会导致肿胀和收缩。如果你无法通过鼻子轻松呼吸，你可能会张开嘴呼吸空气，帕克说。

"You would think that if you open your mouth you would breathe better, but actually the reverse happens," he said. Opening your jaws causes the tongue to slump backward, obstructing your airway. "Even if you don't have sleep apnea, or you have mild sleep apnea, opening your mouth makes it much, much worse."

他说:“你可能认为张嘴呼吸会更好，但实际上恰恰相反。”张开你的下颚会导致舌头向后塌陷，阻塞你的气道。“即使你没有睡眠呼吸暂停，或者你有轻微的睡眠呼吸暂停，张嘴呼吸会让情况变得更糟。”

How do you know if you're mouth breathing at night? Many people, Park noted, are tipped off by a spouse or partner who notices that they're breathing through the mouth.

你怎么知道你是不是在晚上用嘴呼吸?帕克指出，很多人会从配偶或伴侣那里得知他们是用嘴呼吸的。

What can you do to fix it?

你能做什么来解决用嘴呼吸问题?

If you're tackling your nighttime mouth breathing, Park suggested you start by taking care of your nose to minimize congestion.

如果你正在控制夜间的用嘴呼吸，帕克建议你从照顾你的鼻子开始，尽量减少鼻塞。

"Number one, avoid eating close to bedtime," he said. That's because stomach juices can come up into your nose, sinuses, ears and mouth, causing congestion and inflammation.

“第一，睡前不要吃东西，”他说。这是因为胃液会进入你的鼻子、鼻窦、耳朵和嘴巴，导致鼻塞和炎症。

Park also recommended nasal saline irrigation, flushing the nose with salt water in a squeeze bottle or neti pot. "That's a mild decongestant, because the salt water draws out clear water from the membrane," he explained.

帕克还建议用盐水冲洗鼻子，用挤压瓶或洗鼻壶里的盐水冲洗鼻子。他解释说:“这是一种温和的解充血剂，因为盐水会把膜上的清水吸走。”

But even if you get your nose to clear, nighttime mouth breathing can be a hard habit to break. That's led some to seek out products that secure their lips closed at night, such as Somnifix or Snorless strips.

但即使你的鼻子干净了，夜间用嘴呼吸也是一个很难改掉的习惯。因此，一些人开始寻求夜间闭上嘴唇的产品，比如安眠药或无鼾贴片。