"You've always made a lot of noise in your sleep," my adoring wife tells me as we get ready for bed. "That's why I have to wear these."
Over on her side of the bed, she’s fitting industrial-grade plugs into her ears. On mine, I’m placing a magnetic strip over the bridge of my nose to see if it’ll help with the decibel levels. I’m a snorer (or so she tells me).
The reason I’m fixing magnets to my face is, hopefully, to do something about it and improve my sleep and hers. The strip is called Airo and costs £60. It’s a curved piece of hard plastic with magnets on both ends.
These attach to smaller magnets that I’ve just stuck to my face, one on either side of my nose, just above the nostrils. As they clip together, the magnets lift my nostrils slightly. It feels weird, but not in a bad way. It’s like my airways have been opened up, mechanically, to make it easier to breathe.
The problem's under your nose
Why might I need such a device? Well, one of the charming physical quirks I was born with is a deviated septum. It’s probably the reason my wife resorts to expensive ear defenders to help her sleep.
A deviated septum (which as many as 70 per cent of people have) is linked to snoring, sleep apnea, breathing problems and disordered smell.
If I shove a finger up my nose (strictly in the name of science) I can feel it – the left nostril is a lot more roomy than the right. And the tissue that separates them (my aforementioned crooked septum) doesn’t run vertically towards a centre spot between my eyebrows – it leans to one side.
Made of bone and cartilage, this wonky wall is the reason I snore and breathe through my mouth. The deviated septum obstructs my airways, meaning when I take a breath through my nose, it never feels like I’m getting enough oxygen.
I hate running because my breathing always feels more laboured than it should. At night, as well as snoring, I take irregular gulps of air during sleep, presumably while wearing the expression of a startled goldfish.
If all that wasn’t enough, I also experience a kind of night terror, or sleep paralysis, where I jerk awake after having felt unable to move or breathe.
“Patients with a deviated septum can suffer in many ways,” says Prof Peter Andrews, president of the British Rhinological Society. “Typically, they end up mouth breathing, which can have adverse effects on lung function.”
It’s optimal to breathe through the nose, Andrews tells me. “It’s essentially an air-conditioning device, designed to filter the air so that when it reaches the lungs, it’s perfect for oxygenation. If your nose is blocked, then you’re not breathing as efficiently.”
When your nasal passage is open though, these are non-issues. “If you breathe through your nose at night, then in theory, you shouldn’t snore,” Andrews says. Airo claims to improve both your breathing and your sleep.
The company says it reduces snoring in ‘real time’, doubling your nasal airflow and giving you as much as an hour extra sleep every night.
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Breathing easy?
The first night I wear the Airo strip it goes remarkably well. Considering it’s attached to my face, it doesn’t bother me or prevent me from dropping off at all. It’s comfortable. And the next morning, my wife – who has foregone the use of her ear plugs for the sake of this trial – is in shock.
“I don’t think you made a sound,” she tells me, shaking her head in disbelief.
The next night doesn’t go so well. I have a night terror shortly after losing consciousness and the next morning, one of my beloved’s eyebrows is raised. “It didn’t work last night,” she says. “Not at all.”
For my part, I haven’t noticed much difference in my sleep, for better or worse. And when I check data from the Apple Watch I’ve been wearing to bed, it confirms that there’s no difference in my overall sleep duration. With or without the Airo strips, I’m getting a little under six hours a night.
No wonder I’m tired.
What’s more interesting is the data the watch has tracked about the different stages of my sleep.
The Apple Watch is not a lab-grade sleep tracker. Nevertheless, it estimates that although there’s little difference in my overall sleep time, I’m getting 30 minutes more REM sleep and 20 minutes more deep sleep when I’m wearing the Airo. I also spend a little less time awake during the night.
During the day, I try them out for exercise, wearing them to the gym and for a run. Again, they’re comfortable and I can feel a difference in the air I’m taking in. Whether it adds up to a better workout, though, I’m not sure.
On the run, the adhesive slips as I begin to sweat and the Airo starts jiggling over the bridge of my nose.
Eventually I remove it, before it falls off, but up until that point it had felt like I was breathing easier.
“Nasal strips certainly play a role in opening up the airway,” Andrews says. Airo’s magnetic strips are just one style. Adhesive strips that sit over the nose do a similar job, while other sleep aids are designed to fit inside the nostrils pushing the airway open. Studies suggest that they can help improve snoring, but results on overall sleep metrics are mixed.
My wife isn’t a sleep scientist, but even with the mixed results, she’s keen on a longer-term trial.
Case file
Subject: 43-year-old male, snorer
Abstract: Can a magnetic nasal strip improve sleep and cure night terrors?
Tests: Quantitative sleep data tracked with an Apple Watch. Qualitative sleep data tracked by spouse.
Results: No difference in overall sleep duration, but improvements in REM and deep sleep. Mixed results in bed-sharer satisfaction.
About our expert
Prof Peter Andrews is the president of the British Rhinological Society and professor of rhinology at University College London, in the UK. He is published in the likes of Facial Plastic Surgery, Diagnostics and European Archives of Oto Rhino Laryngology.
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