Member-only story
A CHANCE ENCOUNTER
A Stranger on My Flight Cured My Insomnia For Good
I’m indebted to him even though I don’t know his name
You never know when a stranger will come along and change your life. As I boarded my flight from San Diego to Seattle, I had no idea I’d disembark a changed woman.
I was in the aisle seat, face deep in my book to ward off attempts at conversation. As we took off, Window and Middle discovered they were both dentists, quite a coincidence when you consider how seldom you randomly meet a dentist. They got along like toothpaste and mouthwash, talking oral health for hours and even competing at sudoku.
While I flipped pages I had one ear on their conversation so I didn’t miss anything interesting. Window was in his mid-thirties and passionate about holistic health, as in treating the body as one entity rather than a host of individual parts. Hallelujah, I thought. Now if the medical system would better support that common sense strategy.
After elaborating on his beliefs, he got my attention when he boldly proclaimed to Middle “We could change the health outcomes of this country if more people knew about mouth-taping.”
I’d heard about mouth-taping before. It’s exactly what it sounds like — applying breathable surgical tape to your lips before you go to bed to encourage you to breathe through your nose, not your mouth.
Window elaborated on the health benefits of nasal breathing, the most obvious of which is a more hydrated (and thus, healthier) mouth. It also enables your body to produce nitric oxide, impacting blood pressure and brain function.
Impressive, but I didn’t sit up in my chair until he said “Mouth-taping can also transform your sleep. I convinced my sister to try the tape on her kids. They used to wake up multiple times a night. The next day she texted me ‘Just had my first full night’s sleep in seven years.’”
He went on to explain that breathing through the nose is easier than breathing through the mouth during sleep. Depending on your sleep position, airflow coming in and out of the mouth is often compromised. “Many people wake up in the middle of the night thinking they’ve got to answer nature’s call, but it’s…
