Allergy season. We all know (and probably dislike) it. Why do these tiny particles in the air affect us so much?  The spring season brings sunny (and rainy) days, warmer weather, and lots of allergens in the air! As the flowers start blooming, they release allergens that spread in the air we breathe, wreaking havoc on our airways. After a long winter — and for other reasons related to how we eat and take care of ourselves — our airways tend to be quite dry.    What happens when our airways become dry?  They become inflamed and slow down the cilia. Cilia are microscopic hair-like structures that beat inhaled airborne particles back toward the mouth to keep the particles away...

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Are you losing sleep over airway hydration?  Every night when you lay down to go to sleep, you become an obligate nose breather throughout the night. This means that you only breathe through your nose. When nose obstruction blocks the air from reaching your lungs, you revert to breathing through your mouth, and sleep quality decreases. How do you notice this is happening? You may snore, your mouth may dry out, and your oxygen saturation levels may fall. All of these things have the same outcome: a bad night of sleep.   The natural solution: our bodies. Over the course of human evolution, our bodies have naturally created a clever way for us to sleep well: the ability of our...

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