Summary
Derek from More Plates More Dates shares his personal interest in mewing after learning about Mike Mew's work, primarily motivated by his severe obstructive sleep apnea rather than aesthetics. He explains his history as a lifelong mouth breather due to a deviated septum, removed adenoids that grew back, and scar tissue from a previous surgery. Derek describes how tongue posture and nasal breathing could theoretically clear airways and reduce sleep apnea, and announces his plan to adopt proper tongue posture during waking hours while continuing to use a CPAP machine at night. He also speculates that his supraphysiological testosterone levels from TRT might cause his tongue muscle to respond faster to the mewing practice. This is an early personal experiment log rather than a scientific analysis.
Key Points
- Derek has severe obstructive sleep apnea and was initially drawn to mewing for potential airway improvements, not aesthetics
- He is a lifelong mouth breather due to a deviated septum, regrown adenoids, and surgical scar tissue
- Mewing theory: keeping the tongue at the roof of the mouth opens the airway by preventing the tongue from falling back during sleep
- Bodybuilders with muscular necks are particularly prone to sleep apnea due to increased mass around the airway
- He notes that he does not experience apnea when sleeping upright, only when lying on his back -- consistent with tongue position theory
- Plans to practice mewing during 16-17 waking hours while continuing CPAP at night since mouth taping could be dangerous with his compromised airway
- He acknowledges it could all be ridiculous but figures the cost of trying is essentially zero
- Also notices possible malocclusion developing after years of not wearing his retainer, which he attributes to poor tongue posture
Key Moments
Mewing as a potential sleep apnea treatment for bodybuilders
Derek explains how he discovered mewing through Mike Mew's videos, initially drawn in by the sleep apnea connection rather than aesthetics. He describes how his lifetime of mouth breathing -- caused by a deviated septum and regrown adenoids -- may have contributed to his severe obstructive sleep apnea.
"The first thing that got my interest was the sleep apnea thing. Cause I have severe obstructive sleep apnea. And then he talks about mouth breathing and malocclusion."
How tongue posture may affect airway obstruction during sleep
Derek theorizes that his tongue falls back and blocks his airway when sleeping on his back, contributing to apnea episodes. He notes he never experiences apnea when sleeping upright. He plans to adopt proper tongue posture during waking hours and considers surgery for his deviated septum to enable full nasal breathing.
"Obviously i've never done this but i'm gonna try and start now my tongue is not situated on the top of my mouth it basically just Falls back into itself. I guess while i'm sleeping and you basically like You basically like inhibit your own airway by first of all having a thick neck So if you're fat, you're gonna more likely have sleep apnea, but for bodybuilders in particular where we just have like muscular necks it still contributes greatly to it and most most bodybuilders that are"
Practical plan for transitioning from mouth to nasal breathing
Derek outlines his practical approach: practice mewing and nasal breathing for 16-17 hours during the day while continuing CPAP at night, since mouth taping with his compromised airway could be dangerous. He acknowledges this is an experiment with uncertain outcomes but sees essentially zero downside to trying.
"i'm probably just gonna keep breathing through my mouth while i'm sleeping because otherwise i'll probably die because from the sleep apnea and i have a big face mask over my face that basically make helps me breathe while i'm sleeping so yeah it's kind of just like the start of my log for this to see how it goes but if i can cure my sleep apnea that'd be pretty insane and i'm sure uh a lot of other guys would want to know about this if it actually works like if you can completely"
