AIRWAAV Mouthpiece Review
I’ve known about AIRWAAV mouthpieces for a while now - several of the competitive athletes at my previous CrossFit box wore them. I’m not much for gear like this e.g. weight lifting belts, lifters, wrist wraps, knee sleeves. I think “Functional Fitness” should be just that: something that you can do anytime, anywhere, without any gear from a gym bag. But because I’m in the CrossFit ecosystem and follow many of these companies on social media I kept getting ads for the AIRWAAV so I thought I’d try the RX1 Recovery Mouthpiece for Sleep.
What Is the AIRWAAV Mouthpiece?
The AIRWAAV is a performance-enhancing mouthpiece that claims to improve your breathing mechanics, reduce your respiratory rate, and help you stay focused and relaxed under physical stress. Based on their research the mouthpiece is designed to position your jaw and tongue in a way that optimizes airflow and reduces unnecessary tension.
First Impressions
Packaging was sleek with the mouthpiece in a convenient carrying case with carabiner attached. There was a one page guide with directions to use a QR code for fitting instructions. I went with their microwave option: folding and wetting paper towels, heating the mouthpiece for 90 seconds, dunking in water briefly before inserting on your bottom teeth and completing the fitting. Instructions were to let your newly molded mouthpiece sit and “continue to shrink” for 24hrs before use. Which was a little disappointing because I had been tracking my sleep for the past several days in anticipation and wanted to try it out the night it arrived.
The next night the mouthpiece did fit more snuggly than I anticipated, but easy to remove with my tongue and one hand if needed. I had a bit of trouble letting my mouth relax on the mouthpiece and felt a significant amount of drool forming in my mouth than I anticipated. It took some getting used to in regards to swallowing this excess saliva when my tongue couldn’t exactly figure out how to navigate around it. All of that to say I had no trouble falling asleep in my usual 5-10 minutes once acclimated.
AIRWAAV for More Restorative Sleep?
I’ve never had much trouble falling or staying asleep. It’s really waking up with my alarm and feeling refreshed the moment I roll out of bed that I wanted to evaluate. Secondarily, I wanted to know if any improved morning alertness correlated to better sleep data. Lastly, I was curious if it reduced or changed my snoring patterns - though that’s more my wife’s issue rather than my own. For sleep data I wanted to look at the following:
REM Sleep - How did Withings Watch categorized “Sleep Depth” with percentages of REM sleep compared to Light Sleep?
Average Sleep Heart Rate - Did my heart rate significantly change with the AIRWAAV?
Impact of Physical Activity on Sleep Score - Did the AIRWAAV help me get more restorative sleep on more active days?
I looked at data over 8 nights. Four without the AIRWAAV and four with it. Note: I was trying to complete this test as quickly as I could however, after one night of the mouthpiece my dog chewed it up and I had to order a new one so that delayed the process. Additionally, I tested on different days of the week. A better test for my sleep schedule may have been to test Monday through Thursday for both and then test Saturday for both.
Waking Up Refreshed: Subjectively, I did feel that I was able to breath better when trying to fall asleep with the AIRWAAV. I found this both for nasal breathing and mouth breathing. For mouth breathing I felt as if the mouthpiece channeled air into my mouth more rapidly than without it. I often have trouble nasal breathing at night, particularly after doing some yard work during allergy season but the AIRWAAV seemed to help with this too. While I still had trouble waking up with my alarm I did feel more alert and refreshed when I got out of bed, as if I was sleeping lighter as my wake up time approached. I will note that this could have been from “noxious stimuli” of the mouthpiece making me wake up and take something out of my mouth in the morning.
Better Sleep Data: When looking at the data categories there weren’t significant changes when average REM sleep, HR, and Steps were compared. Average REM sleep with the AIRWAAV was 0.75% better and the Median was 3% better - even though my worst sleep score and worst REM sleep percentage were recorded on nights wearing the AIRWAAV. Average Heart rate was 1BPM higher with AIRWAAV but there did not seem to be any correlation with steps during the day and sleep HR.
Snoring Report: My wife reports that she hasn’t heard me snore recently and this did not change with the AIRWAAV. I was a bit concerned about this because the mouthpiece does take some getting used to but the second AIRWAAV seemed to fit better than the first limiting the saliva production or any sleep disruptions.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Lightweight, durable, and easy to mold
Compact and convenient to use even if you travel often
Increases sensations of nighttime breathing
Cons
Takes a session or two to adjust to falling asleep with this device in your mouth
Costs $49.99 + Shipping for minimal sleep data improvements
Final Verdict: Is It Worth It?
My data collection methods were not the best for a flawless scientific test so the best report I have is my own anecdotal evidence. For something that’s easy to use, easy to store, and minimalistic it was worth the effort in my opinion. I’m looking forward to more sleep data and will further evaluate if the AIRWAAV improves my sleep after high intensity workouts more than without the mouthpiece. I’d encourage you to perform a similar evaluation of how the AIRWAAV can help you with more restorative sleep.
Ready to try it? Order Yours Today
Research articles for specific sleep tips and percentages of improvement of sleep at home can be hard to find for active individuals without sleep issue diagnosis. There are some common themes in these articles for general recommendations for those looking to improve their sleep:
Stick to a sleep schedule that allows for 8-10 hours of sleep
Keep your bedroom cool and dark at night and get outside for a walk to expose yourself to natural light for circadian rhythm regulation
Limit food intake for any “last minute macros” before bed
Be mindful of your use of caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, or other substances as they may disrupt your sleep
