Nasleep

Nasleep is a term that appears in some discussions of sleep physiology to describe a colloquial or hypothetical state linked to nasal breathing during sleep. It is not an official medical term and is not recognized as a distinct sleep stage by major sleep-science organizations.

In usage, nasleep is often presented as a way to discuss how nasal airflow and breathing patterns might influence sleep quality, arousal thresholds, or transitions between sleep stages. The term is commonly found in popular science writing, blogs, and informal discussions rather than in peer-reviewed research. Its etymology is a simple portmanteau of nasal and sleep, reflecting a focus on nasal respiration as a factor in sleep.

Clinical relevance and evidence remain limited. Despite interest in how nasal obstruction, nasal airflow, and breathing route affect sleep, there is no standardized definition, diagnostic criteria, or universally accepted measurement for nasleep as a separate phenomenon. In medical practice, sleep quality is more often evaluated through established metrics such as sleep stages, fragmentation, oxygen saturation, and indices of sleep-disordered breathing. Treatments that improve nasal breathing—such as addressing congestion or using nasal splints or CPAP in obstructive sleep apnea—may enhance sleep quality, but they are considered within existing frameworks rather than as validating a new sleep state called nasleep.

See also: sleep, nasal airflow, sleep apnea, sleep hygiene.