Did you have any other symptoms related to poor sleep?
I ask because I have structural nasal issues that I believe are affecting my sleep, but I'm terribly afraid of surgical correction due to the risk of Empty Nose Syndrome. My fitness tracker says my sleep is okay, but I'm starting to doubt it.
What kind of sleep study did you get done?
https://www.amazon.com/Withings-Nokia-Sleep-Temperature-Comp...
It doesn't replace the true sleep study, but can still help
I've personally found mouth taping to be the most beneficial, along with breathing exercises (and general exercise) and eating a cleaner diet to reduce congestion. One thing I do is get in bed a bit early so I can do some breathing exercises and get my nasal breathing really dialed in before falling asleep.
I lay in bed on my back and progressively slow my nasal breathing, focusing on very long and complete exhales. I roll over onto my side when I'm ready to fall asleep. I've tried box breathing, and 4-7-8 breathing for this purpose, but I find the extended inhales to be energizing, and not conductive to falling asleep.
I actually did have a septoplasty and turbinate reduction back in 2015 before I'd ever even heard of empty nose syndrome. When I first listened to "Breath", by James Nestor and he talked about empty nose syndrome I recoiled in terror. I had anxiety for a bit, imagining I may have it and not have noticed and from imaging how my life could have turned out if I had a bad surgeon. After a few, I realized those fears were silly, and thanked my lucky stars that I didn't suffer that terrible fate.
The surgery helped my nasal breathing slightly, but it wasn't dramatic or life changing. Knowing about empty nose syndrome now, I would definitely try all other possibilities before going under the knife. I think the surgery can be life changing for some, so it may just depend on how bad your structural issues are and how good the surgeon is.
Can fall asleep on my back just fine, but for some reason, every night I wake up hot with a dry mouth about 3-5 hours in and I have to move to side sleeping to deal with the nose.
I think I may just have to pony up for an in-clinic sleep study already and get some better data. I also have chronic muscle cramps and pains from exercise overexertion that are not going away, so again, I'm suspecting poor quality sleep. My diet is pretty good, and my blood tests haven't ever suggested mineral deficiency.
I had nose surgery about 20 years ago for a deviated septum when I was in my late teens, and it did help, but it has since redeviated somewhat, though not nearly as bad as before. I think simply being younger and having more growth ahead of me at that age made tissue regrowth more likely.
If you're able to breath through your nose, I would definitely recommend trying the mouth taping. I just use a very small strip right in the center of my lips (.5" x 1"), so I can actually still open the sides of my mouth and breath, which makes things feel less claustrophobic.
I had wrestled with anxiety, insomnia, etc. for ages. Tried everything with no improvement. None of my care providers ever suggested a possible physical cause.
Breath right strips help a little
Also daily saline nasal rinses and I can breathe better than ever, though diet is what does the most work.
My pet theory is years of junk food precipitating into IBS and leaky gut, so only the food that cause fewer reactions are ok. In a healthy body some "toxins" are tolerated and don't cause issues, but when your gut is fucked you need to start from scratch.