New Facts Revealed About Breathing Structures During Sleep ── CPAP Discontinuation Patients Share Commonality of "Hidden Hypopnea" and Discrepancy in Internal Environment (Series Part 1)

While CPAP, the standard treatment for Sleep Apnea Syndrome (SAS), is medically effective, reports indicate a discontinuation rate of 30-50% due to discomfort during wear, mask slippage, carbon dioxide retention, and decreased sleep quality.

Many who discontinue CPAP suffer not only from "airway obstruction" but also from "hidden hypopnea," characterized by shallow thoracic movements.

This "hidden hypopnea" is almost imperceptible to the individual and, because it is a structural phenomenon where breathing weakens even with an open airway, the internal environment deteriorates quietly without the person's awareness.

Our proprietary research has confirmed that in addition to structural changes in the jaw, tongue, and airway during sleep, respiratory weakening can occur even without airway obstruction due to the inhibition of the "S-shaped systemic movement" that connects the sacrum to the ribs.

This paper reports on the universal changes in breathing structures during sleep and the impact on the internal environment of "hidden hypopnea" common among CPAP discontinuation patients.

Research Overview (Proprietary Research by Our Company)

Research Name: Proprietary Research on Breathing Structures During Sleep Research Entity: Toratani Co., Ltd. Research Period: 2024-2026

Research Methods: - Observation of structural changes in the jaw, tongue, and airway during sleep - Analysis using a physical model of breathing structure - Interviews with CPAP users - Survey on self-awareness of breathing during sleep among general individuals - Structural reinterpretation of existing medical literature

Research Subjects: - General adults (male and female) - CPAP users - Individuals at risk for SAS - General individuals with no self-awareness of breathing issues

Research Findings (Proprietary Insights)

The insights obtained from our proprietary research have been confirmed to be consistent with existing anatomical and physiological evidence.

●1. During sleep, the supporting muscles of the jaw and tongue relax in all humans.

The digastric and suprahyoid muscles relax, causing the lower jaw to retract. This is a universal physiological phenomenon that occurs regardless of age, sex, or physique.

●2. The "true cause" of tongue base retraction is lower jaw retraction.

Since the tongue is attached to the lower jaw, when the lower jaw retracts, the tongue will inevitably slide backward.

●3. Lower jaw retraction causes "mouth-breathing" and obstructs nasal breathing.

Difficulty in nasal breathing prevents the production of NO (nitric oxide) synthesized in the nasal cavity.

Everyone experiences a negative chain of airway obstruction as the muscles controlling the lower jaw and tongue relax, causing the tongue and jaw to retract.

●4. NO deficiency hinders capillary dilation and reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood.

It is known in existing physiology that when nasal breathing is impaired and NO is deficient, capillaries do not dilate, making it difficult for blood to accept oxygen.

Our breathing structure model indicates that difficulty in nasal breathing due to lower jaw retraction and mouth-breathing is a structural factor that causes NO deficiency.

●5. Many cases of SAS are discovered in severe stages because it is "unnoticed."

Many individuals who started CPAP treatment had "zero self-awareness."

●6. Respiratory decline is not an "individual difference" but a "structural inevitability."

Regardless of sex, physique, or obesity, the jaw always relaxes during sleep, and the tongue slides backward.

●What happens when thoracic movement becomes shallow?

During sleep, muscles relax, and thoracic movement decreases. When tongue base retraction occurs simultaneously, breathing becomes even shallower, leading to a "quiet stress chain" within the body:

Unstable oxygen supply, Autonomic nervous system imbalance, Accumulation of metabolic stress, Increased cardiac load.

This represents a discrepancy in the internal environment (internal hypoxia) that cannot be explained solely by airway obstruction.

Furthermore, this internal hypoxia occurs without pain or discomfort, so it can progress for several years before being noticed.

●New Perspective: The Need to Observe the "Internal Environment," Not Just the Airway.

Overseas research has already begun to emphasize the perspective of the internal environment, such as:

- Hypopnea disrupts the autonomic nervous system. - Nocturnal hypoxia worsens metabolism. - Deep breathing is essential for the removal of brain waste products. - Intermittent hypoxia increases cardiac load.

Our company has systematized this perspective as "breathing physics" and reorganized the nocturnal breathing structure based on three factors: the thorax, tongue base, and gravity.

Our Interpretation (Conclusion from Interdisciplinary Research)

Breathing is not solely determined by whether the "airway is open" but is a physical action established by the "S-shaped systemic movement" that links the sacrum → spine → cervical vertebrae → head → ribs.

If this S-shaped movement is inhibited during sleep, breathing can weaken, leading to hypopnea and respiratory arrest, even without airway obstruction.

Our proprietary research employs a rare interdisciplinary approach globally, analyzing the structural changes of the jaw, tongue, and airway during sleep as a physical model and physiologically verifying their impact on the internal environment.

Summary

Respiratory decline during sleep is a structural phenomenon that progresses without any self-awareness from the individual. In the next installment, we will report on the results of our proprietary research regarding the "structural risks of gravity, bedding, and posture" that cannot be explained by the airway alone.

Research Details (Measurement Data)

Research Period: April 2024 - June 2026 Research Entity: Toratani Co., Ltd. Research Subjects: Adult males and females (20-65 years old) Effective Sample Size: 14 participants

Research Method: Using the ResMo telemetry bio-signal measurement device and the aams respiratory analysis system, respiratory rate, breathing depth, thoracic mobility, IE ratio, and respiratory waveform were measured. A comparative study was conducted between normal bedding and our company's bedding.

Closing

Breathing is a "silent worker" that supports our bodies every day. While medicine can heal damage after it occurs, protecting the internal environment before damage occurs is up to us. At the very upstream of this is the "quality of breathing," which continues unconsciously.

Company Information

Toratani Co., Ltd. (Kahoku City, Ishikawa Prefecture) Representative: Nao Toratani

Our company challenges the unexplored territory of "breathing environment during sleep," which is not yet extensively researched globally, and is conducting research to elucidate the upstream structure of the internal environment by crossing over breathing, sleep, physiology, physics, and anatomy.

We aim to systematize areas that medicine has not yet fully addressed and provide new options for human health.

Features: Applying the three-dimensional structural technology cultivated through shorts development, we have established a proprietary technology that "enhances breathing quality" by applying slight physical stress to the body. We hold over 30 patents for proprietary technology that optimizes the 24-hour internal environment.

Business Activities: Planning, manufacturing, and sales of shorts (apparel); Research on breathing, oxygen environment, and body structure during sleep; Development of bedding and related technologies.

Official Website: https://toratani-kokyu.jp/