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Here's a question to which I've not been able to get clear answer to date, after researching widely online, and also consulting multiple doctors and ENTs: Is it normal, when lying in a horizontal position, to always have one side of one's nose blocked off and not passing air, swapping sides on a time scale similar to the nasal cycle?

The nasal cycle is well-known but is not said to be related to lying in a horizontal position. It is said to be distinct from pathological nasal congestion and obstruction.

In summary: What proportion of people experience total one-sided nasal obstruction when lying horizontal (majority of people, or otherwise)?

Daniel R. Collins
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  • I think the answer is it's normal for you. Everyone has unique physical quirks. But this isn't a question that can be answered with objective facts. – Carey Gregory Apr 17 '20 at 15:16
  • @CareyGregory: I'll politely disagree. "Do the majority of people experience nasal obstruction when lying horizontal?" seems very much like a factual, yes-or-no question. It's puzzling to me why it's apparently so difficult to answer. – Daniel R. Collins Apr 17 '20 at 19:00
  • Well, this site requires questions to demonstrate some degree of prior research. What has your research revealed so far? – Carey Gregory Apr 18 '20 at 00:28
  • @CareyGregory: As the question says, I've researched widely online, searched Google academic articles, consulted with at least three doctors personally, and found no answer to date. – Daniel R. Collins Apr 18 '20 at 03:08
  • I don't see where your question says that at all. All I see is your personal medical history. I see no prior research. I'm trying to help you keep your question open but it already has two close votes so you need to work with me here. – Carey Gregory Apr 18 '20 at 04:10
  • @CareyGregory: In addition to the prior "consulting multiple doctors and ENTs" information, I have now added, "after researching widely online". I hope that is clarifying. – Daniel R. Collins Apr 18 '20 at 04:44
  • You have high rep on multiple academic sites, so you know what prior research means. – Carey Gregory Apr 18 '20 at 05:05
  • @CareyGregory: Indeed, one thing I've learned over the years on SE is that most forums are very unwelcoming to hard questions from new members. I've edited the question to remove personal details and increase focus on the statistical question being asked. Perhaps you could suggest where you think further research would be fruitful? – Daniel R. Collins Apr 18 '20 at 13:43
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    It's not a hard question, but you've added enough now to make it a reasonable question. Did you notice that the nasal cycle link you provided addresses your question? – Carey Gregory Apr 18 '20 at 15:28
  • I would also like to add that there are questions that have not been subject of evidence based-research so far, so maybe there is no more than {expert, subjective} opinion on the matter. The "hard" questions you mention are sometimes exactly that: Hard because there has not been any prior research done. This is also something you may encounter after having done "wide research" yourself - assuming you are doing this correctly and as "widely" as you claim, it may be rare that SE will deliver more than you have already found. – Thomas Apr 19 '20 at 18:19
  • @Thomas: True, but it's more common on a multitude of SE sites for a new member to have their first question receive complaints and closure votes, instead of suggestions like yours. I suppose that relates to the "be welcoming" push that SE made a while back. – Daniel R. Collins Apr 20 '20 at 02:02
  • @CareyGregory: I'm not seeing it in the linked article. If you think that an answer is easily available, you could post an answer instead of a comment, and receive upvotes and possible selection for it, of course. – Daniel R. Collins Apr 20 '20 at 02:08
  • @DanielR.Collins Your rants about how SE sites are unwelcoming are noted. Meanwhile, if you didn't notice that your own link referenced your own question, then I'm not sure how to respond to you. – Carey Gregory Apr 20 '20 at 05:29
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    There is a similar question here which has an answer which gives a detailed answer to the nostril cycle phenomenon you mentioned at https://medicalsciences.stackexchange.com/a/3967/7951 However, this is mostly a copy and paste of a more detailed answer at https://biology.stackexchange.com/a/21219/29337 Although it doesn't mention anything about the phenomenon while laying down, I would say that it applies then too. – Chris Rogers Apr 20 '20 at 08:42
  • @CareyGregory: So I'll remain skeptical that the current question is easy to answer, so long as you prefer to write up critical comments instead of the "not a hard" answer. – Daniel R. Collins Apr 20 '20 at 13:12

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