How Your Breathing Habits Can Wreak Havoc on Your Longevity—and Your Jawline

By Hedieh Samadi, a board-certified general dentist with an expertise in cosmetic and integrative dentistry.

I’m not a dermatologist or an aesthetician—I’m a dentist. But what I’ve learned from years of studying dental sleep medicine and TMJ dysfunctions might surprise you: the way you breathe at night can shape not only your health, but also your appearance. If your airway is blocked or your jaw is misaligned, you could be aging faster than you realize—sabotaging your complexion, energy, and even your longevity—all while you sleep.

Yes, it’s true your nighttime breathing habits can either ruin or rebuild your health. Your sleep habits and your jaw placement are more important than any serum, supplement or workout when it comes to regenerating cells and rejuvenating your body. And with all due respect, your $600 jar of La Mer may not be living its best life due to how you are sleeping.  Why? Because sleep is not just for rest; it’s where your health, beauty, and vitality are made or unmade. And if there are misalignments and blocked airways inhibiting proper oxygen consumption by your body, you are endangering not just your aesthetics but your longevity.

This is far more complex than just “breathing,” might I add.

As an integrative dentist and a lifelong student of health and longevity, my profession has taught me to realize that nighttime breathing is the most overlooked wellness treatment in America today. It’s the quiet, invisible elixir that sustains beauty, sharpens the mind, and fuels the energy needed to navigate our fast-paced days. Unfortunately, many people are not breathing correctly (breathing through the mouth) and or have untreated cases of sleep apnea that is ruining their health, longevity and complexion’s vitality.

While you sleep, your body’s cells are detoxifying, rebuilding, and rejuvenating, all in the absence of conscious thought. But this intricate process hinges on one simple yet critical element: uninterrupted oxygen flow.

When we breathe through the nose, our airways remain open, unobstructed, and oxygen-rich. This doesn’t just prevent snoring, it ensures that your body gets the blood flow it needs to optimize organ function, balance hormones, enhance immunity, and even encourage skin renewal. If you’re privy to the latest advancements in the wellness world then you’re well aware that modern dentistry is revolutionizing this space by evaluating the airway, its size, shape, and the way our jaw and tongue rest. With new techniques and research, we’re identifying and correcting hidden breathing disruptions before they damage our health. Root-cause dentistry is the quiet game-changer, improving lives and wellness one breath at a time.

How your jaw aligns when you sleep, your sleep posture and the shape of your upper airway can either nurture or obstruct your oxygen flow. This goes far beyond the snoring factor. Even subtle airway resistance can fragment your sleep, igniting inflammation and triggering a cascade of issues, from anxiety to cardiovascular disease.

For women, this issue is especially important. Oxygen-rich sleep supports our hormonal stability, enhances fertility, and promotes healthy pregnancies. After menopause, it helps preserve bone density, protect the heart, and keep the mind sharp. And for young girls, proper nighttime breathing sets the foundation for emotional balance, cognitive development, and overall confidence.

With countless research and experience, my peers and I have also concluded that mouth breathing it’s not just a breathing problem, it is an aesthetic face problem. Mouth breathing isn’t just disruptive to your sleep it’s also reshaping your face. You read that right. Long-term mouth breathing can alter the natural contour of your jawline, leading to a weaker, less defined facial structure. This shift happens subtly, but over time, it can rob you of the strong, youthful profile that comes from proper nasal breathing. Aesthetics aside, these changes can also affect your ability to chew, speak, and even breathe properly during the day.

When your airway is clear, the body enters its most restorative state. The brain detoxes, hormones rebalance, and every organ, including your skin receives the nourishment it craves. The results? A luminous, “lit-from-within” glow no highlighter could replicate, sharper mental clarity, and an energy level that feels limitless.

I know this transformation personally. When I optimized my own airway during sleep, my memory improved, my skin looked fresher, and my focus sharpened. The same happens for my patients. They come to me exhausted and irritable, only to return weeks later with brighter eyes, steadier moods, and an undeniable lightness in their step.

So what to do? Get tested with the appropriate integrative dentists in the field specializing in jaw structure and sleep. One of the most effective and discreet solutions is oral appliance therapy, which gently repositions the lower jaw to keep the airway open all night long. This  is comfortable and life-changing, this therapy can improve mood, mental clarity, metabolism, skin tone, and even intimacy. All from simply breathing better while you sleep.

The truth is that beauty and wellness share a single foundation: deep, oxygen-rich sleep. Without it, no serum, supplement, or workout can truly deliver its full promise. With it, you don’t just look better you live better long term.

So, please consider your sleep patterns. Are you a mouth breather? Are you still waking up tired?  If you’re serious about lasting health and beauty, your next step isn’t in the gym or at the cosmetic counter—it’s in how you breathe at night. Because sleep is where your body heals, restores, and reveals its true vitality. Change your breathing, and you change your life!

Why Your NAD+ Should Be Taken Nasally for Optimal Results

By Nayan Patel, PharmD—a pharmacist, wellness expert, and the CEO and founder of Auro Wellness.

NAD+, known in the medical circles as nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, is one of the body’s most indispensable molecules. It powers how our cells create energy, helps repair DNA, and supports resilience against everyday stress. In many ways, NAD+ works behind the scenes to preserve cellular efficiency, supporting the body’s energy and overall resilience. From a vanity standpoint, that means: all in all, it makes us look younger, and keeps us looking younger. 

When we talk about healthy aging, few molecules carry as much weight as NAD+. Yet, as we grow older, NAD+ levels steadily decline by as much as 50 percent in some tissues. That decline doesn’t just leave the body fatigued; it sets the stage for inflammation, cognitive decline, and chronic disease.

For years, the wellness industry has searched for ways to restore NAD+. Oral precursors like nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) and nicotinamide riboside (NR) have become popular, and intravenous NAD+ infusions are offered in clinics across the country. But both approaches have real limitations—and when it comes to NAD+ therapies, not all methods are created equal. Oral precursors can be helpful, but much of their benefit is filtered through digestion and metabolism before ever reaching sensitive organs like the brain. IV therapy works quickly, but it’s costly, and often cleared by the liver before enough NAD+ reaches target tissues. Oral capsules of NAD+ itself are poorly absorbed, and IV infusions, while effective in the short-term, are invasive. Nasal delivery stands out for being practical, research-backed, and accessible. For consumers, the key is to look for products with transparent science and delivery methods that ensure NAD+ actually reaches where it matters most.

Nasal delivery offers what I consider the most promising approach to at-home NAD+ replenishment today. The nasal cavity provides a direct pathway to the brain through olfactory and trigeminal nerve routes, bypassing the digestive system and even the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Preclinical studies have shown that intranasal NAD+ can penetrate brain tissue within minutes, enhancing neuronal energy, mitigating inflammation, and providing protection against damage from critical events like stroke or injury. In clinical settings, patients commonly report clearer cognition, better concentration, and higher energy levels, all achieved through a non-invasive, self-administered approach.

As research on longevity continues, one truth is clear: keeping NAD+ levels robust is central to staying healthy as we age. Nasal delivery offers a smarter, science-backed way to do just that, bringing the promise of cellular renewal into the hands of everyday people.

My New Secret Weapon: Glutathione Spray for Health, Skin & Hangovers

Wellness trends with no substance are a special kind of torture—yet I’m convinced many folks are just one viral TikTok video away from thinking they’ve found the next miracle cure. Call me old-fashioned, but I like my wellness backed by actual science, not social media hype. And here’s something that is science-backed: glutathione. Your body makes this powerful antioxidant naturally, but as you age, production slows down. (Lucky us, right?) But glutathione does wonders for our health—especially when it comes to balancing oxidative stress and flushing out toxins in your liver (yes, that liver again. The one we always blame for melasma…more on that later).

Now, you’ve probably heard of a few ways to take glutathione: intravenous drips, patches (which doesn’t absorb well in the body), and a variety of other options. But let me introduce you to something much easier and more effective: Glutaryl Antioxidant Glutathione Spray from Auro Wellness. Developed by Dr. Nayan Patel, one of the most respected compounders in the country, this spray is as potent as it gets. You simply spritz it on twice a day, morning and night, and the highly absorbent formula gets to work. A few things to note: yes, it has a sulfuric scent (don’t freak out, it fades in about 30 seconds), and the best place to apply it is on an area with little to no hair, like your stomach. This ensures maximum absorption).

What’s in it for you? For starters, if you’re dealing with melasma or dark spots, this spray will help detoxify your liver, which in turn can improve your skin. Oh, and for those times when you overdid it at happy hour, this spray is a game-changer for hangovers. A quick four spritzes after a night of drinking helps flush the alcohol toxins out of your body faster and more efficiently than that greasy diner breakfast you swear will save you. The next time you’re tempted to follow the latest TikTok trend, remember there’s real science behind this, and it works. To shop the product and learn more, click here.

The O Shot: How a Revolutionary Procedure Can Reawaken Orgasms

During a girlfriend’s recent birthday lunch, the topic of aging came up. The group, which was comprised of successful women mostly in their forties, remarked on the many positives of being the age we are. We unanimously agreed that today, we are way more comfortable with our bodies, our selves, and our sexuality than we ever were in our twenties—or our thirties, for that matter. It seems experience, and both the good and the bad in life, have given us tools to stand steadfast in who we are and what we want. 

But life is also filled with trade-offs. Naturally, this lunchtime conversation turned to the other side, and we did discuss some things we missed from our carefree twenties. We never needed any set hours of sleep to look great back then, for instance (let alone function). We also now have a codependent relationship with the hair salon, as we don’t have the liberty to come and go only when in need of a haircut; we touch up the grays every six weeks. And how about the subject of sex now vs. at, say, 27?  Someone at the table had to remind us about the explosive orgasms we use to get (remember those? The ones that caused your eyes to roll to the back of your head?). But they are long gone. We all agreed, and then we laughed and laughed. Until we didn’t. Dead silence. The change in sexual desire is simply due to age. It’s inevitable—but does it have to be? 

Let’s escape this lunch scene and dissect the notion for a second. Hormones are a doozy on a woman’s body, yes. Estrogen fluctuations after having kids, being perimenopausal or carrying the stress of being a successful woman in your forties wears on the body, no matter how much you meditate, do kegels or do yoga. Is this the kind of sex life so many will have in their forties and beyond? Just decades of half-assed orgasms? 

Later, I was looking through emails when I found a pitch from Dr. Usha Rajagopal, the San Francisco plastic surgeon who is gaining traction for a procedure that “heightens and reclaims your orgasm.” It’s called the O-Shot. This procedure has been out for several years, with various doctors having more or less their own version. I researched her background, and she is reputable as well as esteemed (25 years of experience, a trainer and speaker at national plastic surgery conferences, and medical director of San Francisco Plastic Surgery and Laser Center, where they have a one-of-a-kind “V Suite” for vaginal rejuvenation. The O-Shot is, for the most part, a one-and-done procedure that involves a fine medley of PRP technology, plus a syringe that is—brace yourselves—inserted directly into your clitoris. Of course, the vaginal area is numbed (that part of the procedure might have hurt the most. But since the O-Shot promised to deliver the orgasms of yesteryear, I thought it might be well worth the discomfort). This is a procedure I can wholeheartedly recommend for any woman wanting to reclaim what was once hers—her orgasm.

I say this as a beauty editor: sex and a great orgasm can do more for your skin, confidence, and overall well-being than any $800 face cream. That being said, the O-Shot costs around $1500. If you can afford it, don’t feel ashamed—make the appointment! There should never be a feeling of shame surrounding reclaiming something that will help your body and mind. If it helps to put things in a logical perspective, research says that when you spend your money on experiences vs. material possessions, it leads to greater happiness. I will only say that, in my experience, this procedure yields happiness in multiples—just like your future orgasms.

My Morning Beauty Staple? A Probiotic Drink

I’ve spent 20 years trying scores of brands, and I’ve found nothing better than Symprove. This product is better than anything else available and comparable.

To those who got so into the celery juice, kale chips, and acai bowl crazes: I urge you to take a step back and recognize the importance of simply nourishing your gut microbiome with probiotics. Focus on strengthening our stomach health without getting swept up in fads! Today, in the year of 2024, there are a billion-plus reasons why you should take a probiotic every morning. Aside from gut health serving a paramount function for your well-being, probiotics help increase your energy levels, fortify immune function and (for the sake of our vanity) they address bloating concerns by harmonizing the gut flora. I’ve spent 20 years trying scores of brands, and I’ve found nothing better than Symprove. This product is better than anything else available and comparable. First, it’s a water-based probiotic solution, so it passes through the stomach into the lower gut without compromising any of the powerful bacteria. Symprove’s strains also produce lactate, which feeds the good bacteria in your stomach. And arguably most important: the evidence is clear in how I look and feel. When I stick to my regular diet and exercise routine, but don’t use Symprove and instead try other probiotics, I notice a decline in my energy levels, skin condition, and I experience more bloating. The proof is in the pudding. And this is a staple in my morning routine that I will never forego.

Shop Here

*The products featured here may contain affiliate links.