Did you know that breathing through your nose can improve your health? Mouth breathing has been linked to crooked teeth, poor facial growth, cavities, bad breath, gum disease, snoring and sleep apnea. The benefits of nasal breathing are huge! Nasal breathing warms, humidifies and filters the inhaled air ensuring that it does not damage the airway or the lungs and prevents harmful bacteria from entering the respiratory tract.
Nasal breathing also drastically increases the rate of nitric oxide production. Nitric oxide lowers blood pressure, boosts the immune system, improves exercise performance, increases brain function and dramatically improves the quality of your sleep. Simply learning to improve your oral posture can help you live longer!
Proper oral posture
Unless you are eating or talking, your lips should be closed, tongue resting on the roof of your mouth and breathing through your nose.
Mouth breathing problems
- Dry mouth: Saliva decreases and can lead to increased cavities and gum disease.
- Bad breath: Mouth breathing affects saliva flow that usually keeps your mouth clean.
- Drool on pillows: This is a clear sign that you are mouth breathing while you are sleeping.
- Malocclusion: Malocclusion happens when your upper and lower teeth don’t align. This can happen at any age and many adults notice their teeth shifting as they get older.
- Sleep disorders, including sleep apnea.
- Negative impact on facial growth: Children who are mouth breathers may develop a narrow face with a recessed chin or jaws (think Napoleon Dynamite).
- Behavior problems: Studies have shown some children who mouth breathe can develop behavioral problems similar to children who have Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The connection is that these children aren’t getting enough oxygen to their brain while they are sleeping, causing them to not get the proper rejuvenating sleep they need, which leads to behavioral issues.
How to correct mouth breathing
There are healthcare professionals called Myofunctional Therapists, who work with patients to retrain facial and oral muscles and improve function through a variety of exercises and techniques. Their goal is to improve oral posture and help convert mouth breathers to nasal breathers.
Another simple way to ensure you are nasal breathing while you sleep is to use mouth tape. As long as you can easily breathe through your nose (there are no nasal obstructions) mouth taping is safe and effective. We are not talking about duct taping your mouth shut. We are talking about using a small strip of tape (I prefer 3M Micropore tape) to help keep your lips sealed while you are sleeping. You can still breathe through the corners of your mouth and open your mouth, if needed.
If you haven’t read Breath by James Nestor it is a must read! It is a fascinating story of a journalist’s journey to rediscovering his health simply by changing the way he breathes. Read it. It will change your life!
Here’s to your improved health simply by breathing through your nose! Sleep well tonight!