Breathing through your mouth at night puts you at higher risk for sleep disorders including snoring, sleep apnea and hypopnea, the partial blockage of air, scientists have found. Each of those, in turn, can lead to daytime fatigue.
Since your mouth opening is closed up, the only way you can bring in fresh oxygen is through the nose. Breathing through your nose is known to create more nitric oxide, which is critical for heart and lung function. This practice also discourages sleep apnea and sleep deprivation.
Sleep with Your Head Elevated
Aim for an elevation of 30 to 60 degrees. This should help to keep your mouth closed, making you breathe through your nose. Sleeping with your head elevated can also help to reduce snoring and improve sleep apnea.
They say it will stop you from snoring, give you more energy, deepen your sleep, boost your immunity, lower your blood pressure and even improve your appearance. Taping your mouth shut is designed to encourage you to breathe through your nose rather than your mouth.
While most people breathe through their nose during sleep, people may sleep with their mouths open for a variety of reasons. Sleeping with the mouth open may be a temporary response to nasal congestion, a learned habit, or a symptom of an underlying health condition.
Long term mouth breathing can lead to a myriad of oral issues including crowded teeth, cracked lips, caries (or cavities), gum disease and more. But the issues don't stop at the mouth. Mouth breathers are also more likely to experience digestive issues, chronic fatigue, morning headaches and sore throat.
Researchers conclude that mouth breathing might lead to changes in the posture of the head and neck, and that chronic mouth breathing can result in an “adenoid face.” This type of facial structure involves a narrow upper dental arch, changes in incisors, an imperfect lip seal, and an increased facial height.
The teeth should not touch ever – except when swallowing. This comes as a big surprise to most people. When not chewing or swallowing, the tip of the tongue should rest gently on the tip and back of the lower incisors.
The only time it's absolutely necessary to breathe through your mouth is when you're doing intense exercise or if your nose is blocked from congestion, a cold, or allergies. Temporary mouth breathing can help you get air to your lungs quicker in these situations.
When your mouth is at rest, your tongue should be against the roof of your mouth, but it should not be pressing against any of your teeth. Your teeth should be slightly apart, and your lips should be closed.
Breathing through your mouth at night puts you at higher risk for sleep disorders including snoring, sleep apnea and hypopnea, the partial blockage of air, scientists have found. Each of those, in turn, can lead to daytime fatigue.
Blocked nasal passages, enlarged tonsils, or weak palatal tissue may also cause close-mouthed snoring. Essentially, a nasal snorer has a slight chance of snoring with the mouth closed if his nasal passages get severely blocked.
What causes nasal obstruction at night? Throughout the day, gravity is helping your body drain the mucus out of your nasal cavities. So, when you lay down in bed at night, it's harder for your mucus to drain properly and it accumulates. This leads to nasal congestion and that “blocked nose” feeling.
Sleeping with your mouth open can leave your mouth feeling dry and uncomfortable, and worse, it can put you at risk of tooth decay and other dental problems. If you think you may sleep with your mouth open, talk to your doctor or dentist.
Being called a mouth breather used to be a derogatory term used to describe someone who was, well, here's the Urban Dictionary definition: 1. Literally, someone who lacks enough intelligence that they never learned to breathe through their nose. 2. A really dumb person.
Your craniofacial structure is going to be changing for the better if you're breathing through your nose, your tongue is on the roof of your mouth, and your lips are together during the day and night. Basically, your bone will be shaping and remodeling in a positive direction.
Mouth breathing can also cause chapped and cracked lips.
If you have an anterior open bite, your upper and lower front teeth have a gap between them even when your mouth is closed. If you have a posterior open bite, your back teeth don't touch when your mouth is closed. This could be causing various issues for you, like: A lisp or another type of speech impediment.
Finger Habits Can Cause Damage
The most noticeable effect of constant finger habits and thumb-sucking is to push the upper front teeth outward and the lower front teeth inward. It can also stop front teeth from coming in completely, which results in an openbite or stops the lower jaw from developing the way it should.
Pillows of varying heights or materials can prop your head up more. Sleeping on your back may cause you to breathe through your mouth, so tipping your pillow up or using an adjustable base to elevate your head could give you a better chance of successfully breathing through your nose.
A solid routine will impact your facial structure
Tongues of mouth breathers have nowhere to rest resulting in facial structure changes as time goes on. If you are a chronic mouth breather, your face will be narrow with a poor definition in your cheekbones.
Children whose mouth breathing goes untreated may suffer from abnormal facial and dental development. Symptoms include long, narrow faces and mouths, less defined cheek bones, small lower jaws, and “weak” chins. Other facial symptoms include gummy smiles and crooked teeth.
As an adult, the growth and development has already happened but it's not too late–there are MANY health benefits to breathing through your nose instead of your mouth at any age!