Why You Need to Stop Mouth Breathing While Sleeping Now!

If you breathe through your mouth while sleeping you are not only reducing the effectiveness of your sleep, which has its own problems, but are prolonging a bad habit of breathing that negatively and profoundly impacts your health. If your not sure how you breathe while sleeping, ask your partner. Chances are if your mouth is dry in the morning you were mouth breathing. Because your sleep is linked to your breathing, by improving your breathing you will likely improve the quality of your sleep.  Let’s take a look at why you need to stop mouth breathing while sleeping, how to do so, and the negative health risks if you don’t.

Is Mouth Breathing Bad?

Breathing from your mouth is unhealthy and inefficient. The longer you mouth breathing, the more difficult it is to transition back to breathing through your nose. Your nose is designed for breathing – it filters, warms and moisturizes the air you breathe. It also improves oxygen uptake into your muscles and tissues. To put it simply; your nose is made for breathing, your mouth is made for talking. 

7 Reasons to Stop Mouth Breathing While Sleeping

1. Sleep Better and Snore Less

Mouth breathing while sleeping reduces air flowing through your nasal airways. This causes congestion and leads you to snore, wake up frequently and feel tired the next day. In contrast, nasal breathing will keep your airways clear, which helps you get a deeper, more rested sleep.

2. Protect Your Teeth and Gums

Breathing through your mouth will dry out your mouth. This dries out your saliva, leaving your teeth and gums unprotected from bacteria. The dryness causes cavities, gum problems and your breath to smell. Breathing through you mouth will keep your mouth moist and clean, improving your oral health.

3. Filter the Air You Breathe

Your nose filters air by trapping dirt, allergens and bacteria before getting to your lungs. When you mouth breath unfiltered air passes directly to your lungs. Through nasal breathing you reduce your chance of sinus infections, allergies and breathing issues.

4. Breathe and Perform Better

Your nose was meant for breathing. It helps you breathe slower and more efficiently  improving the release of oxygen from your blood to your muscles and organs. With continued nasal breathing you improve your energy levels and stamina for workouts and mental focus.

5. Support Proper Facial Development

Mouth breathing, especially when you are younger, can change your facial structure. It can make your jaw look narrow, messes up the alignment of your teeth and can cause poor posture. Breathing through your nose supports proper jaw alignment and improves how your face appears [1].

6. Boost Blood Flow

Nasal breathing is optimal because your nose, which is an organ intended for breathing, makes a small molecule called nitric oxide. This helps improve blood circulation by dilating your blood vessels. It also plays a part in helping to protect against certain respiratory diseases [2].

7. Lower Stress

Mouth breathing speeds up your breathing, leading to stress and anxiety. Regularly poor sleep also increases stress and anxiety, providing a compounding effect. Nasal breathing, on the other hand, slows your breathing and calms your nervous system which helps you fall asleep faster and easier while helping you feel refreshed when you wake. 

Make the Switch

Switching to nasal breathing, both in and out through your nose, is perhaps easier said than done. It can make a huge difference to your sleep quality and overall health if you can do it consistently (always) while sleeping and awake. There are a number of approaches or techniques you can use but ultimately it takes time and practice.

5 Ways How to Stop Mouth Breathing While Sleeping 

1. Stay Hydrated and Humidify Your Room

Dry air makes it more difficult to continue breathing out of your nose (and mouth). While your nasal passages help moisturize the air as it heads to your lungs, dry air has an impact on your airways by slowly drying them out. Drink enough water during the day – at least up to 4 hours before bed – to stay hydrated. If you drink fluids any later you may end up waking up to go to the bathroom.

You can add moisture to the room by getting a humidifier, especially for dry winter months. A humidifier will keep your nasal passages moist, making it easier to breathe from your nose.

2. Irrigate Your Nasal Passages

Over time your nasal passages collect mucus, dust, pollen and other allergens. This leads to mouth breathing while sleeping as it becomes difficult to breathe from your nose. By using a saline spray or neti pots before bed you can keep your nose clear and improve your sleep.

3. Tape Your Mouth at Night

It may sound weird to tape your mouth while sleeping. You do it to keep your mouth closed so you can only breathe through your nose. You can either use medical tape or buy pre-made mouth strips to gently keep your mouth/lips closed at night. It’s not uncomfortable, and it trains you to breathe through your nose to minimize snoring and other irregular breathing that happen while mouth breathing.

4. Dilate Your Nostrils

Some people have smaller, narrower noses. Others have noses that are congested and can benefit by expanding their nostrils to better breath through their nose. Nose strips or nasal dilators widen your nostrils, improving airflow and making nasal breathing easier.

5. Practice Nasal Breathing During the Day

• If you want to breathe through your nose at night, you have to train your body during the day. Focus on keeping your mouth closed and taking slow, steady breaths through your nose. Start small. Take 5 minutes, try to relax and notice your breathing. You may be surprised how often you open your mouth without realizing it.

• As you get better, focus on using your diaphragm to pull and push air into and out of your lungs. Make sure your breaths remain slow and concentrate on not taking too much air into your lungs each time you breathe. Over time it will become more natural to breathe through your nose all the time, even while sleeping.

• If you find your nostrils are too congested you may want to try using a nasal spray like Otrivin which will help clear your nasal passages for a period of time. After a while, perhaps a few weeks (as was my experience) you will find you don’t need this to help your congestion as consistent nasal breathing will naturally decongest your nose over time.

Conclusion

Mouth breathing while sleeping may seem like a mundane issue but it has a huge impact over your sleep quality, energy level and overall health. Furthermore, without proper sleep, issues compound into daytime. Poor breathing habits and lack of sleep are likely the leading indirect (and direct) cause of illness and death and can have a huge impact on your appearance, your immune system, and your weight.  What’s worse is that your issues compound over time.  

You can turn things around by fixing your breathing, which will improve the quality of your sleep. You need to stop mouth breathing during sleep and switch to nasal breathing now – throughout the day and night.  While it may take time and effort to improve your breathing and sleep, you won’t regret it!

Check out Active Breathing for Better Health.

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The content does not substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the support and guidance of your physician when you are unsure about any health issues.