About Sleep
Sleep Related Conditions
Sleep Disorders
Mouth breathing is a common issue that many people are experiencing in their lives. And there is always think about how to stop mouth breathing while sleeping. Instead of breathing by your nose, using the mouth can cause annoying problems, especially for children.
What Is Mouth Breathing?
Mouth breathing is the act of breathing through the mouth instead of the nose. This can occur during both daytime and nighttime. While occasional mouth breathing is normal, chronic or habitual mouth breathing, especially during sleep, may be indicative of underlying issues such as nasal congestion, allergies, deviated septum, or other respiratory conditions. Chronic mouth breathing can have various implications, including potential impacts on sleep quality, snoring, dry mouth, and increased risks of sleep disorders.
What Can Cause Mouth Breathing?
In order to find out the solution, we need to look at the root of the problem. That means if you want to know how to stop mouth breathing, the first thing to know is what causes it.
The main reason behind mouth breathing is usually a nasal obstruction. It is when some obstacles prevent the air from passing into the nose. Normally, most of us breathe through our noses. The nose is designed to act as a natural humidifier and filtering system for the air we breathe.
There are different reasons for a blocked nose. Nasal congestion resulting from allergies, a sinus infection, or cold, enlarged tonsils, enlarged adenoids, deviated septum, enlarged turbinates, nasal polyps, the shape of a nose, obstructive sleep apnea are examples.
Besides, stress and anxiety are also causes of mouth breathing. Particularly, stress activates your sympathetic nervous system that leads to rapid, shallow, and abnormal breathing. So, in conclusion, mouth breathing is better not to have than the opposite. Besides, there are numerous side effects of mouth breathing!
Does Your Face Change With Nighttime Mouth Breathing?
If you constantly breathe through your mouth while sleeping it can affect your health negatively. That’s why people want to know how to stop mouth breathing while sleeping and during any other time of the day.
Its common side effect is considered an excessively dry mouth. In fact, under normal conditions, saliva continuously helps to remove bacteria from the mouth. In case, your mouth is dry, nevertheless, that bacteria may more readily take hold & cause problems like cavities.
Moreover, mouth breathing can change the shape of your face and alter your appearance. It’s not kidding, anyway. Mouth breathers may suffer from abnormal facial and dental development (long, narrow faces and mouths, less defined cheekbone, small lower jaws, gummy smiles, crooked teeth, and “weak” chins).
According to a study carried out by Yosh Jefferson, DMD, MADG, mouth breathing has adverse effects on health, facial growth, academics, and behavior. Another research shows that if children are mouth breathers, they can suffer from significant negative effects on their growth. These effects imposed on children are stronger than that on adults. Therefore, mouth breathers should know how to stop mouth breathing while sleeping and any other time of the day.
How To Breathe Through Your Nose While Sleeping?
Avoid Eating Close to Bedtime
Maybe it will sound strange and having no relation to mouth breathing, but, do avoid eating close to bedtime. That’s because stomach juices can come up into your nose, sinuses, ears, and mouth, causing blocking and inflammation.
Wash Nose to Prevent Mouth Breathing While Sleeping
It is recommended to try flushing the nose with saltwater in a squeeze bottle or neti pot. That’s a mild wall-breaker because the saltwater draws out clear water from the membrane and other blocking stuff you’ve got in your nose. By the way, Sprays should be reserved for a short-time use only, because they cause addictiveness and rebound symptoms.
Change Position to Stop Sleeping With Your Mouth Open
If you want to stop mouth breathing while sleeping check your sleeping position first. For many sleeping in a supine position can obstruct the airways while sleeping in a lateral position opens up the airways. Lying down in a lateral position helps in smooth and natural breathing in most people but if the nose is blocked on one side, you may want to turn to the other side or even try the supine position.
Your sleep position should allow proper nasal drainage so that the nose does not become obstructed, which can then hamper the unobstructed flow of air while breathing. Hence, checking and adjusting your sleeping posture is also one of the natural ways to eliminate the habit of mouth breathing.
Balanced Diet For Better Sleep
Eating a balanced diet is the key to good overall health. This also applies to eliminating mouth breathing. Eating a balanced diet can protect you from allergies and sinus problems. It will prevent you from becoming overweight, which is yet another common cause of mouth breathing since the increased weight causes increased pressure on the nasal cavities and lungs. If you have an ideal weight, then you can overcome such problems and stop mouth breathing. So have a balanced diet and maintaining an ideal weight too are the effective natural ways to stop mouth breathing.
Elevating Head While Sleeping
Elevating the head not only helps prevent mouth breathing but also deals with other problems like acid reflux or other acids produced by the stomach from regurgitating into the throat. It also creates an unobstructed nasal passage for the air to flow freely and stop mouth breathing. So, while adjusting sleeping position, try elevating your head as an important natural way to stop mouth breathing and snoring. Read more about head positions in one of our articles here.
Exercises
Exercising daily is good for your overall health, while specific exercises of the facial muscles and throat can help in proper breathing. Aerobics can help in reducing weight while also improving your overall breathing and lung capacity. With regular aerobic exercises you can learn to breathe in and out to meet the increasing oxygen demand. Yoga is also an ideal form of exercise for good breathing coordination and movement. So practicing with aerobics, facial exercises, yoga and breathing techniques are some of the natural ways to stop mouth breathing while sleeping.
For more tips and scientific information told in a simple way, kindly refer to ShutEye. All in one app that will guide you in this dreamy world! Have a sound sleep and wonderful dreams! Good night!
