What is So Bad About Breathing Through Your Mouth

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

What is the Right Way to Breathe?

Stop. Are you mouth breathing right now? Are your lips apart or are they closed? If they are closed, you are breathing through your nose. If your lips are apart, you may be inhaling air through your mouth and don’t even realize it.

It is important that you breathe through your nose so that the air you inhale is clean and warm. If you mouth breathe, you are inhaling dirty, cold air. Learn more here.

Is mouth breathing associated with snoring? The next time your bed partner awakens you with a loud snore, look and see if his/her mouth is open or closed. You will probably find that the mouth is open and the air is being inhaled and exhaled through the mouth, causing a loud noise.

What You Can do to Stop Mouth Breathing Right Now?

Close your mouth and start breathing through your nose. Try it right now. Does it make you feel anxious about not being able to get enough air? If so, just hang on for 5 more seconds. Take a breath in through your nose and let it out through your nose slowly. Don’t stop the cycle – breathe in again and let it out slowly. Congratulations. Your brain is starting to get used to this new way of breathing. Keep it up. Every time you breathe in through your nose and exhale through your nose, it gets easier and your anxiety about not having enough air will disappear. Keep going.

DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS if you have a physical obstruction in your nose that prevents you from nasal breathing.

What if you start breathing through your nose while you are sleeping? Does that mean you will stop snoring? Probably. If you had trouble with the exercise of inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your nose, it is probably because the muscles in your face and mouth have been programmed to take in air differently. No problem. Your muscles can be trained to respond appropriately when inhaling and exhaling through your nose. Stop waking up with a dry mouth.

Do you know if you are breathing through your mouth when you sleep? The biggest clue will probably be that you wake up with a dry mouth. Breathing through your mouth will contribute to snoring and aggravate your spouse and family. If you want to learn more about how to stop mouth breathing, correct snoring, and rest more peacefully, contact us, and visit our store to order our ground-breaking stop snoring program.

Written by: Janet M. Bennett

Janet Bennett, M.Ed., CCC-SLP, is a Speech Pathologist in private practice in Asheville, NC, since 1977. She specializes in treating tongue thrust, a swallowing disorder that can result in buckteeth, an open bite, a lisp, snoring, and other problems that have not yet been made known to most people.