We Are Designed to be Nasal Breathers, NOT Mouth Breathers
Yes, we can breath through our mouth, but are we supposed to? NO. The health benefits of breathing through our nose far outweigh the negative implications that breathing through our mouth has. There are several reasons that someone might begin to breath through their mouth, so we often must address that first in therapy before can achieve our goal of nasal breathing. Someone might have a blockage in the nasal cavity related to nasal polys, a deviated septum, or enlarged turbinates. An individual could have enlarged tonsils or adenoids. The reason could be related to prolonged pacifier and/or bottle use. Sometimes there is a restricted lingual frenum or “tongue tie” present. There might be a birth abnormality. Finally, chronic congestion might be present related to allergies, colds or sinusitis.
Let’s discuss why mouth breathing is detrimental to our health vs. nasal breathing. Our mouth is predetermined to be used for eating or speaking, not breathing. There are situations we might need to breath through our mouth, but only as a backup, not as the primary location. When we breath through our mouth our tonsils and gum tissues act as the filter for the cold, polluted air. This creates these tissues to often become enlarged, red and sometimes infected. When we breath through our mouth our body enters a state of fight or flight that affects our ability to rest and digest. Additionally, breathing through our mouth causes chronic congestion. The body assumes that C02 is being lost too quickly, so it signals the goblet cells to produce mucus in the nose to slow down the breathing. This creates a cycle of chronic congestion.
We often see more grinding and clenching in those who primarily breath though their mouth. We also see more issues with the TMJ. Those who mouth breath will typically have a forward head posture and often have improper jaw development. It is common to see crowding of the teeth and malocclusion in those who mouth breath. There is an increased risk for ear infections in someone who mainly breaths through their mouth. Furthermore, there is no release of nitric oxide when breathing through the mouth. Nitric oxide has anti inflammatory and anti bacterial benefits. Those who continuously breath through their mouth are generally going to get sick more often. Also, breathing through our mouth can alter sleep and increase our risk for obstructive sleep apnea.
Conversely, nasal breathing is far superior for our health. The nose warms and humidifies the air, which increases the efficiency of the lungs. Nasal breathing releases nitric oxide to help the body have anti bacterial and anti inflammatory benefits. The nose filters out the allergens and bacteria first, so they are less likely to enter the body. Additionally, nasal breathing helps with relaxation and our rest and digest systems. Plus nasal breathing helps with sleep. Less night wakings, more restorative sleep and less snoring!
Once we address why someone is chronically mouth breathing we can begin to work on nasal breathing in myofunctional therapy. By targeting the function and increasing the tone of the muscles of the jaw, lips, tongue, soft palate and larynx we can help to ensure that nasal breathing is the primary form of breathing in individuals. By breathing through our nose we can feel better, sleep more and get sick less!
