Are you or someone you love having a hard time sleeping?
Are you waking up with dry mouth, to get a drink of water, pee or waking up with a stuffy nose or a headache?
Snoring is a common problem that can lead to broken sleep for both the snorer and their partner. Breathing through an open mouth worsens snoring as it dries out and narrows the airways, causing turbulence in the nose, mouth and throat. This creates an unpleasant and disruptive noise that can make bedtime a nightmare.
Have you tried essential oils, calming teas, and counting sheep and nothing seems to work to get some shut eye? Have you ever thought about… taping your mouth?
Mouth tape retains your brain to breathe through your nose during the day or at night when you sleep and you are not conscious of your breathing.
A significant body of evidence supports the role of mouth taping and breathing re-education for improving sleep-disordered breathing. Mouth tape was included as a support for persons with sleep disordered breathing who mouth breathe during sleep.
The basics of breathing re-education encompass:
- Using breath-hold time to get more nitric oxide and carbon dioxide exchange
- Restoring full-time nasal breathing
- Correcting the resting position of the tongue
- Reducing the rate of respiration
- Learning to properly engage the diaphragm
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Imagine going to bed, placing a piece of tape over your mouth, and waking up the next morning feeling more refreshed and revitalized than you have in years. I know it sounds a little bizarre! Welcome to the world of mouth taping! This unusual but surprisingly beneficial practice that’s gaining traction among people who want a better night’s sleep.
Imagine finally getting the rest you deserve, sleeping in the same bed as your partner, waking up feeling refreshed and energized so you can take on any challenge that life wants to throw at you.
It may sound bizarre, but there’s some real science behind it. Our body is designed for nasal breathing. It’s not just a backup for when our mouth is full! We don’t eat through our nose, we should not breathe through our mouth. Chronic mouth breathing is wreaking havoc on your health.
I know you are thinking it sounds great Sheree but I can not breathe through my nose. We are lucky that we can use our mouth when we are not able to breathe through our nose. Yet it is not healthy long term. If you can not breathe through your nose, then mouth taping is not for you at least until you find out why you can’t breathe through your nose and do something to change it.
Mouth breathing increases blood pressure, dries out your mouth, can lead to crowded teeth, cracked lips, cavities, gum disease, digestive issues, chronic fatigue, headaches, sore throat, sleep issues and more.
What is Mouth Taping?
Mouth taping is the practice of placing a piece of tape over one’s mouth before sleeping, to keep the lips together so you can breathe through your nose. Of course you will need to be able to breathe through your nose first. The primary aim is to promote nasal breathing during sleep. While it may sound a little quirky, many people claim it has made a significant difference in the quality of their sleep. I am one of them. I used to get up three or four times to pee. Now I can sleep 6 hours without waking. Honestly? It felt different, but I did notice I woke up less frequently, no dry mouth, sore throat or headache!
Benefits of Mouth Taping:
- Improved Sleep Quality: Breathing through the nose promotes a deeper and more restorative sleep. Keeping you cycling through the four stages of sleep. It can potentially decrease the number of awakenings at night and enhance overall sleep efficiency.
- Reduces Snoring: Mouth breathing is one of the leading causes of snoring. By encouraging nasal breathing, mouth taping can help decrease, or even eliminate, those disruptive nightly noises.
- Reduces Teeth Grinding: When your tongue blocks your airway when you sleep you are in fight or flight, your body compensates by bringing your jaw forward to move your tongue and get more oxygen. Grinding is a symptom of an airway issue.
- Better Oral Health: Breathing through the mouth all night can dry out the oral cavity, increasing the risk of tooth decay and bad breath. Nasal breathing helps maintain the moisture and pH balance of the mouth.
- Prevents Dry Mouth: Dry mouth can lead to sore throats and increased susceptibility to infections. By keeping the mouth closed and breathing through the nose, you can maintain a healthier oral environment. The amount of saliva in the mouth and throat plays an important role in keeping the upper airway open. Mouth breathing will cause saliva to become thicker, stickier and reduce the amount. It is important that the areas of the throat and mouth remain moist during sleep for the muscles to function properly.
- Reduces Plaque and Bacteria: Mouth breathers may have a greater amount of bacteria (Streptococcus mutans) in their mouth, increasing the risk to 4 times higher to develop cavities and an increased level of plaque. Plaque is a sticky substance from leftover food particles. A buildup of plaque is not good for dental health and can cause gum disease. The researchers also concluded that mouth breathing predisposes persons to an increased risk of periodontal disease susceptibility.
- Enhanced Oxygen Uptake/More Oxygen Through The Nose: Nose breathing increases nitric oxide production. Nitric oxide helps with the absorption of oxygen in our lungs, making our breathing more effective.
If you’re a nose breather, you’re getting 18% more oxygen on average, than the humans that are mouth-breathing.
- Promotes Diaphragmatic Breathing: Breathing through the nose naturally engages the diaphragm more, which is a deeper, more beneficial type of breathing. This can reduce stress and even lower blood pressure.
If you’re a mouth breather – no judgment here – but you’re telling CO2 to scram. With less CO2 around, the main element we need, oxygen, doesn’t get to the places it needs to be.
On the other hand, nose breathing is like the slow and steady tortoise in the race of exhalation. It keeps CO2 around for longer, meaning more oxygen in your muscles! So, let’s put that nose to work!
Breathing Through The Mouth Increases with Age
As we get older, there is an increased likelihood of breathing through the mouth during sleep. Research shows that persons over 40 years of age are six times more likely to spend more than 50% of their sleep time breathing through the mouth and nose combined. This is not good news as over-40s are already at an increased risk of sleep disorders including snoring and sleep apnea. Ideally, breathing should exclusively be through the nose during sleep.
Breathing Through the Mouth Can Affect Growth of the Face
Breathing continually through an open mouth can affect learning outcomes.a study was done to monitor brain wave changes during nose and mouth breathing.
Breathing through the mouth showed different brain activity patterns, compared to nose breathing, and these changes are related to cognitive regions.
The reason for this change seems to relate to the decreased oxygen saturation during mouth breathing, suggesting that when cognitive abilities are required, mouth breathing can act as one of the variables that cause different outcomes in brain activities.
There is also documented evidence showing that mouth breathing results in poor development of the face and airways. A mouth-breather carries the tongue in a low downward position, creating an airspace which allows the person to breathe more freely.
Children with mouth breathing have shown a correlation with abnormal orofacial growth.
This low resting posture of the tongue not only creates an abnormal swallow, but will also contribute to many unrelated ailments along with underdeveloped jaws, a collapsed palate also known as a high vaulted palate, and increased facial vertical dimension characterized as ‘long face syndrome’ which restricts the upper nasal airways.
Children who are mouth breathing were more likely to have a longer facial structure.
Children who breathe through an open mouth have a strong tendency to experience cognitive disorders and problems with memory, concentration, attention, and learning ability.
Association between Mouth Breathing and Crooked Teeth Preschool children
Of a sample of 1,616 children aged 3-6 years, 38% required orthodontic treatment and 46% had signs of crooked teeth.
The prevalence of mouth breathing and poor sucking habits were closely related to anterior open bite, posterior crossbite and increased overjet (abnormal alignment of the teeth/crooked teeth).
Children can practice simple breathing exercises to help decongest their nose, and change to nose breathing.
Sleep Difficulties and Symptoms of ADHD in Children with Mouth Breathing
Researchers studied 100 children, 70 males and 30 females to determine the effects of persistent mouth breathing on academics and social life of children. Results showed that 73% of mouth breathing children failed to give close attention in school, and 66% had symptoms of hyperactivity- trouble waiting for his/her turn.
The conclusion reached was that children with sleep disturbance or ADHD should be assessed for the presence of mouth breathing, as easy identification and correction of mouth breathing may help to prevent unnecessary exposure to medication for treating ADHD.
By the time the children reached 8 years old, parents reported children with SDB indicated that children with sleep-disordered breathing were 40% more likely to have special educational needs.
Dr. Christian Guilleminault was a physician and researcher in the field of sleep medicine, and considered a founding father of sleep medicine. Credited with coining the phrase obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, and developing the apnea hypopnea index (AHI). Dr. Guilleminault had a special interest in restoring nasal breathing both during the day and sleep.
According to the late Dr Christian Guilleminault, “treatment of pediatric obstructive-sleep-apnea (OSA) and sleep-disordered-breathing (SBD) means restoration of continuous nasal breathing during wakefulness and sleep.”
If nasal breathing is not restored, despite short-term improvements after removal of the adenoids or tonsils, continued breathing through the mouth may be associated with abnormal impacts on airway growth.
“In fact restoration of nasal breathing during wake and sleep may be the only valid complete correction of pediatric sleep disordered breathing.”
Mouth Breathing and Asthma
Asthma is characterized by inflammation and narrowing of the airways, which can lead to breathing difficulties and other symptoms. Nasal breathing can help reduce the severity and frequency of asthma symptoms, mainly if triggered during exercise. Sleeping with a nasal dilator can help to open the nose for easier breathing.
Breathing through the nose has a protective influence against exercise induced asthma. In a study of a small group of people, subjects when wearing a nose clip to force breathing through the mouth perceived more difficulty breathing in.
Enforced oral breathing causes a decrease in lung function in mild asthmatic subjects at rest, initiating asthma symptoms in some.
The nose and lungs form a unified airway. This means that where inflammation is present, it can travel from the nose to the lungs and from the lungs to the nose. This is one reason people with asthma experience high levels of nasal congestion. The normal response to a stuffy nose is to begin breathing through the mouth. This, however, increases breathing volume, draws cold, unfiltered, dry air into the airways, and makes the symptoms of asthma worse. Habitual mouth breathing also affects sleep and causes or contributes to stress
Safety First:
If you’re intrigued and considering giving mouth taping a try:
- Always use a mouth tape that is hypoallergenic tape made for the skin.
- Ensure you can easily remove the tape if necessary.
- It’s not recommended for those with nasal congestion or respiratory issues. Always consult with a healthcare professional before trying it out.
- If you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea, mouthtape isn’t a replacement for your CPAP, but it can help improve CPAP compliance, by reducing open-mouth snoring, preventing air from escaping from your open mouth, and improving your sleep quality even if you don’t snore.
Snoring and sleep apnea can ruin a good night’s sleep. And poor sleep, night after night, makes it difficult to function during the day.
But do you recognize the signs of sleep-disordered breathing?
- Do you feel tired most days?
- Do you frequently lie awake at night, or wake up with a racing mind after only a few hours’ sleep?
- Do you wake most mornings with a dry mouth and smelly breath?
- Do you get up many times during the night, needing to pee?
- Do you breathe through your mouth at night?
- Do you constantly feel stressed during the day, or find it hard to wind down at night?
- Does your partner complain about your snoring?
If you answered “yes” to more than one of these questions, it’s likely the way you breathe, day and night, is contributing to poor quality sleep.
Click the link and schedule a 15 minute call with me and let’s see if we can get you sleeping again!
https://shereewertz.com/15-min
So there you have it, folks! Mouth taping – maybe it’s the unsung hero you’ve been looking for.
Mouth taping might seem odd at first, but the potential benefits for sleep quality and overall health are making believers out of skeptics. If you’re looking for an unconventional method to enhance your zzz’s, maybe it’s time to stick with mouth taping!
Sweet dreams, and don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more sleep tips!”
Note: This is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice. If you have any health concerns, always consult with a healthcare professional before making any changes to your routine.
