While most people breathe through their nose during sleep, people may sleep with their mouths open for a variety of reasons. Sleeping with the mouth open may be a temporary response to nasal congestion, a learned habit, or a symptom of an underlying health condition.
Sleeping with your mouth open may not seem like a big deal, but it's a major red flag that you're not breathing properly at night, which can have a severe negative impact on your overall health and wellness. In fact, chronic mouth breathing is one of the primary symptoms of sleep apnea.
Sleeping with your mouth open can leave your mouth feeling dry and uncomfortable, and worse, it can put you at risk of tooth decay and other dental problems. If you think you may sleep with your mouth open, talk to your doctor or dentist.
According to the survey data, 71 percent of beds across America are host to a mouth breather, which can rob people of much-needed sleep. The most common signs of mouth breathing reported were being awoken by nighttime nasal congestion (75 percent) waking up with a dry mouth (61 percent) and snoring (37 percent).
There are two primary reasons for mouth-breathing during sleep. The first is that there may be an issue with or blockage in your nasal airway, such as a deviated septum and congestion. The second is simply due to bad habits.
Known as “tongue positioning,” there is a right and wrong way. When closing the mouth, the teeth should be slightly apart while the tongue rests on the roof of the mouth but not against the teeth. Not only does this correct form of tongue positioning ensure better oral health, but it also prevents teeth from shifting.
People tape their mouth when they sleep to force themselves to breathe through their nose. This can help reduce snoring and sleep apnea symptoms and may improve energy levels and bad breath.
Researchers conclude that mouth breathing might lead to changes in the posture of the head and neck, and that chronic mouth breathing can result in an “adenoid face.” This type of facial structure involves a narrow upper dental arch, changes in incisors, an imperfect lip seal, and an increased facial height.
Common causes of mouth breathing include: Nasal blockages causes by cold, flu or allergies. Deviated septum or the cartilage divider between the nostrils is abnormal making it difficult to breath through the nose.
If you find yourself breathing through your mouth, close your mouth and try to consciously breathe through your nose. Elevate your head during sleep. Before you go to sleep, put an extra pillow below your head. Raising the height of your head while you sleep may help keep your mouth from opening.
Long term mouth breathing can lead to a myriad of oral issues including crowded teeth, cracked lips, caries (or cavities), gum disease and more. But the issues don't stop at the mouth. Mouth breathers are also more likely to experience digestive issues, chronic fatigue, morning headaches and sore throat.
What causes nasal obstruction at night? Throughout the day, gravity is helping your body drain the mucus out of your nasal cavities. So, when you lay down in bed at night, it's harder for your mucus to drain properly and it accumulates. This leads to nasal congestion and that “blocked nose” feeling.
Facial structure: mouth-breathing can actually lead the bones of the face to develop differently, yielding flat features, drooping eyes, a narrow jaw and dental arch, and a small chin, gummy smiles, dental malocclusion, including a large overbite and crowded teeth, poor posture.
The first step in fixing the problem is to learn to breathe through your nose. Use breathing exercises and open your nose with a nasal dilator. You can also explore myofunctional therapy, which strengthens muscles in the tongue and throat, helping to restore proper function.
Overall, a reduction in the synaptic connections made in the brain. Increases in the levels of cortisol and adrenaline, which can lead to anxiety and aggressive behavior. This is also why children with sleep apnea often manifest symptoms of a hyperactivity disorder such as ADD or ADHD.
Pillows of varying heights or materials can prop your head up more. Sleeping on your back may cause you to breathe through your mouth, so tipping your pillow up or using an adjustable base to elevate your head could give you a better chance of successfully breathing through your nose.
Meurice et al. 7 have also reported that opening the mouth during sleep increases upper airway collapsibility, while breathing through the mouth also has the potential to dry the upper airway mucosa, enhancing collapsibility and increasing adhesive effects 8.
The teeth should not touch ever – except when swallowing. This comes as a big surprise to most people. When not chewing or swallowing, the tip of the tongue should rest gently on the tip and back of the lower incisors.
When your mouth is at rest, your tongue should be against the roof of your mouth, but it should not be pressing against any of your teeth. Your teeth should be slightly apart, and your lips should be closed.
Background: Many patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are mouth-breathers. Mouth-breathing not only narrows the upper airway, consequently worsening the severity of OSA, but also it affects compliance with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment.
People who breathe through their mouth and not their nose are more likely to develop sleep disorders, including sleep apnea. Children who have mouth breathing are more likely to have dental problems like malocclusion and facial differences.
Conclusion: All subjects with mouth-breathing habit exhibited a significant increase in lower incisor proclination, lip incompetency and convex facial profile. The presence of adenoids accentuated the facial convexity and mentolabial sulcus depth.
As an adult, the growth and development has already happened but it's not too late–there are MANY health benefits to breathing through your nose instead of your mouth at any age!