Even though the nose was designed for breathing, most people don't use it. in fact, the majority of people breathe through their mouth.
A study of more than 1,000 participants found that 61% of Americans are mouth breathers. The most common signs of mouth breathing reported were being awoken by nighttime nasal congestion (75%) waking up with a dry mouth (61%) and snoring (37%).
Our nasal cavity is our body's defense against germs, viruses, and diseases. When we breathe through our mouth, the unfiltered, uncooled, and unhumidified air hits the back of our throat and enters our lungs.
This process generally begins to create inflammation in the adenoids and tonsils. The more inflammation that occurs from mouth breathing, the more difficult it is to breathe through the nose.
This inflammation will often lead to catching colds and viruses more often, experiencing shifts in your jawline, dark circles under the eyes, and an enlarged nose.
More Statistics on Breathing Disorders
7.7% of Americans have asthma.
39 million US adults have sleep apnea.
About 80% of people have a deviated septum.
45% of people snore occasionally while 25% snore regularly.
6-12% of the population experiences chronic breathing disorders
How Can You Stop Mouth Breathing?
The quickest and easiest way to stop mouth breathing is simply to try and focus your attention on breathing through your nose more often. You can keep a sticky note on your computer reminding yourself to nose breathe.
If you live with a roommate partner, or family members, tell them what you’re trying to do and have them remind you if you’re breathing through your mouth.
Many people unconsciously breathe through their mouth when they sleep. It’s important to know if you’re a snore, as this might be the root cause of your mouth breathing issue.
You can download an app called Snorelab. Place it next to your bed at night and in the morning you’ll wake up with evidence of whether you’re a snore or not. If you are, mouth tape is one of the best solutions for ending this.
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Changing your sleep position can also greatly reduce your chance of snoring. Well it’s believed that sleeping on the back is the best for your health, it often allows the head to fall backwards in the mouth to fall open.
Try sleeping on your side or belly. It’s not as good for your posture but that can be corrected with five minutes of stretching in the morning. An entire night of mouth breathing can’t be reversed.
The other thing you can do is put books under the posts at the head of your bed, giving your bed a slight incline. This will also help prevent your mouth from falling open at night.
Native Americans used to administer this practice to individuals in the tribe who began mouth breathing. George catlin documented it in his famous book Save Your Life Shut Your Mouth.
Breathwork Can Help You Correct Dysfunctional Breathing
With guided structure and practice, you can easily shift out of dysfunctional breathing patterns and return to an optimal breathing state. It can take longer for others, but most of us have one or two breathing dysfunctions that we don't even know about.
The longer these dysfunctions occur, the more damage they can do to our body and mind.
Shallow breathing, unconscious breath holding, chest breathing, and paradoxical breathing are just a few that can reak havoc on the body over time. Luckily we've found really easy solutions to all of these dysfunctions and can teach them to you.
Make sure to check out our upcoming instructor trainings where we teach breathwork and cold exposure priniciples in a unique and engaging way. See if an in-person or online structure is better for you.
Source: Sleep Review, ACAAI, NCOA, Cleveland Clinic, Hopkins Medicine, UHSH
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