The Negative Impacts of Mouth Breathing While Sleeping and How to Train Yourself to Breathe Through Your Nose

[Voice of Hope April 18, 2023](Editor: Li Wenhan) Human beings can breathe through both the nose and the mouth. Perhaps some people even feel that breathing through the mouth is smoother due to factors such as nasal allergies and nasal congestion, so they like to breathe through the mouth. However, the human mouth itself is not a special organ for breathing. If you have this bad habit when sleeping, it may cause various negative effects on sleep and physical health.

Mouth breathing while sleeping has big health consequences

“Morning Health” reported that Lin Yanzhang, an orthodontist, said in an interview that breathing through the mouth can easily keep the human body in a state of “hyperventilation”, causing the brain to be abnormally active. In this way, it is easy to make people dream again and again and affect sleep.

Zhang Lingyu, an orthodontist who specializes in orthodontics, also said in an interview that breathing through the mouth when sleeping, because the mouth is open, the relative mouth will be retracted, if the jaw retracts a little while an adult sleeps, it is easy to cause sleep apnea.

Zhao Zheyang, director of Oxydo Dental Clinic, pointed out in an interview that if you use the wrong way of breathing through your mouth, according to academic research, it may lead to adenoid hypertrophy, and eventually cause sinusitis, otitis media or bronchitis, which will have an impact on health Not to be underestimated.

In addition to the above-mentioned diseases, Aliabdaal, a physician at the Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation, pointed out that when the air inhaled through the mouth reaches the lungs, the air is mostly cold and dry, so it is by no means ideal; , the air is warmed to body temperature when it reaches the lungs. In addition, when you sleep with your mouth open, your saliva is likely to decrease, so it is easy to cause dry mouth, worsening of periodontal disease, bad breath, etc.

Train yourself to breathe through your nose through tape, snoring patches, and anti-snoring patches

Perhaps many people are used to mouth breathing, but because of the many disadvantages, it is more appropriate to train yourself to always pay attention to breathing through the nose.

However, although you can force yourself to practice nose breathing through consciousness during the day, when people fall asleep, it is beyond their control whether to open their mouths or not. Lin Yanzhang pointed out that in order not to let the efforts made during the day be in vain, you can keep your mouth closed during sleep through small items such as adhesive tape that is specially attached to your mouth, and an anti-snoring headgear.

Dr. Aliabdaal was curious about the impact of mouth breathing and sleep quality, so he also tested it on his own body, using a commercially available mouth breathing correction tape every night while sleeping, and continued for 30 days. As a result, the phenomenon of dry mouth has improved a lot on the first day, and I no longer wake up halfway through sleep. During these 30 days, not only did I stop snoring, but my sleep quality also improved.

The method of sticking mouth breathing correction tape, you must pay attention to 3 elements when purchasing

So, if you want to use tape to seal your mouth to practice nasal breathing, how should you stick it? Otorhinolaryngologist Zeng Hongzhen once shared on the program that the mouth can be deeply pursed and the lips retracted, and then use adhesive tape to “stick it straight” from top to bottom. If you feel that it is not strong enough, you can stick a few more straight. In addition, it can also be pasted on the mouth horizontally, or in the form of an “X” with a cross.

There are also tips when choosing mouth tape. In addition to buying special mouth breathing correction tape, when choosing other tapes, pay attention to three factors: sufficient stickiness, pain-free tearing off, and hypoallergenic materials.

However, people who develop the habit of mouth breathing due to long-term nasal congestion may worry that they will not be able to breathe smoothly after the mouth is closed, which will bring a burden to the body. In addition to going to the ENT department first to cure the nasal congestion, Zeng Hongzheng said in the program that if the mouth is closed, people who can continue to breathe through the nose for 5 minutes can use it, if it is only 5 seconds, they have to open the mouth People who breathe fresh air, this method may not be applicable.

In addition, since children aged 2 to 3 cannot tear off the tape by themselves, in order to avoid danger, it is better not to use this method. Drunk people, because they cannot open their mouths when vomiting, are prone to choking risks, so it is more appropriate not to use it.

Editor in charge: Li Zhi

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