How to stop mouth breathing at night? Discover 12 practical solutions to improve your sleep quality and overall health. Find the root causes and effective remedies for this common issue.

Understanding Mouth Breathing at Night

Breathing is a natural process that we often take for granted, especially when we’re sleeping. However, some individuals may find themselves breathing through their mouths instead of their noses, a condition known as mouth breathing. This seemingly innocuous habit can have far-reaching consequences on your health, sleep, and overall well-being.

Symptoms of Mouth Breathing During Sleep

Identifying the signs of mouth breathing at night can be challenging, as you’re asleep during the occurrence. However, some common symptoms to look out for include:

• Dry mouth
• Bad breath
• Hoarse voice
• Feelings of fatigue and irritability
• Brain fog
• Snoring (as reported by your partner or recorded during sleep)

If you notice these symptoms, it’s crucial to address the underlying cause and take steps to correct your breathing pattern.

Causes of Mouth Breathing at Night

There are several potential reasons why someone may be breathing through their mouth during sleep:

1. Nasal congestion (from colds, allergies, sinus infections, or structural issues)
2. Enlarged adenoids or nasal polyps
3. Deviated septum
4. Obstructive sleep apnea
5. Dry air
6. Stress
7. Certain medications
8. Habitual mouth breathing

Understanding the root cause is essential for finding an effective solution.

The Dangers of Mouth Breathing During Sleep

Contrary to popular belief, mouth breathing is not a harmless habit. It can have a significant impact on your health and well-being. Some of the potential consequences of mouth breathing during sleep include:

• Increased risk of tooth decay and gum disease
• High blood pressure
• Impaired brain function and cognitive performance
• Disrupted sleep quality and daytime fatigue
• Altered facial development in children

Recognizing the importance of nasal breathing is the first step in addressing this issue.

Benefits of Nasal Breathing

Breathing through the nose offers numerous advantages over mouth breathing, including:

• Improved oxygen absorption and distribution
• Enhanced nitric oxide production, which can boost energy levels and reduce anxiety
• Reduced snoring and risk of sleep apnea
• Better regulation of air temperature and humidity
• Improved airflow and respiratory function

Encouraging nasal breathing during sleep is a crucial step in maintaining optimal health and well-being.

Effective Strategies to Stop Mouth Breathing at Night

If you’re struggling with mouth breathing during sleep, there are several strategies you can try to address the issue:

1. Practice nasal breathing exercises
2. Use a nasal dilator or nasal strips to open up your nasal passages
3. Improve your sleep hygiene and create a conducive sleep environment
4. Manage allergies and sinus issues with medication or other treatments
5. Consider using a CPAP or other sleep apnea treatment if applicable
6. Maintain good posture and avoid sleeping on your back
7. Quit or reduce smoking, as it can contribute to nasal congestion

Persistence and a multi-faceted approach are often necessary to break the habit of mouth breathing during sleep.

Improving Sleep Quality and Overall Health

Addressing the root causes of mouth breathing and transitioning to nasal breathing can have a profound impact on your sleep quality and overall health. By ensuring you’re getting the oxygen your body needs through proper breathing, you can experience:

• Improved energy levels and cognitive function
• Reduced risk of cardiovascular issues and metabolic disorders
• Better regulation of body temperature and hydration
• Enhanced physical and emotional well-being

The RISE app can be a valuable tool in helping you monitor and improve your sleep habits, including addressing any issues related to mouth breathing.

How To Stop Mouth Breathing at Night? 12 Tricks To Try

Breathing is second nature. Most of us don’t think about it, especially when we’re sleeping. You might only think about your breathing when you’ve got a stuffy nose or your partner is elbowing you in the ribs to get your snoring to stop. 

But even when snoring or congestion isn’t a problem, you may be breathing the “wrong” way at night — and that wrong way is through your mouth, instead of your nose.  

It’s not clear how many of us are mouth breathers — it could be a whopping 75%. Some people may be mouth breathers for short periods of time — like when they’re ill or when pregnant, for example — while for others, it’s a life-long bad habit. 

Mouth breathing sounds innocent enough but it affects your health, your sleep, and how you feel and function. 

Below, we’ll cover why you might be mouth breathing, why you should attempt to fix it, and how you can stop mouth breathing at night. Plus, we’ll share how the RISE app can help you get a good night’s sleep, no matter how you’re breathing.  

‍

What is mouth breathing?

What are the symptoms of mouth breathing at night?

What causes mouth breathing at night?

Is mouth breathing in your sleep bad?

What are the benefits of nasal breathing?

How to stop mouth breathing at night?

How to get better sleep and more energy?

‍

What is Mouth Breathing?

Mouth breathing is as simple as it sounds: it’s when you breathe through your mouth, instead of your nose. You may breathe through your mouth when your nose is blocked, when you’re exercising strenuously, or simply through habit.

Mouth breathing may not sound like too much of a problem, but it can lead to bad breath, tooth decay, high blood pressure, and even impaired brain function. Experts agree nasal breathing is the better way to get your oxygen. It can boost your energy levels, reduce anxiety, and reduce snoring.

Mouth breathing isn’t all bad, though. It’s sometimes the only way to breathe, such as when you’re congested, for example. Plus, when you’re doing intense exercise, it’s the quicker way to take in oxygen. The problem comes when it’s your go-to method of breathing, even when your nose is working perfectly fine. 

You may even find yourself breathing fine through your nose during the day, but switching to mouth breathing at night. This could be habit, but another reason for this is because the blood vessels in your nose fill with blood when you’re lying down. This makes your nasal passages smaller and your body may switch to mouth breathing if it can’t get enough oxygen in. 

Science journalist James Nester writes in his bestselling 2020 book, Breath, that 40% of us suffer from chronic nasal congestion (a key cause of mouth breathing), and about half of us are chronic mouth breathers. Women and kids seem to be affected the most, but mouth breathing can happen to anyone. 

‍

What are the Symptoms of Mouth Breathing at Night?

It can be hard to tell if you’re mouth breathing at night — you are asleep, afterall.

Look out for these mouth breathing symptoms: 

• Dry mouth 
• Bad breath 
• A hoarse voice 
• Feeling tired
• Irritability 
• Brain fog 
• Snoring (ask your partner or record yourself while sleeping)

If you have trouble breathing through your mouth during the day, or catch yourself doing it despite being able to breathe through your nose, you probably breathe through your mouth at night, too. 

You can also speak to your healthcare provider who can help diagnose mouth breathing. 

{{ cta }}

‍

What Causes Mouth Breathing at Night?

There are many reasons you might be breathing through your mouth instead of your nose. 

Common culprits include:  

• Congestion from a cold, illness, or sinus infection 
• Congestion from allergies  
• Large adenoids, or lumps of tissue at the very back of your nose 
• A deviated septum 
• Nasal polyps, or growths in your nasal passages
• Tumors
• Obstructive sleep apnea, when your brain wakes you up to kick start your breathing, you may gasp for air through your mouth, promoting the habit of mouth breathing
• Dry air 
• Stress 
• Pollution 
• Medications (meds for high blood pressure, erectile dysfunction, depression, and seizures can cause congestion as a side effect) 
• Physical impediments such as the mouth growing too wide, causing the nasal passages to be smaller 
• Being in the habit of mouth breathing 

For most of us, upper airway resistance lowers as we sleep when we breathe through the nose. So, we’ll subconsciously breathe through our noses unless there’s something getting in the way. If nasal breathing is too hard, or impossible, we’ll subconsciously switch to mouth breathing to get the oxygen we need. 

‍

Is Mouth Breathing in Your Sleep Bad?

Is mouth breathing really that bad? In short, yes. We’re meant to spend most of our time breathing through our noses, and any disturbances to our breathing can damage our health.

The list of health issues is long. Mouth breathing can lead to: 

• Dry mouth 
• Sore throat 
• Bad breath 
• Tooth decay and gum disease 
• Throat and eye infections 
• Snoring (not good for you or anyone you share a bed with)
• Sleep apnea  
• Low energy 
• Symptoms that look like ADHD 
• Impaired brain function, memory, and learning ability 
• High blood pressure 
• Lowered blood oxygen levels 
• Increased stress response
• Brain fog 
• Malocclusion (misaligned teeth) 
• Reduced lung volume as you’re not breathing with your diaphragm as much

Mouth breathing and congestion can create a vicious cycle. When our nasal airways are congested, bacteria can thrive. This bacteria grows and can lead to infections and more congestion, and therefore more time spent mouth breathing. 

The effects of mouth breathing can be harmful in kids, too. Mouth breathing in children can lead to development issues in their facial growth, crooked teeth, and sleep loss, which can impact their growth, behavior (leading to a misdiagnosis of ADHD), academic performance, and overall health and well-being.

Mouth Breathing Causes and Worsens Sleep Apnea 

Sleep apnea is when you temporarily stop breathing throughout the night. It’s a serious sleep disorder that can lead to high blood pressure, stroke, and heart failure — among others. 

You’d think breathing through your mouth would stop this from happening — it’s a bigger airway after all. But mouth breathing can actually lead to and worsen sleep apnea. 

Here’s how: 

• Mouth breathing can lead to snoring, and snoring can lead to sleep apnea as it damages your airways making them more likely to collapse.  
• Reduced lung volume from mouth breathing makes your throat more likely to collapse and cut off your breathing. 
• When your mouth is open, it’s easy for your tongue to fall back and block your airway.  
• Mouth breathing decreases pressure in your airways, making soft tissue at the back of your mouth relax and fall inwards. This makes your airways smaller and breathing harder to do. 

When you breathe only through your nose, and it’s unobstructed, air pushes soft tissue back, keeping your airways more open. Eventually, the tissue and muscle becomes more toned and stays back, meaning you can more easily breathe through your nose. Breathing through your nose regularly trains the tissues in your nasal airways to stay open. 

It’s a vicious circle as mouth breathing makes sleep apnea worse, but sleep apnea can cause you to get into the habit of mouth breathing.  

Insomnia is linked to poor breathing at night. A study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings found many of those with insomnia also have sleep apnea.

Even when you’re not mouth breathing completely, but breathing through obstructed nasal airways, you can be doing damage. Nasal obstruction has been linked to sleep-disordered breathing like snoring and sleep apnea. 

Mouth Breathing Makes Getting the Sleep You Need Hard

The RISE app can guide you through 20+ sleep hygiene habits.

Beyond sleep apnea, mouth breathing can impact your sleep in surprising ways.

Mouth breathing can cause you to wake up often during the night, cutting into your sleep time. This might happen because it causes snoring (maybe the noise wakes you up directly or it’s your partner waking you up), or you’re awoken by a sleep apnea episode. But mouth breathing can also wake you up during the night as it lowers your arousal threshold. Nasal breathing, on the other hand, improves your arousal threshold.

Your arousal threshold is how easily you’re awoken from sleep. If your arousal threshold is low, you’ll be a lighter sleeper and it’ll be easier for things to wake you up during the night.  

This isn’t just noise or light in your bedroom, though. Poor sleep hygiene can also wake you up more easily when your arousal threshold is low. 

Sleep hygiene is the name for the set of behaviors you can do to get the best night’s sleep possible. They include things like avoiding caffeine and alcohol too late in the day, keeping a consistent sleep schedule, and getting and avoiding bright light at the right times. 

When you have poor sleep hygiene, it can take you longer to drift off and you may wake up more often during the night. Mouth breathing may make an alcoholic beverage or evening light even more disruptive to your sleep. 

You might also wake up needing to use the bathroom. Mouth breathing can cause your body to lose 40% more water — one reason you wake up with a dry mouth. 

When your sleep is disrupted through sleep-disordered breathing or sleep apnea, increased intra-abdominal pressure, higher secretion of atrial natriuretic peptide and arousals lead to nocturnal urination. Nocturnal urination is related to severity of OSA. And if you pee more, you might get the urge to drink more, and need to go again. 

Essentially, mouth breathing is a recipe for disturbed sleep, which leads to lowered productivity, energy levels, and a whole host of health issues.

Not sure if you’ve got good sleep hygiene? RISE can guide you through 20+ sleep hygiene habits to help you get a good night’s sleep. 

RISE users on iOS 1.202 and above can click here to set up their 20+ in-app habit notifications.

‍

What are the Benefits of Nasal Breathing?

Nasal breathing is exactly what it sounds like: breathing through your nose. But it’s actually much more complex than most of us realize. 

Your nasal cavities can have an effect on your body temperature, blood pressure, mood, and sleep. And it differs between the left and right nostrils, too. 

When you breathe in through your left nostril, your blood pressure, temperature, and anxiety all decrease. This side is linked to your parasympathetic nervous system, your body’s rest-and-digest mode, which promotes relaxation in the body. 

When you breathe in through your right nostril, your circulation, body temperature, cortisol levels, blood pressure, and heart rate all increase. It activates your sympathetic nervous system, your body’s fight-or-flight mode, making you more alert. 

Nasal breathing can help:

• Reduce snoring 
• Reduce sleep apnea 
• Increase energy 
• Reduce anxiety 
• Reduce infections and the common cold 
• Protect your airways from narrowing due to exercise 
• Reduce the severity of exercise-induced asthma 
• Reduce allergens (the nose filters, heats, and humidifies the air you breathe in)
• Improve performance for memory consolidation, memory recall, and visuospatial tasks
• Boost nitric oxide — nitric oxide is linked to immune system function, weight, circulation, mood, sexual function, and it may even help reduce the severity of COVID
• Improve self-reported sleep quality 

‍

How to Stop Mouth Breathing at Night?

Now you know how bad mouth breathing is for you, and the many benefits of nasal breathing, it’s time to make the switch. How you stop mouth breathing in your sleep will depend on what’s causing it. Here are a few treatments to consider.

1. Treat Congestion 

Sometimes congestion will come and go, like when you’re battling a cold or when it’s allergy season. Other times, you may be congested for longer periods of time. 

Pregnancy, for example, can cause nasal congestion, as can medications for blood pressure, erectile dysfunction, depression, and seizures. 

Try these tips to ease congestion: 

• Try over-the-counter decongestant sprays (just be sure not to overuse them as, ironically, overuse of decongestants can lead to more congestion).
• Try using a neti pot with saline solution to flush out your nasal passages.
• Breathe in steam from a hot shower or hold your head over a bowl of hot water. 
• Don’t let pets sleep in your bed. 
• Clean your sheets, pillowcase, and bedroom regularly to prevent dust from building up. 
• Drink plenty of water to flush out congestion.  
• Try sleeping with a humidifier to add moisture to the air. 

Want to stop congestion from ruining your sleep? We’ve covered how to sleep with a stuffy nose here and more advice on sleeping with allergies here.

2. Use Nasal Strips or a Nasal Dilator 

Nasal strips stick to the outside of your nose and stretch open your nostrils. Nasal dilators sit inside your nostrils, pushing them open. 

Both devices widen your nasal passages, making it easier to get enough air through them.

3. Avoid Eating Close to Bedtime 

The RISE app can remind you when to have your final meal each day.

What does nighttime eating have to do with nighttime breathing? When you eat and lay down, digestive juices can flow up into your nose, ears, mouth, and sinuses, causing inflammation and congestion and making it more likely you’ll breathe through your nose. 

Eating close to bedtime can also cause digestive issues that can keep you awake, and it can disrupt your circadian rhythm, or body clock.

Avoid eating spicy foods in particular close to bedtime as these can not only cause congestion, but cause digestive issues that can disrupt your sleep. They can also trigger acid reflux, which can also cause congestion and keep you awake. 

We’ve covered more on when to stop eating before bed in more detail here. 

The RISE app can also remind you when to have your last large meal of the day to stop it from impacting your sleep. 

RISE users on iOS 1.202 and above can click here to set up their avoid late meals reminder.

{{ cta-mini }}

4. Try Breathing Re-Education 

If there’s no obvious reason you’re breathing through your mouth at night, it may be down to habit. And while tricky, habits can be broken. 

One paper states with certain exercises, “the breath can be “trained” to restore nasal breathing, improve diaphragm function, slow the respiratory rate, and increase tolerance to changes in arterial carbon dioxide (CO2) pressure. ”

These exercises can help your breathing during the day and night. The paper adds: “If poor breathing patterns during wakefulness can be addressed, it is likely that this may provide a mechanism whereby sleep-disordered breathing can also benefit.”

Breathing re-education (BRE) aims to do this. It includes exercises to help you:

• Start breathing through your nose during the day and night
• Slow your breathing rate
• Correct the resting position of your tongue 
• Restore diaphragm function 

One benefit of BRE is that it treats the root cause of the problem. You train yourself to breathe through your nose, instead of relying on mouth tape or nasal dilators to make this happen.

For example, try taking deep breaths through your nose during the day to improve your nasal function and get used to breathing this way. Remind yourself to breathe nasally throughout the day by setting reminders on your phone or sticking a Post-it note to your bathroom mirror.

Here’s one breathing exercise you can try to decongest your nose and make nose breathing easier:

• Take a normal breath through the nose 
• Use your fingers to pinch your nose to hold your breath 
• Continue pinching and nod your head up and down, then side to side 
• Hold your breath for as long as you can, until you feel the urge to breathe 
• Let go of your nose and try to breathe through it as calmly as possible  
• Rest for 30 to 60 seconds then repeat. Do this six times. 

We’ve covered other breathing exercises before bed here, including many which encourage nasal breathing.

5. Try Mouth Taping (Cautiously!) 

If your mouth opens during the night, mouth taping can literally stop this from happening.

Mouth taping involves placing a small piece of tape over your lips to keep your mouth closed while you sleep. It could be useful for those who are able to breathe through their nose, but have a bad habit of mouth breathing.  

Some people find they only have to mouth tape for a few weeks to get used to nasal breathing. They can then breathe through their nose while sleeping without any tape at all. 

It sounds like an easy fix, but mouth taping can be dangerous, especially if you can’t get enough air through your nose. 

You can buy mouth tape that doesn’t actually cover the lips, it just surrounds the mouth and keeps the lips closed. You can also buy devices like chin straps that hold the mouth closed while you sleep. 

Seek medical advice before you try mouth taping, especially if you have asthma or sleep apnea. 

For more advice, we’ve covered mouth taping for sleep in more detail here.

6. Cut Down on Alcohol 

Alcohol may make you feel relaxed and sleepy, but it isn’t doing your breathing (or sleep!) any favors. 

Alcohol can irritate your airways and cause congestion, making it much harder to get air in through your nose. It can also increase your odds of sleep apnea, which can cause mouth breathing.

Cut down on alcohol to see if this eases congestion. Avoiding alcohol in the run-up to bedtime will also make sure it doesn’t disrupt your sleep. 

Want to dive deeper? We’ve covered how long before bed you should stop drinking alcohol here.

RISE can tell you when to have your last alcoholic drink each day. 

RISE users on iOS 1.202 and above can click here to set up their avoid late alcohol reminder.

7. Quit Smoking 

Smoking can cause irritation and inflammation in your nasal airways, meaning you may breathe through your nose. And smoking, again, isn’t a friend of sleep. 

Quit or at least cut down to see if it helps you reduce your mouth breathing. 

If you live with a smoker, this too can be a cause of your mouth breathing as tobacco smoke in the air can irritate your airways. 

8. Reduce Stress and Anxiety 

Stress and anxiety may trigger mouth breathing by activating the sympathetic nervous system, which controls your flight-or-fight response. Instead of slow nasal breathing, you may be breathing quickly, shallowly, and through your mouth. 

Stress and anxiety can also cut into your sleep time. Here’s how to reduce them: 

• Do a calming bedtime routine: Do relaxing activities in the run-up to bedtime like reading, listening to music, journaling, or doing yoga. 
• Do a brain dump: Write down everything you have to do. Research shows writing a to-do list can help you fall asleep faster compared to other types of journaling. Write your brain dump in RISE and the app will remind you of everything you write down the next day. 
• Try relaxation techniques and breathing exercises: These have been shown to lower stress and anxiety and help you drift off. They can also encourage nasal breathing, at least while you’re doing them. RISE can walk you through relaxation techniques like diaphragmatic breathing. 

You can learn more about how to sleep with anxiety here.

RISE users on iOS 1.202 and above can click here to set up their Brain Dump Habit notification

RISE users on iOS 1.202 and above can click here to go right to their relaxation audio guide homepage and get started.

{{ cta-mini }}

9. Get Checked for Sleep Apnea 

You may be mouth breathing because of sleep apnea. And, as sleep apnea is a serious medical condition that can lead to high blood pressure, stroke, and heart failure, it’s important to get tested for it if you have symptoms. 

Symptoms of sleep apnea include: 

• Waking up gasping for breath 
• Waking up with a dry mouth, sore throat, or headache 
• Snoring 
• Memory problems 
• Your breathing stops and starts in the night (your partner might notice this one)

We’ve covered how to know if you have sleep apnea here.

A doctor will be able to test you for sleep apnea and recommend the best treatment options for you.  

10. Sleep on Your Side 

The position you sleep in could make a difference to how you breathe at night. 

Back sleeping can make you more likely to mouth breath as you may get more congestion build-up in your nose. Back sleeping is also the worst position for sleep apnea and snoring. 

If you’re a back sleeper, try switching to sleeping on your side instead. If you find this difficult, experiment with body pillows to make side sleeping more comfortable, and try sleeping with a firm pillow behind you to stop you from rolling onto your back. 

Which side exactly should you choose? We’ve covered the best side to sleep on here.

11. Sleep with Your Head Elevated 

Find side sleeping uncomfortable or impossible? Sleeping on your back with your head elevated is another position that can reduce mouth breathing. 

Try using a wedge-shaped pillow to elevate your head and upper torso while you sleep. Aim for an elevation of 30 to 60 degrees. This should help to keep your mouth closed, making you breathe through your nose.  

Sleeping with your head elevated can also help to reduce snoring and improve sleep apnea. 

We’ve covered more about whether to sleep with or without a pillow and proper pillow position for sleeping here.

12. Speak to a Doctor 

Not sure the reason behind your mouth breathing? Speak to your healthcare provider. They may be able to determine what exactly is stopping you from breathing through your nose and suggest treatment options or lifestyle changes to help. 

In some cases, surgery may be needed. Nasal blockages, like excess tissue, tonsils, or adenoids can be removed. Fixing a deviated septum may also help. 

‍

How to Get Better Sleep and More Energy?

Even if you manage to fix your mouth breathing and start breathing through your nose at night, you can’t forget about the two things that are fundamental to health and energy: low sleep debt and living in sync with your circadian rhythm. 

Get these two things right, and they’ll boost your energy and health on top of nasal breathing. Get them wrong, and nasal breathing will only help marginally in the overall picture of health and well-being. 

Here’s what they are and what to do. 

Low Sleep Debt 

The RISE app can tell you how much sleep debt you have.

Sleep debt is the measure of how much sleep you owe your body. It’s compared against your sleep need, the genetically determined amount of sleep you need each night. 

We measure your sleep need over the past 14 nights and recommend you keep it below five hours to feel and function your best. 

Got more sleep debt than that? You can pay it back by: 

• Taking naps: Check RISE for the best time to do this. 
• Going to bed a little earlier. 
• Sleeping in a little later: Keep lay ins to an hour or two to avoid disrupting your circadian rhythm (more on that soon). 
• Improving your sleep hygiene: Keep an eye on your sleep hygiene to help you fall asleep faster and wake up less often during the night. This’ll help you get more sleep overall.

The RISE app can work out how much sleep debt you have and keep track of it as you pay it back.

RISE users on iOS 1.202 and above can click here to view their sleep debt.

Living in Sync with Your Circadian Rhythm 

Your circadian rhythm is your internal biological clock. It runs on a roughly 24-hour cycle and dictates everything from your sleep-wake cycle to your body temperature fluctuations and hormone production. 

You can get out of sync with your body clock when you eat or sleep at odd times, like when you work night shifts or simply don’t keep a regular schedule. 

Here’s how to get in sync: 

• Keep a consistent sleep schedule: Aim to go to sleep and wake up at roughly the same times each day, even on weekends. 
• Eat meals at roughly the same times: Eat only during the day and at roughly the same times. Avoid eating too close to bedtime as it can keep you up and lead to inflammation and congestion that make it more likely you’ll breathe through your mouth.  
• Go to bed during your Melatonin Window: This is what we call the roughly one-hour window of time when your body’s rate of melatonin production is at its highest. Melatonin is your body’s sleep hormone, and going to bed during this window can help you fall and stay asleep.

The RISE app predicts your circadian rhythm each day to help you sync up your daily life to it. 

RISE users on iOS 1.202 and above can click here to see their circadian rhythm on the Energy screen.

Make the Switch to Nasal Breathing at Night  

Mouth breathing comes with a whole host of potential health issues, from the small (like bad breath, dry mouth, and sore throat) to the much more serious (like sleep apnea, high blood pressure, and impaired brain function). 

But breathing through your nose at night isn’t always easy. Try treating congestion, sleeping on your side or with your head elevated, and doing breathing exercises to help.  

The RISE app can help boost your health, energy, and sleep even further by guiding you through 20+ sleep hygiene habits each day, tracking how much sleep debt you have, and predicting your circadian rhythm to help you sync up to it. 

How to stop mouth breathing for better sleep

Editor’s Note: Sign up for CNN’s Sleep, But Better newsletter series. Our seven-part guide has helpful hints to achieve better sleep.

CNN
 — 

Living with a plugged nose isn’t fun, but James Nestor was ready. Plus, it was for science.

cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_9356D741-32CC-7CDA-9D25-08E77F3B2AD0@published” data-editable=”text” data-component-name=”paragraph”>
While researching his book, “Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art,” Nestor let Stanford University scientists block his nostrils with silicone and surgical tape to measure the impacts of breathing through his mouth for 10 days.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be good, because there’s a very firm scientific foundation showing all the deleterious effects of mouth breathing, from periodontal disease to metabolic disorders,” Nestor said.

The surprise was just how quickly the experiment affected him.

Nestor’s blood pressure rose 13 points, edging the writer into stage one hypertension. Measurements of heart rate variability showed his body was in a state of stress. His pulse went up, and he stumbled around in a mental fog.

Your snoring could be a sign of something more dangerous

01:55

– Source:
CNN

He also snored for hours each night, developing obstructive sleep apnea. His blood oxygen levels dropped.

“We had no idea it was going to be that bad,” Nestor said. “The snoring and sleep apnea was so dramatic, and it came on so quickly, that everyone was pretty floored.”

What Nestor learned, aside from the hazards of being a research subject, was that mouth breathing can ruin a good night’s sleep.

James Nestor undergoes an endoscopy at Stanford University in the lead-up to the mouth-breathing experiment.

Courtesy James Nestor

Breathing through your mouth at night puts you at higher risk for sleep disorders including snoring, sleep apnea and hypopnea, the partial blockage of air, scientists have found. Each of those, in turn, can lead to daytime fatigue.

cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_48E2F61C-EC42-8823-8A42-08E77F42A0B3@published” data-editable=”text” data-component-name=”paragraph”>
That doesn’t mean you’re doomed to wake up in a daze because you’re prone to mouth breathing when you sleep.

Experts have a long list of strategies designed to turn you into a nasal breather — including a low-cost breathing hack you can pick up at the corner store.

There is a long list of reasons why people breathe through their mouths at night, said Dr. Steven Park, a surgeon with a specialty in sleep medicine.

“The most common reason is if your nose is stuffy,” Park said. “From allergies, or if you have a deviated septum. Lots of medications can also cause nasal congestion.”

Those problems are aggravated by lying down, he explained.

To calculate how mouth breathing affected the body and mind, Nestor measured physiological data three times a day.

Courtesy James Nestor

“Generally when you lie down the blood vessels inside your nose fill up with blood,” he said, explaining that the rush of blood causes swelling and constriction. If you can’t breathe easily through your nose, you’re likely to open your mouth for air, Park said. That triggers a positive feedback loop.

cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_03D961F3-C10B-24B1-6157-08E77F48E0C7@published” data-editable=”text” data-component-name=”paragraph”>
“You would think that if you open your mouth you would breathe better, but actually the reverse happens,” he said. Opening your jaws causes the tongue to slump backward, obstructing your airway. “Even if you don’t have sleep apnea, or you have mild sleep apnea, opening your mouth makes it much, much worse.”

Shutterstock

10 ways sleep can change your life

How do you know if you’re mouth breathing at night? Many people, Park noted, are tipped off by a spouse or partner who notices that they’re breathing through the mouth.

If you wake up with a dry mouth or lingering tiredness, they may be warning signs. Another indication of sleep apnea or other disturbed sleep is if you have to visit the bathroom multiple times in the night, said Park. Interrupted breathing stresses the heart, Park explained, triggering the release of hormones that cause you to produce more urine.

When Nestor blocked his nose for science, he experienced an extreme version of mouth breathing. But in retrospect, he realized he’d been waking up with a dry mouth for some time, a sign he’d been ditching nasal breathing for at least part of the night.

If you’re tackling your nighttime mouth breathing, Park suggested you start by taking care of your nose to minimize congestion.

“Number one, avoid eating close to bedtime,” he said. That’s because stomach juices can come up into your nose, sinuses, ears and mouth, causing congestion and inflammation.

Park also recommended nasal saline irrigation, flushing the nose with salt water in a squeeze bottle. “That’s a mild decongestant, because the salt water draws out clear water from the membrane,” he explained. (Over-the-counter decongestant sprays can cause habituation and rebound symptoms, Park said, and should be reserved for short-term use.)

Photo Illustration/Thinkstock

Think snoring is normal? Why sleep apnea shouldn’t be ignored

cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/paragraph_DE782C15-75D1-CB12-2716-08E77F53F683@published” data-editable=”text” data-component-name=”paragraph”>
Breathing problems are so widespread that they’ve spurred a whole industry dedicated to opening your nose. Park said some people find relief from nasal strips, which open up the nose from the outside, or nasal dilators that expand air passages from within.

But even if you get your nose to clear, nighttime mouth breathing can be a hard habit to break. That’s led some to seek out products that secure their lips closed at night.

Many experts warn against mouth taping while you sleep, because it can be dangerous.

“If you have obstructive sleep apnea, yes, this can be very dangerous,” said sleep specialist Dr. Raj Dasgupta, an associate professor of clinical medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, in a previous CNN article.

“There is limited evidence on the benefits of mouth taping and I would be very careful — and even talk to your health care provider before attempting it,” Dasgupta added.

Dasgupta recommended seeing an ear, nose and throat doctor or a sleep specialist to get a diagnosis and treatment plan.

Jen Rose Smith is a writer based in Vermont. Find her work at jenrosesmith.com, or follow her on Twitter @jenrosesmithvt. CNN’s Sandee LaMotte also contributed to this story.

Why people seal their mouths before going to bed

Why breathing through the nose becomes the new melatonin.

The latest beauty and wellness trends on TikTok are similar in one thing: they are easy to try on yourself – and the result, as planned, comes with the first experiment. Sleeping with a taped mouth sounds crazy at a first approximation – but supporters of the practice claim that thanks to medical tape, they began not only to get enough sleep, but also to get sick less often. What other bonuses can you expect from a piece of sticky tape that has collected more than four million views under the #mouthtaping hashtag?

Behind the decision to sleep with closed lips is the theory that breathing through the nose is more beneficial: the incoming air is more thoroughly “filtered” – fewer allergens, bacteria and viruses enter the body.

This is what, according to the proponents of the method, allows you to avoid both colds and trips to the dentist – for example, due to gum disease. Another argument in favor of nose breathing is that it lets in more air, which makes the inhale-exhale cycle slower and deeper. Breathing measuredly is important if you want to relax, especially if you can’t “slow down” for the night. But high-quality breathing also helps to gather your thoughts in the morning: during sleep, the brain is better filled with oxygen, and the chance of waking up with fog in your head becomes lower.

Sleeping with tape also has aesthetic advantages. First of all, it should help relieve dry lips after a night spent in a room with central heating, and at the same time slightly tighten the chin line, because the adhesive tape keeps the jaw in a fixed position for several hours, as if preventing it from blurring.

Somnologists are wary of the method. There are only two indications for sealing the mouth, confirmed by the medical community: snoring and sudden pauses in breathing during sleep – sleep apnea. But even here there are pitfalls: firstly, there are not so many studies aimed at studying the method; secondly, they talk about the preliminary nature of the conclusions. Finally, taping was practiced by people whose respiratory problems were defined as mild.

There are many reasons why a person starts breathing through his mouth: from simple nasal congestion to deviated septum and even oncological diseases, so before trying self-treatment from short videos, it is better to consult with a specialist. But even if you are completely healthy and decide to turn to the trend out of the pursuit of excellence, here is what is important to remember.

Choose tape, specially designed for taping – this is used for trauma recovery in surgery and sports medicine. You can use a banal patch, but then first remove a little glue with your hand in order to calmly get rid of the strip in the morning without arranging mechanical peeling in the sensitive area.

Patches are best approached with caution, if you are concerned about atopy, acne or rosacea – sticky base is not intended for reactive skin.

Starting the experiment, do not try to seal the whole mouth . Fix two pieces of tape the size of a fingernail in the corners of the lips – so the air can still pass not only through the nose, and this will reduce discomfort from the unusual position of the facial muscles at first.

Make sure that the tape is not too tight against the skin . Otherwise, you may want to clench your teeth, which will just lead to overstrain of the muscles of the neck and face and cause headaches instead of the expected relaxation.

If Scotch makes you wake up longer than a couple of nights in a row, this is a reason to unlock your mouth . Despite the calming effect of nasal breathing, some who have tried taping complain that they experience anxiety if they cannot breathe in any comfortable way.

Taping will not work without good sleep hygiene : getting enough sleep after an alcoholic party or severe stress is a super task with or without scotch tape.

5 ways to stop sleeping with your mouth open :: Sonarium — the world of dreams like, someone sleeps with their mouth open.

Also, at least a couple of times you yourself were told about this by your close or even unknown people, before whom for some reason you appeared in a sleepy state and could not control yourself.

The picture that appears before those who look at the sleeping person seems, to put it mildly, completely unsightly. The mouth is open, drooling, there is such a state as snoring, and when they breathe on a nearby person, this is also not to everyone’s liking. Of the minuses for the sleeper himself, one can name dry mouth and the risk that something can actually get into the mouth.

So, five reasons why people sleep with their mouths open, and their solutions.

1. Respiratory problem

One of the main causes of this disease is a problem with the respiratory system. If a person has frequent problems with nasal breathing, that is, the nose is blocked for some reason, then the person is accordingly forced to breathe through the mouth, respectively, the person’s mouth is open at such moments even if the person is sleeping.

With seasonal colds, as well as with chronic diseases such as rhinitis, sinusitis, sinusitis and the like, in addition to a general breakdown and physical ailment, we often have to sleep with our mouths open.

Decision

Always promptly and promptly seek medical attention at the first sign of respiratory disease. If it is possible to spend holidays in the mountains or on the coast, such places help to improve the functioning of the respiratory system, and also reduce the risk of developing allergies, which can also cause nasal congestion.

2. Incorrect position during sleep

This condition can also be provoked by an incorrect position of the body during sleep, more often this happens if you lie on your back and you have low pillows, in this case the head seems to be thrown back and the jaw opens.

During restless sleep, when we are constantly spinning and cannot, as they say, find a place for ourselves, we can take the most unusual postures, including resting our face on a pillow or blanket, thereby slightly deforming our lips, or resting our nose on the bed, which again forces us to breathe through the mouth.

Solution

To solve this problem, you need to consider several factors before going to bed and follow a series of simple procedures. Examine carefully the place where you are going to go to bed, perhaps even lie down and try whether it will be convenient for you in this or that situation, if it is uncomfortable for you to lie before sleep, then try to eliminate the cause of the inconvenience.

Also take a sedative, if necessary, if something bothers you and ventilate the room, this will help you fall asleep easier and sleep better.

3. Weakness of the circular muscles of the face

Another factor causing this disorder is the weakness of the muscles of the mouth, it is more common in young children in whom they have not yet been trained. And also in the elderly, in whom they are weakened due to age and loss of muscle elasticity. For a child under two years old, a weakened circular muscle is still acceptable, but older children need to develop it because it will then affect many things, such as the formation of adenoids and malocclusion.

Decision

As in the case of ENT diseases, you should first of all turn to specialists, and they, in turn, having studied the problem, will prescribe a set of measures to correct the situation. What you can saddle on your own is to periodically massage your face and do various facial exercises.

4. Dental diseases

Dental diseases do not seem to interfere with breathing, but at the same time they also force us to keep our mouths open, which, firstly, as we have already said, is ugly, and secondly, increases the risk of penetration microbes and deterioration. It also contributes to the formation of an unpleasant odor due to the mouth and the further development of diseases of the oral cavity.

Decision

Visit dentists at least twice a year, even if nothing bothers you, do not forget to brush your teeth and, in case of violation, apply the necessary products and perform the prescribed procedures, rinsing lotions and so on.

5.