“Inhale through your nose, and exhale out through your mouth.” This is the right way to breathe. However, there are instances where inhaling and exhaling through the mouth is necessary. For example, when you have a nasal blockage or during extraneous exercises. In adults, chronic mouth breathing can lead to gum disease, bad breath, snoring, hypopnea, and sleep apnea. In children, it can lead to crooked teeth or facial deformities.

What Causes Mouth Breathing?

There is a long list of reasons why people experience breathing through the mouth at night. And at the top of the list is nasal obstruction, such as Enlarged adenoids, which are the patches of tissue in the back of your throat and above your tonsils.

Other causes include:

1. Nasal allergies

2. Nasal polyps, which are growths of tissue in the lining of your nose

3. Tumors

4. Genetic abnormalities that affect your nose

5 Ways to Stop Mouth Breathing While Asleep

1. Clear your nose

Clear your passage before going to bed. You can use a nasal wash to clear the nasal congestion. The less stuffy your nasal airways are, the less you will need to breathe through the mouth and drool on the pillow.

2. Stress management

When you are stressed, you are breathing rhythm changes. You take short breaths through the mouth.

In this situation, you may need to see a doctor, meditate or change the environment. Managing stress can improve your breathing and the quality of your sleep.

3. Use the right pillow

Using a pillow helps in two ways: elevates your head high enough to open up nasal airways, and prevents acid reflux from regurgitating to the throat.

4. Exercising

Regular exercising improves your overall health and increases the need for deep breathing. This in turn forces the nose to take over the breathing.

5. Surgery

The shape of your nose or jaw could contribute to mouth breathing. If this is the case with you. You need to talk to your doctor about available surgeries.   

Conclusion

Talk to your healthcare provider if you think you or your child is developing mouth breathing. They’ll recommend treatments or medication to resolve the problem.

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