How To Stop Mouth Breathing While Sleeping

They may discover this on their own or from their partner, and most will want to figure out how to stop mouth breathing while sleeping.

More often than not, mouth breathers are also snorers and wake up either tired or with a headache.

Mouth breathing can also cause many problems for the body without you even realizing it.

If you are a mouth breather while you sleep, it is important to consider if that is affecting your health.

If it is, you need to address it sooner rather than later. The longer you wait to address any potential problems, the worse they might become.

Today, learn more about mouth breathing while sleeping, why it could be a problem, and what you can do to improve how you sleep.

Is It Bad To Sleep With Your Mouth Open at Night?

Mouth breathing while sleeping is a problem beyond loud snoring.

When trying to learn how to stop mouth breathing at night, consider that other potential issues are caused by it, too.

Is it bad to sleep with your mouth open, or would that be dramatic to say?

It has actually been shown that sleeping with your mouth open at night can have many different effects on your body, such as:

• Causes you to sleep less restfully
• Can lead to sore throats and nasal congestion
• Can trigger loud, disruptive snoring
• Reduces your oral health and contributes to gum disease
• Can cause problems with your digestive system being too acidic
• May take in less oxygen at night

As you can see, there are many different ways that breathing through your mouth at night can cause additional strain on your body.

It is important to learn how to reduce these risks and improve how restfully you sleep.

How To Stop Mouth Breathing While Sleeping

Learning how to stop mouth breathing at night can seem overwhelming at first, but it doesn’t have to be.

A few things typically cause mouth breathing, including:

• Mouth and nasal structure
• Nasal congestion
• Stress
• Overall health

You can’t just easily change all of these things, so you will want to focus on addressing those you have control over.

In particular, pay attention to your stress levels, your nasal passages, and how you are feeling overall.

How Can I Stop Being A Mouth Breather? 3 Easy Tips

Is it possible to learn how to stop breathing through mouth without changing your whole life?

Many people feel as though changing anything about how they sleep will ruin their sleeping patterns, but that’s not true.

From simple changes to taking on drastic measures, here’s what you can do to stop mouth breathing during sleep:

1. Clear Your Nasal Passages and Any Congestion

Before going to sleep, make sure your nasal passages are clear of any obstructions and that you are not congested.

People with allergies may find relief from a daily allergy pill or inhaler.

On the other hand, those who have a cold may want to take some OTC medications.

If your nasal passages are small or commonly swell at night, using a nasal strip can help you breathe through your nose more easily.

Accept that it may take some time to get used to breathing through your nose.

You can help speed up this process by practicing breathing in through your nose as you lie down in bed and try to fall asleep.

Your body will gradually become more accustomed to breathing this way, and you can override the old habit.

2. Do Things That Will Help Reduce Your Stress Levels

Stress can cause you to breathe more rapidly and require more oxygen even while you sleep.

This means that your body may resort to breathing through the mouth rather than the nose in an attempt to calm down your senses.

That’s right; your body can act stressed even when you aren’t awake.

Addressing your stress more actively during your waking hours can help lower or even eliminate this side effect while you are sleeping.

If you’re always stressed and unsure how to cope with it, consider seeing a therapist.

Therapists can help you work out ways to manage your stress more effectively.

Hopefully, this could lead to an improvement in your sleeping habits, as well.

In the meantime, take time to exercise during the day to boost your body’s production of endorphins.

Then, at night, make sure to unwind before bed and try to relax while breathing deeply as you fall asleep.

Learning how to meditate or using a guided meditation tape to help you fall asleep can improve how much stress and anxiety you feel at bedtime.

3. Learn To Adjust Your Facial Structure

Adjusting your facial structure is the most dramatic step you can take to improve your mouth breathing problems.

If you have serious symptoms caused by how you breathe at night, your doctor may suggest that you take more serious actions.

There are two ways you can improve how your face’s structure affects your breathing.

First, you can see a type of therapist who helps retrain your facial muscles.

By retraining your muscles, you will naturally breathe through your nose rather than your mouth more easily.

Another option is to have surgery to open up your nasal passages a bit more or otherwise adjust your facial structure.

This is more likely to be necessary in cases where it is difficult to breathe at night and sleep apnea is a heavy concern.

Most cases of mouth breathing will not be treated this extremely. However, it is important to know that there are options at every level of severity.

When to Ask for Professional Help

If you are struggling to learn how to stop breathing through your mouth at night, it might be time to get a professional involved.

It can feel a little strange to ask your doctor about this but remember this: Your mouth breathing at night could affect your overall health.

Your doctor will talk to you about your concerns and what you might do to alleviate the problems.

It can be as simple and easy as him recommending a sleeping aid, like a mouthguard.

Alternatively, he might also work with you to figure out how to position yourself for sleeping with or without a pillow.

The great thing is, you’ll have someone on your side to help you work out the problems and recommend solid steps for your treatment.

Should I Try To Stop Mouth Snoring?

Do you need to stop mouth snoring to stop mouth breathing while you sleep?

The answer to this question is complicated and not so cut-and-dry.

If you are sleeping well, feeling rested, and not facing any other mouth breathing symptoms, you are likely OK to keep snoring.

After all, everyone snores sometimes.

Many factors contribute to snoring, and not all snoring is caused by mouth breathing.

However, if you are regularly snoring in a very loud, disruptive way or your partner notices that you sometimes stop breathing while snoring, it is important to seek treatment.

Disruptive snoring can be a sign of sleep apnea, which needs to be handled with caution as soon as possible.

How Do I Stop Mouth Breathing at Night?

Learning how to stop mouth breathing while sleeping and being able to actually do it are two different things.

Now that you’ve asked the right questions, it’s time to put the things you’ve learned into action.

Be patient with yourself, and don’t try to make too many changes at once.

Getting enough sleep is always going to be more important than if you breathe through your mouth or not.

Make changes one at a time, and give yourself the chance to adjust to the changes before you make additional ones.

In time, you’ll forget you ever struggled to deal with mouth breathing.

Your new routine will settle into place, and you’ll find that you are sleeping better than ever.