Tools for Mouth Breathing
After posting on the negative impact of mouth breathing, a common question I have been receiving is: “my family member is a mouth breather, what can I do to help them?”
In this post, I included some helpful tools for you to explore. This is not medical advice and there can be contraindications, so be sure to research each before trying and a reminder to always check with your personal health care provider before implementing anything you read on the internet.
With that said, here are my top recommendations for you to research further:
Mouth Taping:
Brand option: Somnifix
This helps retrain you breathing habits by forcing you to breathe through your nose which helps increase nitric oxide production, which is sooo important for blood flow + oxygenation throughout your body. It can help reduce snoring, heavy/loud mouth breathing, drooling, dry mouth, + teeth grinding.
Bonus: This impacts hormone health, gut health, thyroid/metabolism, energy, and more!
*Caution: Check with your doctor before use if you have sleep apnea, nasal congestion, have heart problems, low blood pressure, or are on sedatives.
Nasal Dilators
Brand options: Mute.
These are an over-the-counter snoring remedies — small, comfortable devices made of soft, adjustable polymers that sits inside your nose, increasing airflow and improving breathing. I would recommend starting with a trial box to find the best fit for you.
Breathe Right Strips
These work by influencing your nasal pathways and relieve nasal congestion by increasing nasal airflow. Breathe Right strips provide you with stuffy nose relief to help you breathe better. In some people, these also provide snoring relief by improving nasal airflow by up to 31%.
In a study of thirty-five habitual snorers (18 female, 17 male) and their bedpartners it was found that Breath Right nasal strips significantly decreased snoring (PMID: 9299650).
Snoring and mouth breathing often go together because the body compensations. Wearing the strips at night is a helpful way to reduce snoring and mouth breathing.
The HomeBlock Device
Simply taken from their website: The Homeoblock™ appliance is a revolutionary patented oral device that is much like a retainer in looks, but the results go way beyond teeth straightening.
The Homeoblock™ appliance works with the body so that physiological changes occur naturally. When wearing the Homeoblock™ the appliances’ design sends a cyclical intermittent light force signal to the periodontal ligament, which surrounds the root of the teeth. The Homeoblocks™ unique Unilateral bite block®simulates the body by replacing the missing hard food in our diet. Epigenetic signaling generates new bone growth and positional changes in the facial bone structure.
The MyoBlock
The Myobrace®K0 focuses on establishing a functional airway and initial tongue strengthening in mouth breathing children, especially during sleep. Its unique feature is a large collapsible breathing hole which initially opens the oral airway while transitioning to nasal breathing. Learn more at: myoresearch.com
Myofunctional Therapy
Myofunctional therapy is a therapy that focuses on training muscles around your face, mouth, and tongue. The exercises are designed to improve issues with talking, eating, or breathing.
A meta-analysis (nine studies, 230 patients) evaluating effects of myofunctional therapy on children with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea concluded that myofunctional therapy reduced AHI from 4.32 (5.2) to 2.48 (4.0) events per hour, increased mean oxygen saturation, and decreased persistent mouth breathing in children (PMID: 32861058).
Important Things to Remember
Mouth breathing is a sign the body is compensating. These tools are quick fixes, but addressing the roots often involves a whole body approach. Also expecting something to reverse in weeks that has been occurring for years is simply not realistic. Give it time!
These include:
Addressing chronic stress + nervous system regulation
Nutrient deficiencies
Spiritual health
Body patterns+ fascia development
Environmental factors
A great book to explore the importance of how we breathe is a book called Breath by James Nestor. Just a disclaimer: As a Christian, I personally do not agree with the evolutionary world view of the human body that the writer holds to, but there are some very valuable pieces of information in his book.
Have a question about mouth breathing you would like to see covered in a blog? Email us at megan@refinedwellness.org
Sources:
https://drtheodorebelfor.com/the-homeoblock-appliance/
https://somnifix.com
