Nose breathing increases oxygen in your blood
It adds resistance to air flow and slows down breath to increase oxygen uptake at the alveoli. Also, when you breathe through your nose you pick up nitric oxide (NO) which causes vaso-dialtion and improves oxygen circulation in your body.
Nose breathing activates the diaphragm
Which reduces stress and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system. This has widespread benefits including reducing blood pressure and heart rate, decreasing cortisol, reducing blood sugar, and increasing melatonin. Diaphragm activation has many other benefits including improving posture, improves core muscle stability and acting as a pump to circulate fluids around the body.
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Breathing affects your posture
When you mouth-breathe, to get the tongue out of the airway you must push everything forward. You end up with a forward head posture that puts more pressure on the rest of your body. In clinic, I see how this posture may predispose many different injuries, including neck strain, jaw pain, shoulder dysfunction, headaches, pins and needles in your arms, mid back pain etc.
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How you breath as a child helps determines the shape of your face
How you breathe as a child changes the structure of your face for the rest of your life. Relentless mouth breathing causes a high and narrow palate which can lead to over-crowding in the mouth and crooked teeth. There are some indigenous cultures that vigilantly pinch close their babies’ mouths when they sleep “to insure their good looks, and prolong their lives”. These people typically have more advantageous forward set jaws, better teeth and less evidence of dysfunctional breathing. Do you or your child have crooked teeth, over-crowding, chronic sinus congestion, hayfever? Listen to your breathing!
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There is a reason that mouth breathing, sleep apnoea and double chins often go hand in hand. There are many causes of sleep apnoea , but an obvious one is that if you are breathing through your mouth your tongue will fall to the back of your throat, both occluding your airway and producing a double chin. Also worth noting that mouth breathing has been demonstrated to relax the muscles around the neck and jaw, adding to the look of a double chin. Do you have a double chin?? Start noticing your breathing habits!
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If you are interested in learning more; have a listen to Patrick McKeown, author of “The Oxygen Advantage” in his Ted Talk “Shut your Mouth and Change your Life. It only goes for 16 minutes and it may in fact, change your life! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBqGS-vEIs0
If that sounds a bit dry for your taste, try ex-doctor come Youtuber Ali Abdaal video “I Slept With My Mouth Taped Shut for 30 Days” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl8LQrbMdqQ
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Another fantastic resource is on of my favourite podcasts “Mind Body Mouth” by functional dentist Dr Vijaya Molloy. Dr Vee interviews Sydney based ENT specialist Dr. Johnston on how airway problems in children might be leading to sleep dysfunctions and problems with the structural development of the mouth.
Something interesting to they discuss is how dysfunctional breathing increases childhood incidence of respiratory and ear infections requiring antibiotic use, which will affect the developing microbiome. The microbiome helps regulate our immune system and gut-brain communications (as well as a million other things, but let’s save that for another post).
Indicators that your child may have dysfunctional breathing include waking with a dry mouth, un-refreshing sleep, crowding of upper teeth, high arching of palate, long face, dental changes and a forward head posture. If you suspect your child may have a compromised airway, look into functional, holistic dentistry or at least have a peek at the podcast Mind Body Mouth for more thoughtful insights on the mouth – body connection https://mindbodymouth.com.au/
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Working with a therapist who regards the importance of functional, flexible, efficient breathing will give you and your child the best capacity for all round health. We can discuss exercises to strengthen the tongue, breathing exercises to reduce air resistance and breathlessness, mouth taping and other strategies to retrain breathing habits.
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References
Al Ali, A., Richmond, S., Popat, H., Playle, R., Pickles, T., Zhurov, A.I., Marshall, D., Rosin, P.L., Henderson, J. and Bonuck, K. (2015). The influence of snoring, mouth breathing and apnoea on facial morphology in late childhood: a three-dimensional study. BMJ Open, 5(9), p.e009027.
Beeckmans, N., Vermeersch, A., Lysens, R., Van Wambeke, P., Goossens, N., Thys, T., Brumagne, S. and Janssens, L. (2016). The presence of respiratory disorders in individuals with low back pain: A systematic review. Manual Therapy, 26, pp.77–86.
Grippaudo, C., Paolantonio, E., Antonini, G., Saulle, R., La Torre, G. and Deli, R. (2016). Association between oral habits, mouth breathing and malocclusion Associazione fra abitudini viziate, respirazione orale e malocclusione. ACTA OTORHINOLARYNGOLOGICA ITALICA, [online] 36, pp.386–394. Available at: https://dx.doi.org/10.14639%2F0392-100X-770 [Accessed 31 May 2020].
Jefferson, Y. (2010). Mouth breathing: adverse effects on facial growth, health, academics, and behavior. General Dentistry, [online] 58(1), pp.18–25; quiz 26-27, 79-80. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20129889/ [Accessed 13 Sep. 2021].
McKeown, P., O’Connor-Reina, C. and Plaza, G. (2021). Breathing Re-Education and Phenotypes of Sleep Apnea: A Review. Journal of Clinical Medicine, [online] 10(3). Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33530621/ [Accessed 21 Sep. 2021]
Neiva, P. D., Kirkwood, R. N., Mendes, P. L., Zabjek, K., Becker, H. G., & Mathur, S. (2018). Postural disorders in mouth breathing children: a systematic review. Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy, 22(1), 7–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjpt.2017.06.011
P, K., J, S., M, K., J, S., O, C., R, A., K, K. and A, K. (2012). Postural Function of the Diaphragm in Persons With and Without Chronic Low Back Pain. [online] The Journal of orthopaedic and sports physical therapy. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22236541/.
