I’m surprised at how many people say they have sleep problems these days. I’m also sure that many of these people have tried:
- A dark room
- 8 plus hours of sleep
- Exercise
- Decreased caffeine
- A better bed
- Special sleep music
- Meditation, etc. etc.
Have you ever been warned about the dangers of mouth breathing while sleeping? If I recall correctly, I wrote about this a while back.
As I’ve put forth before, just as we don’t eat through our nose, we shouldn’t breathe through our mouths. Breathing through the mouth is designed primarily for emergencies, such as when we have nasal congestion or during exercise.
While mouth breathing during sleep may seem innocent,
be warned that it can lead to health issues – including an increased risk of cavities, elevated blood pressure (connected to anxiety), snoring, and other concerns. Mouth breathing has even been linked to behavioral issues in children and infants.
Fortunately, there is a solution that doesn’t require any complicated procedures or expensive purchases and is easy for anyone to try at home: Mouth tape!
Why mouth tape?
While mouth tape may sound like a joke, it’s actually been around as a suggested measures for years. Experts believe that mouth breathing is a relatively recent phenomenon for humans. When comparing our ancestors’ archeological records, there appears to be a clear difference in our facial structure and airways.
These changes may be due to factors ranging from a diet consisting of more processed food, decreased breastfeeding, air pollution, and other causes. These things combined with sleeping with our mouth open, have caused significant changes in how we generally breathe.
Charles Darwin noticed similar changes to the human skull in his research. He was one of the first to recognize the shrinking skull. He described “civilized” humans as having shorter jaws than the “savages” who lived in non-industrialized societies. He thought that the shortening may be attributed to civilized men habitually feeding on soft, cooked food, and thus using their jaws less.
These changes can somewhat be countered by using mouth tape when we sleep.
By placing a piece of tape over your lips before going to bed, your mouth will remain closed while you sleep, prompting you to breathe naturally through your nose. Nose breathing ensures that you get more oxygen to your body, properly filtered air to your lungs, improved blood pressure, a healthier oral microbiome, and various other benefits.
The results
I will now share with you the experience of a mouth breather who started taping his mouth.
“I was slightly nervous about the idea of having my mouth taped while sleeping. I wasn’t sure if I could adequately breathe through my nose when I was asleep, but quickly realized that breathing through my nose felt natural and would unlikely be an issue.”
Anyway, he taped his mouth closed and went to bed. He woke up the next morning and didn’t feel any different; he decided to stick with it.
Within a few days he started sensing improvements. He was waking up feeling rested, and without any aches and pains. He also stopped snoring. His girlfriend was super-appreciative of this change.
He also started noticing other benefits, including decreased bad breath and no dry mouth.
There is no single thing that we spend more time doing than sleep. We each spend approximately one third of our life asleep. Sleep is the primary tool for brain and body health. If we’re spending a massive amount of time sleeping incorrectly, this is something to be taken seriously.
Mouth taping provides an affordable and accessible solution for improved sleep that anyone can try. If you opt to try it, be sure to use a small piece of surgical tape or a specialized mouth tape.
There isn’t much to lose – and potentially great sleep to gain.
That’s it for now my friends; see you all the next time.
