Mouth breathing has been shown to cause:

· ADHD · Asthma · Sleep disorders · Chronic fatigue · Allergic reactions · Facial disfiguration · Decreased brain activity

What most people don't know is how breathing through the mouth affects the brain.

Researchers at the University of Korea found did a study on mouth breathing.

They found that people who breathed through their mouths had decreased function in their brains.

Source: tinyurl.com/2g75vj7y

It's been shown that around 50-60% of people are mouth breathers.

Why is mouth breathing bad?

Breathing through your mouth you put us in a sympathetic state of "fight or flight".

It can also lead to bacteria in the mouth, shallow chest breathing & disrupted sleep.

For most people, mouth breathing is a hidden handicap. Let's fix that.

The mouth was meant for eating & talking. The nose was meant for breathing.

Breathing through your nose is optimal for your health, decreases stress & improves your physical performance.

It was built for one purpose: To support your respiratory system.

Benefits of Nasal breathing

· Filters allergens · Improves your sleep · Slows down breathing · Improves lung capacity · Aids your immune system · Increases oxygen uptake · Lowers your risk of snoring & sleep apnea · Increased moisture & warmer air for lungs

Nasal breathing also stimulates the production of nitric oxide.

Nitric oxide (NO) is a molecule that plays role in delivering oxygen into cells.

NO can influence mood, weight, the immune system & sexual function.

Nasal breathing alone can boost nitric oxide by up to 6x.

A study tested 10 runners using nasal breathing.

They found that their respiratory rate, breaths per minute & ratio of oxygen intake to carbon dioxide output lowered during nasal breathing.

It allowed for more oxygen to get in the bloodstream.

Source: tinyurl.com/y83o75ls

2 ways to start breathing through the nose

Method #1 - Start with awareness.

Anytime you find yourself breathing through your mouth bring yourself back to nose breathing.

Set alarms for as a reminder to nasal breathe throughout the day.

Method #2 - Tape the mouth

Taping your mouth during the day when you're at your desk doing work or exercise.

Mouth tape forces us to start breathing through the nose & the safest time to do this is to do it when you're awake.

I recommend hostage tape or 3M micropore tape.

If you have small obstructions that prevent you from breathing through your nose I would also recommend using Breatheright nasal strips.

Lack of nose breathing can reduce the size of your nostrils making it harder to breathe.

This helps open them up to allow for more air.

If you have larger disruptions like a deviated septum then you'll need to see a qualified professional to get that fixed.

If you're not sure if you have one or not then go see a nose specialist to find out.

One thing I'll add is that I'm not perfect at this at all.

I was a mouth breather from the age of 5 until I learned about this at 41.

At times, I find myself breathing from my mouth & that's okay.

I'm willing to work on this for as long as it takes.

Changes take time.

The simplest way to improve the quality of your health is to start breathing through your nose. It costs nothing and the reward is high.

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