What is the deal with mouth breathing?!
What is the deal with mouth breathing?! It seems that mouth breathing is becoming a very prominent topic…and for good reason! Babies, children, and adults are all meant to breathe with their mouths closed, and breathe through their nose, called nasal breathing. Nasal breathing is important to develop, especially during infancy! Nasal breathing is important because….
When a mouth is closed, the optimal position is for the tongue to be up, suctioned against the palate. This prolonged suction against the palate helps to develop the palate into a nice, rounded U shape. If the tongue does not rest suctioned to the palate, the palate becomes narrow and high, which makes the nasal cavity narrow.
When we breathe through our nose, “feel good hormones” are released and the parasympathetic system is activated. When we mouth breathe, stress hormones are released and a fight/flight response is more often triggered.
Nasal breathing supports nitric oxide exchange and allows air to reach the lower part of our lungs for a fuller breath. When we mouth breathe, we work harder to breathe, may become a chest breather with shorter breaths, which in turn, puts increased cardiovascular stress on your body.