Did you know that HOW you breathe is so important to your overall health?!
Let’s do a quick breathing check! Take a few relaxed, deep breaths in, and out.
What did you naturally do?
Were your lips closed?
Was your tongue touching the roof of your mouth?
Was it easy and comfortable to breathe through your nose?
We are designed to breathe through our nose, with our lips closed! In myofunctional therapy, we teach 'tongue tip to spot'! You can find this spot by saying the letter “N.” Your tongue should go right behind your upper front teeth, but not touching them. Your tongue should naturally rest in this area; it should be lightly suctioned to the roof of your mouth - all day AND night as you breathe!
Here are some key reasons why nasal breathing is so important!!
Quality sleep is absolutely essential to health! Healthy and functional breathing is through the nose! If your child is sleeping with their mouth open, something may be obstructing their ability to breathe nasally. Even if your child sleeps 8-10 hours a night in their bed, the quality of their sleep is what matters, and not all breathing is created equal! When children don’t get the oxygen they need at night, or during the day, they can appear anxious, hyperactive, irritable, sleepy, and distracted!
Breathing correctly through our nose increases nitric oxide! Nasal nitric oxide is produced in the paranasal sinuses! It is a vasodialator and helps blood, nutrients, and oxygen to travel throughout our body efficiently! It is anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and anti-bacterial! When patients are mouth breathing, they are missing out on many benefits of nasal breathing, including the release of nitric oxide, which is important for the health of our ENTIRE BODY!!
Watch your child breathe at night as they sleep! Things that you don’t want to see include:
Mouth breathing
Audible breathing
Snoring
Sheets all over the bed
Chin pointing to the sky
If you or your child experiences mouth breathing, or rests with their mouth open (day or night), they may need myofunctional therapy. If you have concerns, please reach out to us, we would love to talk to you!