One of the most harmful habits we fall into is excessive mouth-breathing. This post on best-practices for healthy breathing goes into more detail about the science of why mouth-breathing is so bad for us. Here’s a quote:
After just 240 hours of breathing only through our mouths, stress-related hormones spiked… The nagging fatigue, irritation, testiness, and anxiety. The horrid breath and constant bathroom breaks. It was awful.
Mouthbreathing is also a cause of sleep apnea and snoring:
By night, the constant flow of unpressurized, unfiltered air flowing in and out of our gaping mouths [caused] persistent nocturnal suffocation. We snored. A few days later, we started suffering from bouts of sleep apnea.
Two places we end up mouthbreathing the most are in bed and in front of our computer. There are two tools that we’ve found useful in re-training ourselves to breathe through our noses.
Sleep breath training
The first helpful practice for re-training the breath is mouth tape. Mouth tape ensures we can only breathe through our nose for the entire night. This can decrease wake-ups and times you need to use the bathroom through the night (due to changes in acidity levels), and rebalance your nasal cavity. We find that we wake with a clear nasal passage and are better rested.
We’ve tested a number and find this product on Amazon to be the best. The reason we prefer this over other products we tested:
- no adhesive scent (compared with medical tape)
- works even with facial hair (compared with the cross-shaped tape)
- the adhesive weakens through the night so removing the tape in the morning is fairly easy
We recommend you don’t put the tape on until you’re sure you won’t need to take it off until morning as it is very sticky when it’s first applied. It will take a few nights to get it right where your lips are properly sealed without being too puckered.
Breath training during the day
When we’re focused on something, and especially when we’re in front of our computer, it’s common that we shift to shallow mouth breathing. This actually causes a stress response and causes a physiological shift that impairs our neurological functioning.
Learning to breathe through our nose and slow down our breath is one of the fastest ways to shift our mental state, calm down, and lower anxiety.
The Relaxator is a simple tool that blocks you from inhaling through your mouth. It also has a variable setting to restrict exhales so you can use it to train yourself to slow down your breathing.
This tool has been a game-changer for many folks we’ve coached and supported in lowering anxiety and increasing energy naturally.
We recommend you have it by your desk or near your laptop to remind you to use it as much as possible. We also recommend you clean it often as you will be exhaling through it and the condensation builds up inside it. It’s easy to take apart and wash by hand with soapy water.
Breathwork
Whether one-off sessions or as part of a daily practice, Breathwork is one of the most powerful ways to shift your state of mind, decrease stress and anxiety, and increase embodiment. Learn more about Breathwork here.
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We do not make a commission on any products we suggest on this platform. This is not medical advice and we do not guarantee any specific results.
