Mouth breathing

Mouth breathing means breathing mainly through the mouth instead of the nose. It is normal during hard exercise, while speaking or with a blocked nose, but as a habit at rest or during sleep it is linked to drier airways, snoring, poorer sleep quality and faster, upper-chest breathing.

Air breathed through the mouth bypasses the nose’s filtering, warming and humidifying, as well as the gentle resistance that slows the breath. Functional breath training therefore usually retrains toward nasal breathing. If mouth breathing is persistent, especially in children, it is worth having the nose and airways checked by a doctor.