Challenge #8: Closed Mouth Posture

Why nasal breathing matters, how open-mouth posture affects your body, and a challenge to help you breathe better.

I know this topic is trendy right now, but it’s worth talking about because your mouth posture—whether open or closed—significantly impacts your biology. This is why mouth taping has become so popular in recent years.

That said, mouth taping should come with a warning: do not attempt mouth taping without first understanding how well you can breathe through your nose during the day.

Important Note: Mouth taping should not be done on children or without ruling out conditions like sleep apnea, allergies, or other health issues. The ability to breathe adequately through the nose during daily activities is essential before trying any interventions.

**This post is NOT to encourage mouth-taping. At least, not yet.

If you’re an open-mouth breather, it’s not happening without reason.

Creating a closed-mouth posture may include either a) addressing why you need to breathe with your mouth open or b) retraining yourself to have a closed-mouth posture.

For some people, open-mouth breathing is their body’s way of compensating for insufficient air intake (even though it’s not the ideal way to get air).

What Is Mouth Breathing?

Mouth breathing occurs when someone primarily takes in air through their mouth instead of their nose. Although it might seem harmless, it can lead to significant biological changes and health challenges.

By design, we’re meant to breathe through our noses, which offers numerous benefits, including signaling a sense of safety to the brain. However, many people shift to mouth breathing for various reasons.

Common causes of mouth breathing include:

• Nasal obstructions

• Deviated septum

• Chronic allergies

• High, narrow palate

• Tongue-tie or lip-tie

• Asthma

• Environmental factors

The biological impact of mouth breathing includes:

1. Decreased Oxygen Absorption: This can increase the risk of sleep apnea.

2. Poor Oral Health: A 2018 study found that mouth breathers had higher levels of dental plaque and harmful bacteria, leading to more cavities and gum issues.

3. Reduced Cognitive Function: A 2021 study showed that mouth breathing reduces brain activity and connectivity, affecting mental performance and energy levels.

4. Facial Changes: Over time, mouth breathing can narrow and elongate the face, weaken the chin, and worsen posture.

My Personal Experience with Open Mouth Posture:

Eight years ago, I learned how my open-mouth posture impacted my health. It was my dentist who spotted the pattern and helped me address it - eight cavities later.

You know my oral health saga from the oil-pulling post.

At one point (and after investing what felt like my entire life savings into fixing my teeth), I started questioning why I had so many cavities in the first place. It wasn’t because I ate the stereotypical cavity-driven diet loaded with sugar (this is a myth anyways).

Instead, I learned, thanks to my dentist, that it was because I had an open-mouth posture. Most of the air I took in was moving through my mouth, not my nose, altering my oral bacteria (and thus health).

Now, you might be envisioning me walking around with my mouth hanging wide open. That's fair but not accurate. Most open-mouth posture (outside of the typical car nap that leaves your mouth gaping open with drool streaming down) is generally subtle. So much so that it’s not always easy to notice until you consciously attempt to keep your mouth shut.

Challenge: Keep Your Mouth Closed

The challenge is not about keeping your mouth shut regarding how you communicate (although my husband might like me to take that challenge occasionally). This is a challenge about maintaining a closed-mouth posture outside of speaking.

If you’re a mouth-breather this may feel really uncomfortable at first. Start slowly. If you feel like you’re suffocating, seek help. But in general, it will take time to retrain your body to create a new pattern of closed mouth posture where you can maintain a soft seal with a relaxed jaw (no clenching).

Posture Matters:

As I mentioned, an open-mouth posture can worsen your posture, but your posture can also lead to open-mouth breathing. I’m not here to necessarily argue if it’s the chicken or the egg that came first, but if I had to pick, I’d say poor posture leads many people to exist with an open-mouth posture.

Try it out for yourself and see how different postural positions change how your jaw works.

Let’s start with the ‘phone neck ’: Drop your chin towards your neck. Do you see how the closer you move your chin to your neck, the more your jaw naturally opens?

Another posture leading to open-mouth breathing is a ‘tucked pelvis.’ Try pulling your pelvis underneath yourself and suck your abs in. Do you see how your jaw begins to open your mouth?

Closed mouth posture is just as much about full body posture as it is about consciously closing your mouth because your posture will impact how long you keep your mouth closed.

More on that to come.

For now, the challenge is simple: Practice awareness of your breathing.

Notice how you hold your mouth and body throughout the day. Start by gently closing your mouth, sealing your lips, and relaxing your jaw. After that, practice taking deep belly breaths through your nose.

For some of you, this challenge will be a cakewalk. But for others (who were like me), this one will be a real challenge!

As you work on that, I’d love to hear your stories or experiences with open-mouth breathing. Have you noticed how it impacts your health?

Don’t forget to tune in Thursday as I drop that podcast on body posture!