The Mouth Breathing Epidemic

The Mouth Breathing Epidemic

For centuries there have been catastrophic epidemics sweep across the known lands of earth. Taking with it many human lives. But what if I were to tell you there was a secret Epidemic that was at the root of all diseases, but wasn’t known  to the general population, would you believe? 

I want you to take a look at the following graph and analyze any prevalent themes across the disease category including: Heart Disease, Diabetes, Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Cancer, Sleep Apnea, Epilepsy, Panic Disorder.

The Negatives of Mouth Breathing can induce and be the cause of: 

• Dry Mouth
• Exercised Induced Asthma
• Snoring
• Decrease in oxygenation of internal organs, soft tissue, brain tissue
• Decreased Productivity
• Bad Breath
• Dysfunctional Facial growth
• Enlarged adenoids
• Disrupted Sleep
• Brain Fog
• ADHD
• Crooked Teeth
• Sleep Apnea
• Periodontal Disease
• Speech Impediments
• Imbalanced Mood
• Emotional dysregulation
• Decrease relation ability

If we attempt to look more deeply at what is happening and ask the question: Why is the person Mouth Breathing in the first place?

Quite typically when we become congested through the nasal cavity & sinuses when we are sick, our nose can get blocked. However, outside of having the general cold & flu, people that unconsciously breathe typically use their mouth. If someone has never brought awareness to it, they’re likely a mouth breather. 

But why? 

When you look at the ease of living in 2024, it’s easy to say most (if not all) people have various stressful events happen, both externally, but quite often internally. When the body feels it is unsafe, your fight or flight response is activated (which is a good thing!), because it helps you get out of danger. 

Modern Day Fight or Flight

However, modern day dangers aren’t the typical tiger attacking you, they’re being late for a meeting, stuck in traffic, not making enough money to pay rent, the list of external problems is never going away & puts the pressure on your nervous system to seek safety. 

The sad thing is, if you are unconscious to it, it’s likely you’re living in a state of constant fight or flight (which is not great) day-to-day. The energy demand from living in a survival state puts the remainder of your body systems on the back burner. Ie you can be living with a suppressed immune system, experience digestive issues, feeling like your brain doesn’t work like it used to, be emotionally unavailable to yourself and those closest to you, & feel like you can’t be empathetic to anyone else because your unconscious cup is way too full. 

Solutions

What can you do about it? 

1. 
   Establish if there are any problems you are solving for. If there isn’t a problem, then don’t worry. 
2. If there is a problem regarding your stress-related lifestyle you feel you need to change, then begin the first step of a deep & ongoing journey into yourself. Starting with personal reflection around the effects your noticing your nervous system having. Ie Phase 1 of the Vagus Nerve Reset by @annatheanxietycoach is a really nice place to start. Reflect on and list out
3. What are your triggers?
4. What are your glimmers
5. When I am in a state of Fight or Flight I feel:
6. When I am in Shutdown/Freeze, I feel: 
7. When I am in a relaxed state/parasympathetic I feel:
8. Assess your own Breathing. Explore any dysfunctional patterns, and begin by seeking professional support, or by doing it yourself if you have the right understanding. A rule of thumb: 
9. Try & breathe through your nose 99% of the time
10. Aim to get to 6 breaths/minute (in for 5 out for 5)
11. When stressed, acknowledge the stress. To re-balance - double inhale, extended exhale with a sigh/hum/sound. Ask the stress what it’s needing from you (the awareness of the stress)

Hope it helps! I trust it will. The best way you can utilize this short form blog is to begin implementing the activities described. Knowledge without action is pointless & powerless, unless you decide to make a choice of action.