Should you sleep with your mouth open or closed?

Sleep is crucial for good health and wellbeing. As adults, we spend about a third of our lives asleep. Getting enough high-quality sleep is vital for cognitive function, immune health, metabolism, memory, learning and much more. With so much time spent sleeping, optimizing your sleep habits can have a big impact on your health and quality of life. One important factor in sleep quality is whether you sleep with your mouth open or closed. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll analyze the evidence and provide science-based recommendations on the pros and cons of open vs. closed mouth sleeping.

Quick answers

– Sleeping with your mouth open can lead to snoring, dry mouth, bad breath and interrupted sleep.
– Sleeping with your mouth closed promotes unobstructed breathing and may improve sleep quality.
– Factors like nasal congestion, anatomical abnormalities and sleep apnea may make mouth breathing unavoidable.
– Lifestyle changes, medical treatments and oral appliances may help habitual open-mouth sleepers transition to closed-mouth sleep.

What causes open mouth sleeping?

Mouth breathing during sleep often occurs when airway blockages in the nose force you to breathe through your mouth. Common causes include:

Nasal congestion

Inflammation, mucus production and swelling in the nasal passages from colds, allergies, or environmental irritants can obstruct normal nasal breathing. This nasal congestion is a prime reason your mouth falls open during sleep.

Anatomical abnormalities

Structural issues like a deviated septum, nasal polyps, or a narrow/collapsed nasal valve can restrict nasal breathing at night. These abnormalities cause mouth opening during sleep to compensate.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)

OSA occurs when the muscles supporting the soft tissues in the throat relax during sleep, causing airway collapse and blocking breathing. Mouth opening reflexively occurs in an attempt to maintain airflow. OSA affects over 100 million adults globally.

Habit

Sometimes mouth breathing during sleep occurs simply out of habit, not from nasal obstructions. For instance, if you consistently slept with your mouth open as a child, continuing this into adulthood can form an ingrained sleeping habit.

Pros and cons of open mouth sleeping

Below we’ll analyze the key pros and cons associated with sleeping with an open mouth:

Pros

– Allows airflow if the nose is congested/obstructed
– Can reduce snoring by allowing more air intake
– Prevents feeling suffocated if nasal passage swelling occurs during sleep

Cons

– Increased risk of snoring and sleep apnea
– Dry mouth, sore throat and bad morning breath
– Greater exposure to allergens, cold/flu viruses and irritants
– Promotes jaw misalignment and dental issues
– Interrupts continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy for sleep apnea
– Reduces sleep quality through noise and throat drying

Clearly, the drawbacks seem to outweigh the upsides when it comes to leaving your mouth agape at night. Now let’s explore these pros and cons in greater detail:

Increased snoring and sleep apnea risk

Snoring vibrations are created when turbulent airflow passes over relaxed throat tissues. Mouth breathing encourages turbulence and collapsing throat tissues, ramping up snoring. And evidence links open-mouth sleeping to increased obstructed breathing events characteristic of sleep apnea.

Dry mouth and throat

Mouth breathing leads to dry mouth and throat irritation by evaporating protective saliva. This parching effect also deprives oral mucosa of antibacterial and buffering components in saliva, promoting dental decay.

Greater allergen exposure

Inhaling freely through an open mouth bypasses the nose’s natural filter that traps airborne particles. This leaves the airways and lungs more vulnerable to irritation from allergens, pollutants and infectious agents.

Jaw misalignment and dental issues

Sleeping with your mouth open can misalign your jaw over time by creating imbalance in the facial muscles. This can contribute to teeth grinding, changes in occlusion and bite, and pain/damage to the teeth and jaw joint.

Disrupts CPAP therapy

CPAP machines treat sleep apnea by delivering constant air pressure through a nasal mask to keep airways open. Mouth leaks during sleep dissipate this therapeutic pressure, reducing CPAP effectiveness.

Interrupts sleep

The noise and uncomfortable throat drying caused by open-mouth breathing make it harder to sustain deep, uninterrupted sleep cycles. Poor sleep from mouth breathing can result in chronic fatigue.

Benefits of closed mouth sleeping

Sleeping with your lips sealed offers several advantages in comparison to open-mouth slumber:

Unobstructed breathing

Nasal breathing facilitates laminar, non-turbulent airflow and allows effective air filtration, humidification, and warming. Keeping your mouth closed helps maintain this optimal respiration.

Less snoring and sleep apnea

Because nasal breathing encourages open, uncongested airways, closed-mouth sleep is linked to reductions in snoring and sleep apnea severity. This effect improves sleep quality for you and any sleep partners.

Supports oral and dental health

The moist environment produced by closed-mouth breathing prevents dryness, promotes remineralization of tooth enamel, and maintains healthy oral mucosa. This reduces dental caries and periodontal disease risk.

Optimizes CPAP function

Sleeping with your mouth closed ensures CPAP air pressure therapy works effectively by eliminating mouth leaks that dissipate pressure. This enhances CPAP results.

Allows better sleep quality

Absence of mouth breathing noises, uninterrupted closed-mouth airflow, and avoiding throat dryness provides conditions conducive to deeper, more refreshing sleep.

Tips for transitioning to closed-mouth sleep

If you chronically sleep with your mouth open, several methods may train your body and mind for closed-mouth sleeping:

Improve nasal breathing

Address any nasal obstructions, allergies or anatomical abnormalities making nasal breathing difficult. Use nasal strips, saline spray, antihistamines or decongestants as needed.

Try mouth taping

Gently taping your lips together with medical tape or micropore tape can serve as a physical reminder to keep your mouth closed through the night.

Use a chinstrap

Wearing a chinstrap device applies light pressure to keep your jaw and mouth from opening during sleep. This is a simple mechanical solution.

Increase daytime nasal breathing

Make conscious efforts to breathe through your nose rather than your mouth during the day to break habitual mouth breathing patterns.

Sleep on your side

Sleeping on your back allows the jaw to fall backward, promoting mouth opening. Sleeping on your side helps keep airways open and your mouth naturally closed.

Try an oral appliance

Custom-fit oral appliances designed to keep the jaw forward can effectively close the mouth during sleep. They prevent the jaw from dropping back at night.

Improve sleep hygiene

Ensure good sleep hygiene with a relaxing bedtime routine. Optimize sleep conditions by eliminating noise, light, and temperature extremes in your bedroom for better quality rest. Healthy sleep habits promote closed-mouth slumber.

Perform oropharyngeal exercises

Exercises like pressing the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth help strengthen the muscles that control mouth opening and closing. They can re-pattern the neuromuscular system for closed-mouth sleep.

Who should avoid mouth taping?

While mouth taping can be an effective strategy to train closed-mouth sleep for many people, certain groups should use caution or avoid trying it altogether:

– Children under age 5 – Risk of inadvertent tabe removal and airway obstruction is higher in young children. Conservative methods like chin straps are safer.

– Active sinus infections – Taping during acute sinusitis or rhinitis can worsen congestion and completely obstruct breathing through the nose.

– Sleep apnea – Mouth taping shouldn’t be attempted for sleep apnea without guidance from a sleep physician, as it may exacerbate breathing events if done incorrectly.

– Anxiety sufferers – Some people feel claustrophobic having their mouth taped at night, provoking panic and anxiety.

– CPAP users – Disrupting open-mouth CPAP with concurrent taping can impede airflow and should only be done under medical supervision.

– Nasal valve collapse – Individuals with nasal valve problems may receive insufficient air through the nose to tolerate taping.

– Receding jaw/overbite – Recessed chins and overbites often require some mouth opening at night to maintain airway patency. Taping may not be suitable.

Mouth taping requires adjustment and prudent precautions. Consult your dentist or physician before attempting taping if you have any of these medical issues. Monitor for any breathing problems or discomfort and discontinue taping if adverse effects occur.

Conclusion

Based on extensive research, sleeping with your mouth closed appears advantageous for most people in terms of better breathing, reduced snoring/sleep apnea, superior oral health and enhanced sleep quality. However, some individuals with obstructed nasal airways require open-mouth breathing at night to avoid suffocation.

Strategies like improving nasal patency, using chinstraps, adjusting sleep position, and performing oropharyngeal exercises can help habitual open-mouth sleepers transition to healthier closed-mouth sleep. But caution is advised for mouth taping in children and people with certain medical conditions.

Working to optimize your sleep breathing patterns provides dividends through more restful slumber. Consult your dentist or doctor if you have ongoing issues with mouth breathing during sleep to explore solutions tailored to your specific needs and anatomy. Adopting the ideal mouth position for your personal sleep physiology will pay dividends in improved sleep, health and wellbeing.

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