Shut Your Mouth...For Better Health!

Shut Your Mouth...For Better Health!

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Hi everyone. Welcome to the podcast. I am Dr. Michael Bennett. Grateful to be here with you today.

As many of you know, there's been a lot of interest in the podcast, resources, and literature—books and so forth—on the concept or topic of breathing, particularly how important nasal breathing is versus mouth breathing.

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Case Study: A Nine-Year-Old Boy

This has been on my mind as I considered a nine-year-old boy who came into my office with his parent. He told me in his sweet nine-year-old voice, “I just can't breathe through my nose and I have to open my mouth to breathe.” Hearing him say that broke my heart. That was his reality—his baseline normal—and it was all he had ever known.

This pleasant young boy obediently sat in the chair while his parent and I discussed his health. During the exam, I saw what I often see in these cases: underdeveloped facial structures, underdeveloped maxilla, small nasal airways, and a chin set behind the vertical line of his eyes. His mouth showed crowding of the teeth, and his tongue was compressed like a caged animal. The evidence was clear—this boy was a chronic mouth breather with anatomical nasal obstruction, undergoing silent distress.

Books such as The Oxygen Advantage by Patrick McKeown and Breath by James Nestor underscore the critical role nasal breathing plays in preventing chronic disease and enhancing longevity. Mouth breathing, in contrast, stimulates the sympathetic nervous system—keeping the body in a stressed “fight-or-flight” mode.

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Anatomy and Function of the Nose

Let’s examine why the nose is such an essential organ.

Start with the visible part: two nostrils filled with hair. I once had a dentist who never wore his mask over his nose, and his forest of nose hairs made quite an impression on me. Though funny, it emphasized how vital that filtration system is.

Many people remove their nose hairs by waxing. I saw a video of someone painfully ripping them out—effectively disabling part of their natural defense system.

Inside the nasal passages are anatomical structures called turbinates or conchae—curled shelves of tissue opposite the septum. These turbinates humidify, heat, and filter the air and help control airflow velocity, ideally about 100 miles per hour. This speed ensures the air reaches deep into the lungs.

But surgical overcorrection—like excessive turbinate reduction—can strip away this protective function. Patients can end up with dry, painful nasal cavities and improper air filtration.

Then we have the adenoids located at the back of the nasal cavity, functioning as immune filters. The palatine tonsils near the tongue also participate in filtration and disease defense.

Compared to the constantly open structure of the nose, the mouth presents barriers: lips, teeth, tongue, soft palate, and uvula. These are built for eating, not breathing.

Nasal breathing pulls air through a system designed to purify, humidify, and disinfect it before it enters the lungs. And nasal air contains an amazing ingredient: nitric oxide.

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Nitric Oxide: The Body’s Natural Air Enhancer

Dr. Louis Ignarro, a Nobel Prize-winning pharmacologist, discovered the critical role of nitric oxide in cardiovascular health. Nitric oxide, produced in the nasal passages and sinuses, dilates both the blood vessels and the alveoli in the lungs. This process enhances oxygen transfer into the bloodstream.

When we belly breathe (diaphragmatic breathing), we allow air to reach the lower parts of the lungs. Try placing a hand on your stomach—if it rises with each inhale, you’re using your diaphragm. That’s how our bodies are designed to breathe under restful, normal conditions.

Under stress, we switch to chest breathing—using the upper ribs, shoulders, and neck. That’s fine in emergencies, but not for daily life. Chronic chest breathing keeps us in survival mode and undermines oxygen delivery.

So what happens when our cells don’t get enough oxygen? They malfunction or die, just like a neglected plant. In animal models, sleep-deprived subjects exposed to cancer had significantly worse tumor progression. It’s reasonable to infer that poor breathing, sleep, and oxygenation in humans could produce similar risks.

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Treatment Plan for Nasal Breathing

Back to our nine-year-old boy. Our goal is to help him reestablish nasal breathing.

We’ll begin with two breathing retraining programs: the Buteyko method and a technique called PACES. Both aim to normalize nasal breathing, improve blood pH, and retrain the brain’s respiratory centers.

We’ll also prescribe a special oral appliance to be worn 2–4 hours during the day. This durable bite device brings the jaw slightly forward, activating and developing the jaw and facial muscles while encouraging closed-mouth, nasal breathing.

Why? Because muscle activity stimulates bone growth. By encouraging proper muscle use and nasal airflow, we hope to reshape his airway structures.

Over time, he’ll wear the appliance at night as well. Once he’s comfortable breathing nasally during the day, we may introduce mouth tape—light athletic tape—not to restrict breathing, but to train the lips to stay together.

In tandem with this, we’ll use nasal moisturizing sprays like Xlear (xylitol saline) and possibly a humidifier to improve nasal patency.

The principle is simple: use it or lose it. Use the nose, and the body will open and strengthen the nose. Just like going to the gym strengthens muscles, nasal breathing strengthens nasal passages.

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Impact of Breathing on Overall Health

If this nine-year-old boy cannot restore proper nasal breathing, he will remain in a chronic sympathetic—or “fight or flight”—state. The brain perceives a lack of air as an emergency and shifts into survival mode. This disrupts nearly every system of the body.

For example, growth is deprioritized when the brain believes the body is under threat. If you're constantly under respiratory stress, your body won’t devote energy to development or healing. Growth hormone secretion—which occurs predominantly during deep sleep—is suppressed. This can lead to stunted development, delayed puberty, and chronic fatigue.

This stress response also impairs fertility. If a person cannot breathe well during sleep, the reproductive system receives less blood flow. Hormonal regulation is disrupted. In fact, clinical studies have shown that women with untreated sleep apnea have higher rates of infertility and poor pregnancy outcomes. Similarly, men with sleep-disordered breathing can experience reduced testosterone and sperm production.

The same goes for the digestive system. Our 22-foot-long gastrointestinal (GI) tract relies heavily on parasympathetic activity—the “rest and digest” mode—to maintain motility, nutrient absorption, and immune defense. When the body is stuck in sympathetic mode, digestion slows or halts altogether. Food stagnates, causing bloating, gas, and inflammation. Over time, this can contribute to conditions like Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), reflux, or even autoimmune flares.

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Breathing and Sleep Quality

Here’s another critical point: people who cannot nasal breathe tend to have lower oxygenation throughout the night. One study showed that mouth breathing reduces oxygen saturation significantly compared to nasal breathing. Over the long term, this oxygen deprivation contributes to:

• Cardiovascular disease (including hypertension)
• Insulin resistance
• Cognitive decline
• Depression and anxiety
• Weakened immune function

A child—or adult—who mouth breathes, snores, or struggles with chronic nasal obstruction is likely not getting sufficient REM or deep sleep. That means poor memory, mood dysregulation, reduced muscle recovery, and low daytime energy.

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Simple Strategies for Nasal Health

There are simple, effective ways to support nasal breathing and boost immune resilience—especially during cold, dry seasons or in the presence of allergens:

• Use a humidifier in your bedroom at night to counteract dry air from heating or air conditioning.
• Rinse your nose daily with a saline spray such as Xlear, especially during allergy season.
• Shower or bathe before bed to remove environmental allergens from your skin and hair.
• Practice diaphragmatic (belly) breathing during the day to reinforce proper oxygenation.
• Keep your lips together as much as possible when not speaking or eating. This trains the body to default to nasal breathing.

These practices not only support cleaner airways but also reduce your risk of viral infections like COVID-19—which often begin in the nasal passages.

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Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Let’s return to our case study. This young boy’s entire health trajectory will be changed if we can help him breathe through his nose again. His growth will normalize. His facial structure will expand. He’ll sleep deeply, repair naturally, and avoid a lifetime of health issues that often go unrecognized until adulthood.

Mouth breathing is not a harmless habit—it’s a gateway to chronic disease. The nose is our most sophisticated breathing tool. It filters, humidifies, and delivers air with the right chemistry—rich in nitric oxide—to every cell in the body.

So, remember:

• Mouths are for eating.
• Noses are for breathing.
• Sleep is when we heal.
• Air is our most important nutrient.

Evaluate your breathing habits. Watch your children. Open your nose and unleash your body’s full healing potential through the power of sleep.

Until next time, take care of your airway—and take care of each other.

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Recommended Resources for Further Learning:

• Breath by James Nestor
• The Oxygen Advantage by Patrick McKeown
• Xlear Nasal Spray for Allergy Relief
• Buteyko Breathing Techniques
• American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine

Let your next breath be through your nose—and your next step toward better health.

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