Mouth breathing is incredibly common, but many people don't even realize they're doing it.
You might be breathing through your mouth right now and have no idea it's happening.
The tricky part? Mouth breathing often goes unnoticed because it becomes such a natural habit.
However, there are obvious signs that can help you figure out if you're a mouth breather.
Some of these signs show up during the day, while others appear only when you're sleeping.
If you've ever wondered how to tell if you're a mouth breather, paying attention to these signs is the first step toward understanding your breathing habits better.
Today, you will find out 7 signs you’re a mouth breather, but first, what is mouth breathing and why does it happen?
Mouth Breathing: What It Is and What Causes It
Mouth breathing is when a person primarily inhales and exhales through their mouth instead of their nose.
It's a breathing pattern where air enters the body through the mouth rather than following the natural pathway through the nasal passages.
While it might seem like a minor difference, the way you breathe has a significant impact on your health.
Your nose is designed to do much more than just smell. When you breathe through your nose, the nose hairs filter out debris like allergens and pollution before air reaches your lungs.
The nose also warms and moistens the air, making it easier for your lungs and throat to function properly. Additionally, nasal breathing triggers the release of nitric oxide, a gas that enhances oxygen uptake and improves overall lung function.
In contrast, air taken in through the mouth bypasses these protective mechanisms. It's drier, cooler, and unfiltered, which can affect how well your body processes oxygen and can put extra stress on your respiratory system.
Studies show that more than 50% of children mouth breathe, with a higher incidence in boys (around 60%) than in girls (around 40%).
What Causes Mouth Breathing?
Mouth breathing typically develops early in life and can persist into adulthood.
While babies are born naturally breathing through their noses, many children switch to mouth breathing during their first few months or years, often becoming a lasting habit.
Common Physical Causes:
Nasal Obstruction: Swollen adenoids and tonsils are among the most common culprits, blocking the nasal passages and making nose breathing difficult or impossible.
Structural Issues: A deviated septum, a high narrow palate, or even a small nose can all make nasal breathing challenging.
Tongue and Lip Ties: These conditions restrict tongue movement and prevent proper tongue positioning, making it uncomfortable to keep the mouth closed while breathing.
Allergies: Chronic allergic rhinitis causes nasal congestion, forcing people to breathe through their mouths for relief.
Lower Airway Issues: Conditions like asthma can contribute to mouth breathing patterns.
Habits and Environmental Factors:
Mouth breathing habits often start in childhood due to bottle-feeding, pacifier use, and thumb sucking. Research shows that for each year of pacifier use, the probability of mouth breathing increases by 25%.
Environmental factors also play a role, like living in an overheated or poorly ventilated home can encourage mouth breathing.
7 Signs That Show You Are Mouth Breathing
Here are seven signs that reveal if you are a mouth breather.
1. Waking up with a dry mouth or sore throat
When you mouth breathe during sleep, your saliva doesn't circulate as it normally would.
Saliva protects your teeth, keeps your throat moist, and fights bacteria. Mouth breathing bypasses this protection entirely.
As you sleep with your mouth open, the air flowing through dries out your saliva and irritates your throat. You wake up parched with a cottony feeling in your mouth or a scratchy, sore throat.
If you consistently wake up needing water or with throat irritation, it's a clear sign you've been mouth breathing all night.
A sleep aid like MyoTape can help. It gently trains your mouth to stay closed during sleep, thus, supporting natural nasal breathing and helps prevent the morning dry mouth from mouth breathing.
2. Snoring or drooling during sleep
When your airway is partially blocked by mouth breathing, the soft tissues in your throat vibrate as air passes through, creating snoring sounds. Snoring isn't just annoying; it's a sign that your breathing pattern has shifted.
Drooling is another consequence of mouth breathing during sleep. When your mouth hangs open, saliva drips onto your pillow instead of being swallowed.
A 2008 study stated that about 62% of children who mouth breathe drool while sleeping, and snoring occurs in 79% of cases.
3. Persistent bad breath
Bad breath that won't go away, no matter how much you brush or floss, often comes from a dry mouth. Mouth breathing decreases saliva production because air constantly passes through.
Without adequate saliva, bacteria thrive in your mouth, leading to chronic bad breath.
Unlike occasional bad breath from food or poor hygiene, mouth-breather bad breath is persistent and resistant to standard solutions.
If you have fresh breath after brushing but it quickly becomes noticeably bad again, mouth breathing is likely the cause.
4. Hoarse voice in the morning
Your throat experiences constant dry air irritation during mouth breathing. The vocal cords and throat tissues become irritated throughout the night.
After waking up, your voice comes out rough, raspy, or hoarse, even though you haven't been using it.
This hoarseness typically improves as you drink water and your throat rehydrates, but it returns the next morning if mouth breathing continues. A consistently hoarse morning voice, without a cold or illness, is a strong indicator of nighttime mouth breathing.
5. Feeling tired, irritable, or foggy after sleep
Sleep quality depends on breathing quality. So when you breathe through your mouth during sleep, your oxygen intake becomes less efficient.
Your body works harder to get the oxygen it needs, which disrupts natural sleep cycles, leads to insomnia, and prevents deep, restorative sleep.
This poor sleep quality shows up as waking up exhausted despite sleeping 8 hours, struggling with brain fog, or being unusually irritable without a clear reason.
If you feel these symptoms consistently, mouth breathing during sleep is likely disrupting your rest.
6. Open-mouthed appearance or noisy eating
A habitual open mouth, especially noticeable during rest or quiet activities, is a visible sign of mouth breathing.
If you regularly breathe through an open mouth, especially during relaxed activities like watching TV or reading, it signals that nasal breathing isn't happening.
The same 2008 study showed that about 86% of children who mouth breathe sleep with their mouths open.
A mouth should remain closed during rest and focus activities. If the mouth hangs open frequently or for extended periods, it indicates an underlying breathing issue.
Noisy eating is another clue; when the mouth is open during eating, food doesn't move smoothly through the throat, creating unnecessary sound.
7. Trouble concentrating during the day
Oxygen is essential for brain function. When you mouth breathe chronically, your oxygen intake is reduced and less efficient compared to nasal breathing.
Your brain struggles without adequate oxygen, and concentration becomes difficult.
Mental tasks feel more taxing, and you might lose focus on work that normally feels easy.
In fact, a 2015 study found that patients with chronic rhinosinusitis, a condition often linked to nasal obstruction and mouth breathing, experience significant cognitive dysfunction and fatigue compared to healthy individuals.
What to Do If You’re a Mouth Breather
Mouth breathing can impact your health and sleep quality but the good news is that it can be corrected with intentional practice and the right support. Below are practical steps to help you retrain your breathing and enjoy the benefits of nasal breathing.
Use MyoTape to encourage mouth closure
MyoTape is a gentle, medical-grade adhesive tape designed to hold your lips together softly without completely sealing your mouth.
It acts as a physical reminder to keep your mouth closed making it easier to switch to nasal breathing during the day and especially at night.
Begin by wearing MyoTape for short periods during calm activities like reading or watching TV then gradually try it while sleeping once nasal breathing feels comfortable.
Make nose breathing your habit
Retraining your breathing starts with consciously using your nose for every breath throughout the day whether you’re resting, working, or exercising.
Nasal breathing filters, warms, and humidifies the air you breathe improving oxygen uptake and protecting your respiratory system.
Regularly remind yourself to keep your mouth closed to reinforce nasal breathing as your default.
Practice Buteyko breathing exercises
The Buteyko Method offers scientifically supported exercises that help clear nasal congestion and promote slow, gentle nasal breathing.
These exercises include breath holds and controlled breathing patterns that make nasal breathing feel easier and more natural over time.
Try nose-unblocking exercises
This is just one of the Buteyko breathing exercises. If nasal congestion is a barrier, simple breath-hold exercises can help clear your nasal passages quickly.
Sitting upright, gently exhale, pinch your nose, hold your breath while gently moving your head, then release and breathe softly through your nose. Repeat as needed to improve nasal airflow.
Stay hydrated and use a humidifier
Proper hydration keeps your nasal passages moist and less prone to congestion.
Additionally, using a humidifier in dry indoor environments, especially at night, helps prevent nasal dryness that can encourage mouth breathing.
See a doctor if needed
If you continue to struggle with nasal breathing despite these efforts, structural issues such as a deviated septum, enlarged tonsils, or nasal polyps might be involved.
Consulting a healthcare professional can help diagnose and treat these conditions, which may be necessary to restore proper nasal airflow.
Break the Mouth Breathing Habit with MyoTape
If you recognize signs like dry mouth, snoring, or daytime fatigue, mouth breathing is likely affecting your health and sleep quality.
MyoTape offers a safe, comfortable, and effective way to gently keep your lips closed, encouraging natural nasal breathing.
Designed for kids and adults alike, it helps retrain your breathing habits without discomfort or risk.
Visit our online store to check out our range of effective mouth taping products designed for everyone, including mouth tape for kids, mouth tape for adults, those with sensitive skin, and even those with beards.
