I've been told that it is not natural to breath through your mouth
while you are sleeping. We are called mouth breathers. Several times
during the night, I wake up to take a few sips of water. I am taking
medications that cause mouth dryness and have been recenetly tested
for diabetes, beacuse thirst is an indicator of that. I am not
diabetic.Is it normal or not to breath through your mouth during
sleep?
From waking up so often for water, I am often tired after eight hours
of sleep. Because of a medical condition, I have no choice as to
whether or not to take these medications. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Yesmam

Howdy again, yesmam. You and I seem to have many points in common! As
a mouth-breather myself, I did some checking on this a while back. The
consensus of opinion is that breathing through the mouth during sleep,
while not uncommon, is abnormal, and should be avoided. Here you'll
find some online discussions of the subject:

Nose Breathing Research
http://www.nosebreathe.com/research.html

Optimal Breathing
http://www.breathing.com/articles/nose-breathing.htm

Normal Breathing During Sleep
http://www.sleepdentist.ca/Sleep/SleepAndBreathing.html

There are several products that you might want to consider:

"Breathe RightŪ nasal strips help alleviate snoring -- without drugs.
By gently lifting and opening nasal passages, the strips help stop
mouth breathing and reduce the likelihood of snoring, no matter what
the cause. The result: better quality sleep for everyone in your
household."

Breathe Right
http://www.breatheright.com/snoring/snoring.asp

"CHIN-UP STRIPS...

STOP LOUD SNORING

END DRY MOUTH"

Chin-Up
http://www.chin-up.com/index.html

"Honolulu Orthodontist, Dr. Steven Sue, introduces the Nose Breathe
Mouthpiece and a new heavy snorer version; training appliances to
enhance nasal breathing and reduce snoring. The implementation of nose
breathing may not be simple. It requires lifestyle changes. The nose
breathe mouthpiece will help make it easier for you to make the
changes.

Mouth breathers are often prone to nasal congestion, watery and itchy
eyes, runny nose, allergies, dry coughing, snoring, tongue thrusting,
abnormal swallowing habits, crooked teeth, low energy level, and
asthma. If you are searching for solutions to these common ailments,
order your own 'satisfaction guaranteed' training appliance. Discover
why nasal breathing is so beneficial to ones health."

Nose Breathe
http://www.nosebreathe.com/index.html

"Sleep Angel is a lightweight device that supports your jaw
comfortably while you sleep, so it helps keep your mouth closed while
you’re sleeping. Sleep Angel actually helps you “retrain” the skin and
tissue in your mouth and throat, so that they return to the size and
shape they once were. The result is that, with continued use, Sleep
Angel can help you help you stop snoring and get a better night’s
sleep. Sleep Angel is comfortable to wear and comes in three sizes.
Sleep Angel can be worn by everyone in the family!"

Private Meds
http://www.privatemeds.com/sleepangel.htm

"Breathe EZ applies a small amount of pressure to stimulate nerves,
resulting in opening the nasal passages so you can breathe through
your nose... Our product can help alleviate constant nighttime
breathing interruptions that lead to poor health. You don't have to
wake up with a sore throat, fatigue and other effects from a poor
night's rest."

Sleep Apnea Symptoms
http://www.sleep-apnea-symptoms.com/

"The Mandibular Repositioning Devices [MRD] is the largest family of
appliances available for the treatment of snoring and sleep apnea. Of
the more than 50 appliances available on the market today, fewer than
15 are accepted by the FDA for the treatment of obstructive sleep
apnea. ALL of the accepted appliances are custom-made in a laboratory
and cannot be fitted in a single appointment. Only a few of the
available appliances will be discussed, but others will be listed at
the end of the discussion.

All MRD appliances work approximately the same way. They all fit
extremely tightly over the patient's teeth and they all pull the
bottom jaw forward into a 'bulldog bite' and hold the teeth in the
most closed position possible."

Sleep Apnea Dentistry
http://sleepapneadentist.com/MRD.htm

I tried a Mandibular Repositioning Device, and I never got used to it.
It was rather scary. I felt as if it might turn me into Billy Bob
Thornton in "Sling Blade." I cannot vouch personally for any of the
other gizmos listed above, since I have decided not to treat my own
mouth-breathing problem. A carafe of water by my bedside is the only
device I am currently using. That, along with the ever-popular bedroom
accessory - an understanding husband. ;-)

Google search strategy:

Google Web Search: "mouth breathing"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22mouth+breathing

As always, if anything is unclear, or if further information is
needed, please request clarification.

Best,
Pink

---

Clarification of Answer by pinkfreud-ga on 09 Oct 2003 18:00 PDT

I found a bit more.

Here's an excerpt from a newsgroup post that may be of interest:

"The best thing that I have found so far to stop mouth breathing is to
wear a snorban with my chin strap.  It has eliminated my mouth
breathing and has the additional benefit of keeping my jaw forward so
that there is more airway clearance behind my tongue.  I also can open
my mouth and sneeze etc. with the snorban in."

Post from alt.support.sleep-disorder newsgroup
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=01be41c8%24e25ad1e0%24185fd4cd%40gene&oe=UTF-8&output=gplain

This is the SnorBan product referenced by the post above:

SnorBan
http://www.snorban.com/products.htm

As you can see, it's a variant on the Mandibular Repositioning Device.
Sling Blade, here we come.

I believe the "chin strap" mentioned is probably something like one of
these:

CPAP Supplies and Equipment
http://www.cpapman.com/fc.html

Yikes. 

~Pink

pink-I really value our acquaintance, because we seem to be sisters in
solidarity of the "School of Egies." That's a heck of a lot of very,
very appreciated research that you did for this quirky subject. To the
best of my knowledge, I do not snore and exploring differnet forms of
medications as kriswrite suggested might not be a possibility because
one of the medications that I take is a state of the science
genetically modified self-injectable that I take to slow down my MS.
There is no other player on the block.
But, listen, be frank with me, COULD YOU FALL ASLEEP with any of the
quirky, yet interesting gizmos that you supplied me with links to?
Yes, yes, they're interesting, but I think that the conventional
approach might be to call the good old family dentist and see what he
says. A concern that I also have about being a mouth breather is I
hear that dryness leads to more cavaties. But, heck, as a chronic
invalid, no more worry is going to be added to the pot and we'll just
let the dentist figure this one out, because, HE'S THE ONE WHO DECIDED
TO BECOME A DENTIST and THAT'S WHAT I PAY HIM FOR!
pink, as usual, I really appreciate and enjoy your great responses and
congratulate you for having such a range of knowledge and interests;
you're a blast.
Thanks,
Yesmam

I am not a doctor or a medical expert. However, if by "normal" you
mean that many people do breathe through their mouths, then yes,
breathing through the mouth is normal. :)

Assuming you don't have a snoring problem, and that you don't have
clogged, congested, or inflamed sinuses, I doubt there's much you can
do. If you're having trouble getting back to sleep after taking a
glass of water, you might try keeping water handy at your bedside;
ideally, you have a table that's within arm's length, so you don't
even have to sit up to drink the water. Also, I would try putting a
humidifier in your bedroom. Whenever possible, keeping the heat off in
your bedroom may also help.

Finally, you might explore different brands of the drug you require.
Although generic drugs are basically the same as name brand drugs,
they very often use different fillers. I have personally found that I
am sometimes allergic to certain fillers and only have certain side
effects with some fillers, and not with others, and that changing
brands makes all the difference in the world for me.

Perhaps this will help a little.

Kriswrite

Many thanx for the five stars and the generous tip! 

Regarding the matter of whether one can fall asleep wearing a
doohickey like some of the ones I mentioned, that's a highly
individual thing. My own experience with the "Sling Blade Special" MRD
was that it impaired both my ability to fall asleep and to remain
asleep. Since the main reason I wanted to stop mouth-breathing was to
get a better night's sleep, the whole thing seemed rather surreal.

Your dentist may have some good advice. Another possibility is to ask
your primary physician for a referral to a good otorhinolaryngologist.
Mouth breathing is sometimes associated with structural disorders in
the sinuses that might be treatable. Yet another option is to visit a
sleep lab. Sleep apnea specialists know a lot about mouth breathing,
and they are likely to be well-versed on all the latest research.

As one chronic invalid to another, I appreciate your situation. Hang
in there, kiddo.

~Pink