I have recently started breathing only through my mouth while sleeping?

Question

This is causing me to breath very heavily and it is starting to keep my boyfriend awake!! Any ideas why this has started, is it anything to worry about and how do I get back to a normal breathing pattern?

Answer 1

This can be a sign of obstructive sleep apnea. This is where due to excess tissue in the back of the throat, swollen glands such as the tonsils and/or adnoids, or being overweight, the airway is becoming obstructed during sleep. Your body tries to get the most amount of air possible--which is through the mouth (which is why we breath heavily through our mouth after we run). The loudness is the air passing through the obstruction. Sometimes, you may wake w/ a start or loud snore. This is the body waking you up to make you breath. Left untreated over a long period of time, obstructive sleep apnea can have negative effects: fatigue, irritability, (these are from lack of adequate deep sleep), and more serious conditions such as heart failure from the heart working overtime to get oxygenated blood to the vital organs while you sleep. If it's swollen tonsils and/or adnoids, getting a tonsillectomy and adnoidectomy usually fixes the problem. If you are overweight, sometimes just losing weight can reverse the problem. Some people require CPAP which is a device that forces air through the obstruction while you sleep. A sleep study would diagnose Obstructive Sleep apnea as well as a trip to your doctor. The doctor would also be able to tell you if your glands are swollen. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

You might have developed sleep apnea. It especially affects people who are overweight (like me). Does it happen more often when you sleep on your back? Do you feel more tired during the day? Has your boyfriend noticed you not breathing for a few seconds, then starting back up with a loud snore? Those are common symptoms. Usually, what happens is your epiglottis is blocking your windpipe, causing you to stop breathing. This wakes you up, and causes you to gasp for air. You may not wake up completely, though, so you may not realize it's happening. I went in for a sleep test, and was amazed to find I'd stopped breathing 84 times in 4 hours for at least 15 seconds at a time! No wonder I was tired all the time!

There is one method for helping sleep apnea, but it's expensive and it might be hard to sleep with, too. It's called a C-Pap machine. You wear a mask over your nose, which keeps a continuous flow of air going through your windpipe. Not much, but enough to keep you breathing. It does put off a little hiss, and the mask can be a pain, but I sleep better with it than I have in years. My husband calls me the elephant woman when I have it on, but it's worth it.

Answer 3

Sounds like the start of a snoring complex .
This is usually started when prole become overwiegt , as the body increases overall weight the inside of the throat also puts on more wieght and blocks the airways in the nose and throat the body reacts to this by making you open your mouth wider .
Do you need to lose weight is this famillair
Also when the mouth dries out overnight the breath can smell quite a lot do check this and drink plenty of fluids on awakening

Answer 4

It may just be that you are over-tired. If you are noticing that you are feeling very tired during the day though or are having trouble sleeping at night, maybe a sleep study would be helpful to rule out any more-serious causes. Good luck.

Answer 5

everyone does its where tonsilitous and tuff comes from, if your snoring just get a throat spray.... it works!

Answer 6

I found meditation helpful.