Mouth-Breathing, Snoring, and Sleep

Sleeping babies are adorable. And snoring babies are cute* (snoring husband – not so much lol).

After all, what’s a better indication that your baby is fast asleep and getting the rest they need than the sound of them purring away in their crib? Unfortunately, that ‘harmless’ snoring that would give me a sense of peace turned out to be misconstrued. Now that I’m a sleep expert, I know that *snoring and mouth breathing are both cause for concern.

If you’ve ever taken a meditation or yoga class, or trained for an athletic event of any kind, you know that proper breathing has incredible benefits. And proper breathing, by definition, is done through the nose.

NOSE BREATHING V MOUTH BREATHING

There are a few reasons why nose-breathing is better for you than mouth-breathing (and they’re actually not just minor benefits).

Breathing through your nose increases the amount of oxygen we get to our lungs, expels more carbon dioxide, lowers our heart rate, increases lymphatic flow, and reduces stress on our heart. It also produces nitric oxide which helps to expand blood vessels and increases blood flow. Furthermore, the hairs and mucous in the sinuses helps to filter out impurities contained in the air.

Mouth breathing, on the other hand, has some pretty nasty downsides. In the long-term, chronic mouth breathing in children can actually affect facial growth, contribute to speech delays/disorders, mess with teeth, cause gum disease, lead to throat infections, stunt growth, and cause poorer quality of sleep (which hits just a little closer to my heart).

SLEEP AND SNORING

As you may already know, we all sleep in cycles. We transition from very light sleep into deeper sleep, and then even deeper sleep, and then into dreaming (REM sleep). During that first stage of light sleep and during REM sleep, we’re very easily awoken. An animal jumping on the bed, your partner rolling over, or involuntary twitching muscles can all startle us out of sleep, bringing us back to that starting line – trying to get back into sleep.

In adults, these cycles last 1.5-2 hours, but in babies, they’re closer to 45 minutes in length. This means that there are more opportunities for them to wake up throughout the course of the night. There are many reasons a baby may wake frequently at night, but when their airway is obstructed to the point where they stop breathing (called obstructive apnea), you can be fairly certain that their body will startle itself out of sleep (a fail-safe measure I think we can all be happy for, even if it does lead to nighttime wake ups).

Now I could rehash all the things I’ve said before about the benefits of consolidated sleep, as well as the detriments of sleep deprivation (though if you do want a refreshers, check out this study), but suffice it to say, your baby needs a lot of sleep, and it’s bad for them if they don’t get it. So if your baby is snoring, or consistently breathing through their mouth, I want you to take action.

TAKING ACTION

Make a recording of your little one breathing and bring it up to your pediatrician. Just going to them and telling them your baby snores might not spark a lot of concern, but being able to demonstrate the severity of the issue may light a little fire under their butts and prompt a referral to a respiratory specialist.

Solutions will look different for each child depending on the underlying reason for the snoring and/or mouth breathing. Removal of the tonsils and/or adenoids may be the next logical step if the airways are significantly obstructed. If the snoring is not severe enough to warrant surgery, nasal strips might benefit your child. They may not be the most elegant solution, but they will solve the problem temporarily.

Just a note: Snoring or mouth breathing that occurs when your child is sick or congested is nothing to be overly concerned about. A little nasal congestion due to illness can cause baby to snore, but it should clear up once they’re better. Try using a nasal bulb to suck the mucus out of their nose and then a saline solution to clear up the passageways.

Mouth breathing may also come about as a result of an open mouth posture. The tongue is the mouth’s natural palate expander, and if the tongue ends up not putting pressure on the roof of the mouth, the result can be a high, narrow palate, which will impinge on the nasal cavity, making nose breathing difficult. Treatment may include orthodontist visits to expand the palate and speech therapy to strengthen oral motor muscles.

I know that we as mothers have plenty to worry about as it is. And I don’t mean to throw unnecessary concern into the mix, but if your baby is snoring, it can have serious consequences and you should take it seriously. It is preventable. There are solutions.

And a better night’s sleep is waiting on the other side for your baby, and for the rest of your family.