This HABIT Makes YOU UNATTRACTIVE
Sent to subscribers on May 14, 2024. Reproduced here as it was written.
The topic: mouth breathing.
Breathing through your mouth makes your face less aesthetically pleasing and is dangerous to your health. Whenever possible you should try to breathe through your nose - unless you're speaking, eating, or exercising hard.
Dr. Paul Ehrlich and Dr. Sandra Kahn (experts in cranial-facial function and structure, authors of Jaws: The Story of a Hidden Epidemic) have found that chronic mouth breathing can lead to:
Droopy eyes
A tucked chin
A less defined jawline
These changes can be reversed. Switching to nose breathing can lead to favorable aesthetic changes:
Elevation of the eyebrows
Elevation of the cheekbones
Sharpening of the jaw
Improvements of the teeth and the entire jaw structure
In Jaws, there was a young girl who got a pet hamster. She was allergic to the hamster and as a consequence became a mouth breather. Over a few months, her chin moved backwards towards the neck and her eyes became droopy. Because she used the sinuses around her nose and eyes less, her face aged rapidly. They removed the hamster and used medical tape to encourage nasal breathing at night. Slowly, model-esque features returned to her face.
Are you a mouth breather?
61% of people mouth breathe during sleep.
Close your mouth and breathe only through your nose. Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth, and it should fit behind your teeth. You should be able to nose breathe in that position (this is at rest, not during exercise). Many people won't be able to do that.
Sinuses are little tubes through which fluid and air move. They're malleable - their shape can be modified. Through deliberate nasal breathing, you can dilate the sinuses and increase airflow, making nasal breathing easier over time. This creates space within the mouth's palate to allow your tongue to sit more completely on the roof of your mouth.
Mouth breathing during sleep is not just undesirable; it is actually dangerous. If you breathe through your mouth as opposed to your nose, you bring in less oxygen. Effectively, you're putting yourself into a state of apnea (lack of oxygen). Bad for brain and sinuses. Plus it increases anxiety.
Mouth breathing can also damage the lungs. Increased resistance through the nose inflates your lungs more. It also warms and moisturizes the air that you bring into your lungs.
The nasal microbiome is a community of beneficial bacteria that is particularly good at scrubbing viruses, bacteria, and even fungal infections. Your oral microbiome, not so much. So when you breathe through your mouth you are more susceptible to infections.
Mouth breathing can destroy your health:
Dehydration, dry mouth, and bad breath
Dental problems and facial differences
Increased anxiety
Snoring and sleep apnea
Crooked teeth and cavities
Fatigue and poor concentration
Worsens high blood pressure, diabetes, etc
Lowers your life expectancy
How to improve your aesthetics and health
Ditch the Mouth: Deliberately breathe through your nose.
Chew Like You Mean It: Stop slurping your foods. Gnaw on some carrots, chomp some nuts, or try some hard gum.
Tape It Shut: Tape your mouth shut at night. It's weird, but so is snoring and waking up with a face that resembles a dried-up prune.
Nasal Cardio: Do cardio while breathing through your nose. It's harder, but better for you.
Nasal breathing at rest and during sleep has benefits compared to mouth breathing (mouth breathing has its place when exercising). The increased resistance of nasal breathing allows for maximum lung inflation each breath to increase oxygen delivery. The nasal passages warm the incoming air, which is healthier for the lungs. Nasal breathing improves blood vessel dilation to efficiently remove waste, deliver nutrients, and relieve sinus congestion. And it improves facial aesthetics.
End note: Jaw exercisers are all the rage in Hollywood, but it turns out chewing your food (like a civilized human) can have a similar effect on your jawline.