What Are Closed Mouth Snoring Solutions?

Are you a snorer? Have you ever woken up to a sore throat and/or a dry mouth? If so, it’s possible that you were snoring with your mouth open. It’s also possible that you’re going to need to start looking at some closed mouth snoring solutions to help the problem.

Mouth breathing during sleep isn’t necessarily good for you, but it happens.

Worst-case scenario, it leads to a number of health problems some of them being quite dangerous.

And in this post, you’re going to learn how to deal with it.

Let’s dig in and talk about open mouth snoring.

What Is Mouth Breathing, and Is It Bad For You?

First off, let’s talk about mouth breathing.

As a general rule, humans use both their mouth and their nose to breathe.

But for the most part, we use our noses.

There are a number of benefits that come from breathing through the nasal passages, as opposed to through the mouth.

Nose breathing helps to remove dangerous bacteria and irritants from the air you breathe, preventing them from entering your lungs when you inhale.

Nasal breathing also ensures that we get plenty of nitric oxide in the air we breathe.

When we suffer from more extreme nasal congestion, we may end up breathing through our mouths. This is also true when we exercise strenuously.

But for the most part, these aren’t regular occurrences.

With that being said, breathing through the mouth while sleeping can be a bit of a problem.

It’s called mouth breathing, and it comes with its own fair share of negatives.

Breathing through your mouth while sleeping can cause a range of negative symptoms. These may include:

• Dry mouth
• Bad breath
• Brain fog
• Tiredness
• Irritability
• Lack of sleep
• Chronic fatigue
• And snoring

Yes, mouth breathing can be its own cause for snoring.

But that’s not all.

Mouth breathing can lead to an increased risk of tooth decay, and can also increase your risk for gum disease.

When your mouth falls open at night, the inside of it dries out.

This means less saliva, which is needed to help fight and wash-away the bacteria that cause tooth and gum disease.

If you sleep with your mouth open, it’s also possible that you’re putting yourself at a greater risk for obstructive sleep apnea.

Here’s why.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Risk in Mouth Breathers

Studies show that oral breathing (breathing through the mouth) can induce sleep apnea. But even if it doesn’t cause it, it may still make it worse.

Here’s why.

When you sleep, the soft tissues in the back of the airway tend to collapse. This reduces airway room, and makes it more difficult to breathe.

This is a common cause of snoring, as it vibrates the soft palate.

This causes the ‘sounds’ of snoring.

But when you sleep with your mouth open, this allows the lower jaw to drop downward which further reduces the amount of room you have to breathe through your airway.

As a result, your airway may close off completely and that is what causes obstructive sleep apnea.

In other words… mouth breathing while sleeping is bad news.

Children Can Also Suffer From Mouth Breathing While Sleeping – and It Can Be Bad For Their Health as Well

Our bodies grow and change as we move from infancy to adulthood. And if a child regularly mouth-breathes during sleep, it is possible for them to develop actual structural abnormalities as a result of their jaw position.

It can affect posture, nasal shape, facial structure, and even the shape of the lips!

This is why you should talk to your child’s doctor if you suspect that they may be mouth-breathing, especially if it may be a causal factor for snoring or obstructive sleep apnea.

Does Keeping Your Mouth Closed Stop Snoring?

Keeping your mouth closed won’t necessarily keep you from snoring in every situation.

But it can certainly help. It can also reduce your risk of suffering from obstructive sleep apnea.

But how do you do it? How do you keep your mouth closed while sleeping, to cut down your snoring and OSA risk?

As it turns out, anti-snoring appliances may be your best shot.

Here’s what you need to know.

How Can I Keep My Mouth Closed When I Sleep?

Unfortunately, there aren’t that many ‘organic’ methods for keeping your mouth closed while sleeping.

Purchasing closed mouth snoring solutions can be an effective solution to the problem though so in this next section, we are going to talk about the best devices and organic solutions for keeping your mouth closed while you sleep.

5 Closed Mouth Snoring Solutions That Actually Work

1. Sleeping On Your Side

A lot of people don’t realize this.

But sleeping on your side can be an awesome way to mitigate snoring.

It can also be a method for helping your mouth to stay closed while you sleep!

It isn’t 100% guaranteed to work but it’s not a bad thing to try if you’re in a pinch.

Need help staying on your back? Prop yourself up with pillows, or sew some tennis balls to the back of your pajamas!

You can also try sleeping on your stomach but it isn’t as good for your back.

At least on your side, you can still support your spine and neck and sleep comfortably.

The main upside? It’s easy to try, and doesn’t require you to have a ‘device.’

The main downside? Some people simply don’t like sleeping on their side.

2. Mandibular Advancement Devices

Mandibular advancement devices (MADs) are anti-snoring devices designed to be worn like a mouth-guard during sleep.

Except, they aren’t technically mouth guards. They’re actually specially designed devices that fit over both rows of teeth, and they are designed to keep the lower jaw in place and held forward during sleep.

Mandibular advancement devices work quite well for snoring. And some of them have even been proven to work for sleep apnea.

The biggest problem with them is that they’re exactly that… BIG. Since they are about as large as an athletic mouth guard, some people find them a bit too invasive to sleep with.

But if you can get past that, MADs are one of the best ways to get over mouth-breathing, overcome snoring, and even battle OSA.

Some of them have been proven to work in a huge percentage of cases. They are truly one of the most effective snoring solutions on the market.

3. Anti-Snoring Chinstraps

Anti-snoring chinstraps are pretty much exactly what they sound like.

They are chin-straps that velcro, snap, or stretch around your head and under your jaw to hold your mouth closed during sleep.

As far as keeping your mouth closed while you sleep, they do a stellar job.

As far as snoring and/or sleep apnea is concerned, they tend to be hit and miss.

The upside to anti-snoring chinstraps is that they don’t require you to put anything into your mouth.

The downside? They’re kind of big and clunky, and some people don’t like to wear them while they sleep.

4. Mouth Strips

Mouth strips are an interesting idea.

They are literally strips that you put over your mouth.

The most well-known mouth strips are called SomniFix. They are designed to help keep your mouth closed during sleep and promote nasal breathing.

Granted, this isn’t the most ‘high tech’ answer to the mouth breathing problem.

But this product does come with some rather unique upsides and downsides.

The main upside is that it works quite well. The strips are also easy to apply, simple to use, and disposable.

The main downside is that you’ll need to keep buying them to use them. (And no—a roll of tape will not accomplish the same thing, unless you want sore lips the next morning).

5. Mouth Tape

Speaking of putting tape on your mouth, there is a special option for that.

It’s literally called ‘mouth tape.’

Is it a good product? Good question!

This product is also called a ‘sleeping strip.’

And they are essentially small strips that you can place over your mouth while sleeping.

Are they basically the same thing as mouth strips?

Yes, except that they are ‘x’ shaped instead of ‘strip’ shaped.

Upsides? They are inventive and inexpensive.

Downsides? They don’t seem to work quite as well as the mouth strips.

In Conclusion

Mouth breathing while sleeping is no joke.

It can cause a range of unpleasant side effects.

And even worse, it can lead to snoring problems.

Thankfully, there are products and methods that you can use to keep these issues at bay.

But here is the most important thing you need to remember.

Do not let mouth breathing go untreated.

It simply isn’t good for you. It will detract from your quality of sleep as well as your quality of life.

For best results, take a look at the best closed mouth snoring solutions, and pick one out that actually works for you.

Don’t ignore the problem. Your quality of sleep is too important.