Dysfunctional Breathing: How To Use Your Breath For Health Optimization

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Mouth breathing (also known as dysfunctional breathing) is seen today at epidemic levels. Dysfunctional breathing and airway centered disorders are tightly connected. Many of you know this is a weak link in my own life, so I’m deep in the trenches myself trying to fix my dysfunctional breathing. No, I’m not a mouth breather (I fixed that years ago) but I’m a “recovering shallow, thoracic breather” which means that I don’t use my diaphragm correctly and I don’t use the full 5L of my lung capacity either!

Shallow, dysfunctional breathing can contribute to:

Increased stress
Heart disease
Sleep disorders
Upper respiratory disease
Craniofacial development anomalies
Mood disorders
Behavioral concerns in children
Inflammation
Gastrointestinal disorders
Mental health concerns
Adrenal fatigue
Sympathetic overload

When I tell my clients that nasal breathing versus mouth breathing is parasympathetic nervous system versus sympathetic nervous system I see the lightbulb go on. I see the ah-hah moment come alive for these people. Para–like paradise. Rest. Chill. Relax. Sympa–like save me from that big, scary tiger chasing me. Fight or flight.

In this blog, I will answer some of the most common questions regarding dysfunctional breathing and airway centered disorders. I will also share some of the brilliant teachings of Ed Harrold (@ed_harrold) and how he teaches you to use your breath as medicine.

Why is mouth breathing bad?

Mouth breathing is for emergency use only, when the nose is congested. (Or when you are working out hard.) Dysfunctional breathing activates the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. It is a very shallow form of breathing and gets very little help from the diaphragm muscle. This shallow breathing means that air is only exchanged in the upper lobes of the lungs.

The upper lobes of the lungs only have sympathetic nerve receptors. This is equal to a constant threat of saber-toothed tiger attack. It is a fight or flight response. You won’t have the ability to slow things down and use the whole lung when you are breathing through the mouth.

The lower lobes of the lungs are where the parasympathetic receptors live. When you begin to breathe through the nose and use the diaphragm muscle, then air will be pulled into the lower lobes of the lungs.

Heart rate is closely linked to your respiration rate. If you evaluate how many breaths you are taking per minute, this will have a direct link to what your heart rate is. The heart rate will regulate what your blood pressure is, blood pressure will have a direct link to your neurochemistry.

In a nutshell, if you are over-breathing, you can be overworking your heart. If your heart rate is set by your respiration rate, and you are a 40-year-old person who is breathing more than 12-13 breaths per minute, your heart may have had the breaths equivalent to that of a 65-year-old.

How can dysfunctional breathing be related to airway centered disorders?

Mouth breathing and open mouth resting posture affect the growth of the face, leading to crooked teeth, insufficient jaw growth, receding chin and insufficient growth of the airway and nasal passages. If the face doesn’t develop properly, the airway can’t develop properly.

Is dysfunctional breathing related to stress?

Chronic stress is the result of sympathetic overuse. When you continually overuse the sympathetic nervous system, this teaches your brain to function from a sympathetic state rather than a parasympathetic state. By learning to breathe properly, you can control how to respond to stress or relaxation.

Like I discussed above, if you can create a healthy heart rate and thus improved blood pressure, then the body will naturally improve stress. If you can slow down the length of the inhale, exhale slightly longer than the inhale, you can naturally encourage the relaxation response in the body.

How is breathing related to gastrointestinal problems?

Gastrointestinal disorders are at an all-time high and this can be contributed to mouth breathing. First, when you are running from that tiger or scaling the brick wall to get away from the bad guy, your body is making sure your legs are strong. It is not worried about your burrito digesting properly. GI problems also show up because there is no vertical, up and down movement of the diaphragm muscle during breathing. When you are mouth breathing you don’t get the movement of the muscle down towards the lumbar vertebra that will massage the digestive organs. And, when you are in constant fight or flight mode, your body isn’t worried about resting and digesting … it is worried about saving your fanny from that saber-toothed tiger or wooly mammoth.

In a recent webinar I attended, Ed talks about “another system that is affected with correct breathing. This is the enteric system, in the abdomen. This is the brain-gut connection. When you strengthen the diaphragm muscle and it becomes more flexible and dynamic during inhale, it creates a vacuum on the exhale, this will activate the enteric system. This system is what delivers 90-95% of serotonin, and 50% of dopamine. Serotonin helps improve reasoning and dopamine helps you feel better about yourself. This system is responsible for all gastrointestinal functions, and it communicates with the brain via the vagus nerve.

What is the vagus nerve role in breathing?

Ed calls the vagus nerve the “guardian” of the body because it “communicates the state of your organs to the brain and delivers signals from the brain back to the organs”. The vagus nerve is part of the parasympathetic nervous system and is only stimulated through nasal breathing. It increases serotonin and lowers the heart rate and blood pressure. When you are mindful of how you breathe you will lower stress, manage pain, decrease inflammation, improve circulation and improve sleep.

What is the correct way to breathe?

Through the nose, as you were designed! Nasal breathing will help the face develop properly, decreasing concern for airway centered disorders. Nasal breathing has the added benefit of nitric oxide, a powerful immune-boosting substance that is produced in the sinuses. Nitric oxide helps the uptake of oxygen into the lungs. Nasal breathing also activates the vagus nerve, which helps trigger the rest and digest response of the parasympathetic nervous system. The vagus nerve helps regulate digestion, breathing, and anxiety.

How does myofunctional therapy relate to breathing?

Myofunctional therapy helps to build strength and coordination, in addition to building new neuromuscular connections. It teaches correct tongue and mouth posture, correct chewing and swallowing mechanics and it helps teach you how to repattern your breathing. It works to help rewrite your hard drive if you will.

Everyone is born a diaphragmatic nasal breather. Something makes us cross over to the dark side and start breathing wrong and too much. Who knew? You should just be happy to be breathing, right? Like I shared above, I’m knee-deep in the trenches with my new bestie, Ed. I’m working my way through his book, Life with BREATH. I’ve been astonished by what I’ve learned about my own breathing.

The ideal breathing rate is 10-12 breaths per minute. (Stop now, relax and hit the timer…how many breaths did you take in 60 seconds?) The average person breathes 12-15 times per minute, which is a “sympathetic-running-from-that-tiger-response”. I was 16 breaths the first time I heard Ed talk. In his book, there is a 30-day Breath-as-Medicine Program that will walk you step by step through his practice. This practice takes intention but can be done with as little as 10-15 minutes of intentional practice per day. I can say this though…for me…it’s more than a 30-day program because I have to eat the elephant in small pieces. Some days are better than others, and I often need to spend more time on a step than just one day.

Where you can learn more about Ed Harrold or How to Use Your Breath as Medicine

On Ed’s website, there is a lot of information to help you understand this stuff better. (He is on Youtube also.) When working on your breathing, you can work on length, depth, pace. When the breath is shallow, the length of the inhale and exhale is impaired. The pace of the breathing is too fast and there is no depth in a shallow breath. You can retrain your dysfunctional breathing with conscious effort. You have to retrain the brain consciously so that correct breathing can happen when you’re sound asleep. Ed teaches you how to apply therapeutic conscious breathing. The regulation of breathing includes length, rhythm, intensity, and rate. The longer it takes you to inhale and exhale, then you will take fewer breaths per minute. Fewer breaths per minute mean a healthy heart rate and blood pressure. We can all benefit from this!

If You Have Concerns

By now, if you’ve been following me long enough…you know my path of passion here. I want you to be Sherlock Holmes in your life. It doesn’t cost you a dime to make a free 30-minute appointment with me to talk about what you should do. Start. Today.

Happy, Slow, Deep Breathing my Friend!

About Carmen

Carmen found her path of passion years ago as a dental hygienist. After a stint in graduate school to earn her M.B.A., she left clinical hygiene practice to start her business, Integrative Myofunctional Therapy. In addition to seeing clients in her private online practice, she also teaches the craft of myofunctional therapy in her Myo Mastery Program, coaches dental offices on how to implement myofunctional screening into the daily practice, and speaks frequently in various settings.

Carmen is a provider for the Foundation of Airway Health, where she works diligently for the recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of airway related disorders.

In addition, she is a proud member of several professional associations that afford her the opportunity to learn so that she can help her clients. Her professional memberships include: