I'm already taping my mouth shut with Leukopor. It still allows some dropping of the lower jaw though. Is there a way to keep molars together during sleep? (For more airway size, better facial development etc).
I tried one of those chin straps for snoring. They were super tight and uncomfortable, but still my jaw could drop.
If you are going by the tropic premise, there is no need to keep the teeth together while sleeping. 6-8 hours of teeth contact during daytime would be enough. If you have are trying to fix night time mouthbreathing, consider taping your mouth shut with medical tape.
What helped me was chewing gum consistently to strengthen the muscles that hold the jaw closed, and consciously focusing on my tongue up with my jaws held together. Drooler/snorer and 2 years later I wake up every morning with my mouth sealed closed, a moist throat, and my tongue “resting” on my palate but it feels strong. I would also suggest sleeping on your back with a pillow tucked behind your neck to keep your chin tucked. This will naturally make it harder for to your lower jaw to drop. Over time, switching to your side is more natural and comfortable. Idk how old you are, but making changes won’t always be 100% comfortable at first, so you may get some restless sleep as you build new habits. I slept only on my back for 6 months in a chin tuck, and after two weeks I didn’t mind it. After 4 months I ditched the pillow assistance, and I moved on to side sleeping once I feel the habit was formed. Chewing things/nose breathing only/remembering tongue up throughout the day is most important tho IMO..... shit I’m just remembering one more thing that was super beneficial. I’d run/exercise only nose breathing, which was impossible at first, but if you can push yourself over the months to the point where you’re running miles and sprinting only through your nose, it sends crazy signals to your body to expand the airways. Give it a try :)
If you are going by the tropic premise, there is no need to keep the teeth together while sleeping. 6-8 hours of teeth contact during daytime would be enough. If you have are trying to fix night time mouthbreathing, consider taping your mouth shut with medical tape.
I've heard about the '8 hours of teeth contact' by the Mews, but I didn't see any evidence or logic supporting it. Why 8 hours and why not just as many hours as possible? Logic tells me that if you have proper oral posture for 8 hours and poor oral posture for 16 hours, that the net effect will be a worsening of the facial structures. Also, like @taborgreat said, when the muscles are strong and the habit is there, you can wake up with the teeth together and tongue against the palate.
About that @taborgrat, thanks for the quote. However, just because you wake up with teeth together and tongue against the palate, doesn't mean it has been like that during sleep. During sleep muscles relax and during REM (dream) sleep most muscles are paralyzed.
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/what-happens-when-you-sleep
Muscle Tone
Muscles gradually relax during each stage of non-REM sleep, and the body’s total energy expenditure drops5. During the REM stage, most muscles are paralyzed in a condition known as atonia. This keeps the legs and arms from flailing in response to dream content. Respiratory and eye muscles stay active, though, and the darting of the eyes behind closed eyelids is the inspiration for the name rapid eye movement sleep.
@taborgreat it seems like it's not your quote, but not really keen to sleep on my back with a pillow propped up. I wouldn't call this a chin tuck, I would call this 'decreasing airway size even more' (chin tuck is what you can periodically do throughout the day while sitting or standing and it's a pushing backwards of the head and slight tilting till vertical if your face was aimed upwards, it's not putting your chin on your chest. I actually cut out the middle part of my foam pillow, so that I can lay flat on my back in a natural position.
I already sleep on my side. I find it the most comfortable position, possibly because my airway can't decrease in size that much in that position. I'm sure on my back I would snore: even with lips taped, when I relax my jaw snoring noises are created in my throat.
I'm curious about the nose breathing while exercising expanding airways. I'm pretty sure this is not meant in a literal way? Like expanding the throat? I think it's more about the feeling in the lungs itself? The aveoli opening up? And stamina getting better? This is actually what they recommend in the Buteyko method to do to increase your 'control pause' and thus stamina: exercise only breathing through your nose at an intensity you can handle. Unfortunately I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and I cannot exercise at all. And even the mildest Buteyko exercise is too hard for me, so feeling stuck in this area.
I've heard about the '8 hours of teeth contact' by the Mews, but I didn't see any evidence or logic supporting it. Why 8 hours and why not just as many hours as possible? Logic tells me that if you have proper oral posture for 8 hours and poor oral posture for 16 hours, that the net effect will be a worsening of the facial structures.
The bone needs time for stimulation and recovery alike. Intermittent, frequent forces are more effective than sustained forces. When you load the teeth for one hour, they will to be responding to that loading for the following few hours, for example. Naturally the 8 hours of teeth contact would be distributed somewhat evenly across the waking hours, rather than carried out in one bout.
And even the mildest Buteyko exercise is too hard for me, so feeling stuck in this area.
Have you tried simple relaxation breathing? Inhale, relax. Inhale, relax. Instead of intentionally exhaling, the relaxation itself is the exhale. Let your level of relaxation be your guide: if you tense up (esp. stomach), you are reducing your breathing too much. Done right, the reduced breathing exercise will not feel hard or uncomfortable at all. To the contrary: it will feel pleasant and enjoyable. It will feel almost like you're not doing anything at all. After a minuet or two you will come to experience a mild buzz in your body, not unlike after drinking a beer or two. That's a strong sign that your cellular oxygenation is increasing.
@jelly yes I was more answering the question how to keep your lips sealed at night, which prevents the jaws from dangling open. And it wasn’t a quote, I just messed up the format. I don’t know much about what’s going on in my REM sleep cycles, but I do know I used to wake up with drool stains all over my pillows, a dry throat, and bad breath, and now all of those have subsided for more than a year, through sickness and all seasons.
I don’t support sleeping in a chin tuck for long periods of time, but for the sake of teaching your head/neck/mouth what to do while sleeping it is very useful. I never noticed airway issues being caused from it, and my back naturally wanted me to roll to the side after a few months. I’d only suggest sleeping like that if you have severe nerd neck and snoring issues. Gently prop your head onto a pillow and slide your chin towards your chest. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy, just support.
and for the nose breathing while exercising, I don’t know what’s going on. But I do know it helped me breathe through my nose a lot better normally as well as sleeping. And I already was exercising before mouth breathing, so it could be training certain muscles, expanding airways, making my body more efficient with the oxygen, who knows, but it helps.
Move! Breathe! Eat! Drink! Whatever people tell you, these things are most important and will improve 95% of health issues.
Skull and Jaw Correction
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