👃The 3 minute nasal breathing test!

(You can also use a small paper to hold between your lips. Breathing should be effortless and quiet.)

I always like to include this in my initial assessment with a client. Before we start therapy we need to make sure that nasal breathing is actually doable (and easy!). And if it's not we want to find out why, because human beings are obligatory nasal breathers. Mouth breathing is reserved for "emergency mode" indicating something isn't right.

Some people have had previous obstruction as children, like large tonsils or adenoids that were removed but they continue to breathe through their mouth out of habit.

Other possible reasons for mouth breathing include:

👄Allergies

👄Nasal obstructions

👄High narrow palate

👄Retracted jaw

👄Restricted tongue/lip

Mouth breathing can have many structural and functional impacts throughout the lifespan!

To name a few:

Malocclusion, increased cavities, feeding and swallowing difficulty, speech sound errors, head and neck pain, sleep disordered breathing and mental health issues.

So can you pass the nasal breathing test?

Let me know below⬇️