The Epidemic of Mouth Breathing
An overarching theme in my writing is the influence living a life of comfort and luxury is affecting our well being.
We are living lives that Kings wished they lived. Everything is at our fingertips.
Like the great uncle of Spiderman once said..
With great power comes great responsibility
Humans have great power today, but few possess the responsibility needed to properly handle it.
Comfort and luxury have infected our lives and are beginning to deteriorate the toughness and grit that helped humans reach this stage.
Mankind has been running a marathon since the beginning of time. We have finally reached the finish line. The theoretical finish line has made us lose sight of continuing the marathon. Many are settling down and enjoying the fruits of comfort. These individuals are the ones that are most negatively impacted by society and will continue to be most impacted.
Collectively we are losing touch with our ancestors and ignoring their wisdom in exchange for the present views and agendas of the current authority figures.
The insanity of the day and the great harm that comfort is doing to humans is expressed perfectly in the epidemic that is Mouth Breathing.
What is Mouth Breathing?
Mouth breathing is breathing through your mouth instead of through your nose.
The proper way of breathing is strictly through the nose. The mouth should be closed at all times.
If you observe how you breathe you might have been inadvertently mouth breathing. Observe people the next time you go outside and you will see how many people are mouth breathing.
Mouth breathing is an epidemic that has huge implications to the health and lifestyle of those afflicted by it.
Why is Mouth Breathing Bad?
Let’s be honest.. the main reason why mouth breathing is bad is because you get a shit jawline, no cheekbone definition and the girls don’t find that attractive.
That enough should make you never mouth breathe again and adopt the proper mouth posture.
Mouth Breathing Symptoms:
- Dry lips
- Dry mouth
- Snoring and open mouth during sleep
- Airway illnesses such as sinus and ear infections
- Chronic bad breath
- Swollen and red gums that bleed easily
Mouth breathing dries the mouth which decreases saliva production. Saliva helps to neutralize the acid in the mouth and wash away bacteria. When saliva production decreases the chance of tooth decay increases.
Underlying Problems:
- Crooked teeth
- Receding jaws
- Smiles that show lots of gum
- Interrupted breathing during sleep
Mouth breathing is part of a larger problem of bad oral posture. These problems can lead to greater problems such as heart disease, eczema, lowered IQ, depression, ADHD, and Alzheimer's.
Why Did Mouth Breathing Come About?
The changes of habits and organization that occurred during the transition from hunter gatherers to pre-industrial farming brought about huge changes.
This transition included a change of acquisition and consumption of food.
Stone tools permitted flexibility with the way humans consumed food. It allowed food to be cut into smaller pieces and reduce the amount of chewing required to extract nourishment.
Hunter gatherers had significantly better teeth and jaw development. While they had wear and tear in their teeth, there was almost never crooked teeth or underdeveloped jaws.
The reason for this is that the lifestyle demanded a well developed jaw and the food they consumed pushed this development to happen.
As human society evolved from hunter gather into pre-industrial farming, and then industrial farming, we began to chew less which reduced the need for large, powerful jaws.
The stark differences in facial development can be seen between the wealthy and the poor a few centuries ago.
The diet of the wealthy consisted of softer foods which led to an underdeveloped jaw, noses hooked downwards, and elongated nose and chin.
Compared to the diet of the poor which consisted of tougher foods and did not have the effects of softer foods.
Current society has shifted exclusively towards the diet of the wealthy.
Eating
Modern society lacks routine chewing. We are eating increasingly more softer foods which requires little chewing.
During the crucial stages of early development we give babies softer foods that don’t properly development the jaw and sound mouth posture.
Industrial diets made us go from tough meats, tubers, nuts and fruits to softer foods like soups, bread, pasta, sandwiches, and hamburgers.
We are creating a population of mouth breathers by limiting the development of jaw during early age and worsening that as the child grows up to solidify their habit in mouth breathing.
Poor Oral Posture
Industrial diets immediately puts humans on a trajectory to mouth breathing.
Weak jaw development and lack of chewing hard foods creates the scenario for jaw muscles to slack and hang mouth open.
A weakened and under exercised jaw muscle puts pressure on the body to drop the jaw down and open the mouth. The opening of the mouth creates the environment for mouth breathing to occur.
When you mouth breathe your tongue posture drops. You begin to be constantly putting downward pressure on your facial posture which drops jawline inwards, restricts airways, and impacts posture of overall body.
Proper Oral Posture:
Hold mouth closed.
Teeth in light contact.
Tongue rests completely on roof of the mouth. ALL OF THE TONGUE, even the last quarter of the tongue in the back.
The tongue is supposed to provide support for your upper jaw. This is why you need your whole tongue on the roof of your mouth. Slowly it will begin changing your facial features as you are applying upwards pressure rather than allowing your face to droop downwards.
Having proper oral posture is crucial to fighting back against mouth breathing and begin developing the jaw muscles and oral posture. It is never too late to save yourself.
Fuck Me, What Do I Do?
- Breathe Properly
- Mouth Posture
- Exercises
Breathe Properly:
Never breathe through mouth or have mouth open anytime you are breathing. Breathing must always be done through nose. Air in the nose, air out the nose. Mouth is only for eating. Must ALWAYS be closed.
Stomach extends outwards when breathing, not chest. There are many videos online on ways to properly breathe. The key to this post is that mouth breathing should NEVER happen. Mouth should ALWAYS be closed.
Mouth Posture:
As explained above, you need to have proper tongue posture at all times.
This means that your mouth is closed, teeth slightly touching (top set of teeth a little over bottom set of teeth), and tongue completely resting on top of roof of mouth.
The mouth posture is difficult and will take months to get used to it, but it is absolutely essential to developing proper jaw development, seeing changes in facial posture and overall aesthetics.
I want to stress the importance of the tongue completely resting on top of the roof of mouth.
You need to be constantly vigilant of your tongue posture and ingrain it into your head at all times of the day to do it so that it becomes second nature. The most important part to get right is the quarter back of the tongue which also needs to rest on the roof of mouth.
Exercises:
Eating:
Chew your foods until it liquifies. The more you chew the better. Try to aim for 15–20 chews before swallowing.
Set aside one of your meals for this exercise. Have proper posture. Sit down straight, head back, and chew with lips together.
When you swallow you will have your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Facial muscles are relaxed during swallowing, and when swallowing you will create a wave motion of the tongue that creates a suction that moves the food towards the throat and you swallow.
While you are chewing your food your tongue is moving around providing saliva and helping to liquify the food. Right before you are going to swallow you go into your proper tongue posture (tongue completely on roof of mouth) and then swallow with the suction that is created.
It will take time to make this a habit which is why you need to set aside one meal (or more if you’re like me) to focus on this exercise.
Chewing:
We are not chewing enough hard foods. We are not working out our facial muscles.
Incorporate more tough foods to your diet. Eat meat without cutting it. CHEW. Eat more nuts. Eat more foods that workout your mouth.
Mastiha Gum
This is where the beauty of Mastiha gum comes into play. Mastiha Gum is the resin from the mastic tree. Mastic is sun-dried into pieces of brittle, translucent resin. When chewed, the resin softens and becomes a bright white and opaque gum.
The gum comes in small tears of what seems like a rock. When you put it in your mouth and put saliva into it the resin softens and becomes into a type of chewing gum.
The reason I love mastiha gum is that it is a hard gum. It perfectly works out your masseter muscle.
This is where the chewing exercise comes into play. You want to be working out your facial muscles and chewing mastiha gum is the best workout for that.
Normally try to chew the mastiha gum 2–3 hours a day. Then maybe take a day off. You don’t want to overdo it and hurt your jaw. You want to do enough where you are making it stronger. Patience and as the months go by you will see the effects.
Get chewing!!
Walking:
The last exercise is something we should be doing daily. As I’ve written about in past posts. I walk 3–4 miles daily. This exercise is done throughout it.
You want to walk with proper posture. Body upright, head in, and proper tongue posture. You will feel this walk in your abs.
Throughout your walk you want to go through stages of your tongue posture where you softly rest it on the top of your mouth to applying significant pressure to it for short periods of time.
You want to be working out your tongue and applying periods of intense pressure to the roof of your mouth.
By the end of your walk you want to have a sore tongue from the exercise.
Try it now.
Put your whole tongue on the roof of mouth. Now try to apply upwards pressure from the base back of your tongue. You will feel soreness in your throat. This is your muscle being workout. Try doing that in and out throughout your walk. While also having proper body and head posture.
Conclusion
Adopting the exercises above, having proper oral posture, and building proper body posture will separate you from the rest.
We are being attacked by the luxurious world that we live in. You need to rebel and attack back.
Tell your friends and family about this.
If you are like me you will dive deep into this and adopt the proper ways of breathing, oral posture, and exercises that will build a strong jawline and oral structure.
It is never too late to do the right thing.
If you are interested in reading more about this I highly recommend checking out:
Jaws: The Story of A Hidden Epidemic by Sandra Kahn and Paul Ehrlich
Dr Mike Mew and his Orthotropics Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6eh59CVGAMTjxo6q9gCMZA
Oh and PS FUCK THE MOUTH BREATHERS.
