A Note About Nasal Breathing

Are you feeling stressed? It’s not unusual; more than 70 percent of American adults say they feel stress every single day. You probably already know stress can come from a variety of sources like work, traffic, and busy schedules, but did you know it can cause a wide range of problems for your health, too?

When you think of stress-related health conditions, you probably think of headaches and migraines, neck and shoulder pain, heart problems, digestive disorders, and high blood pressure, but what about the effects of stress on the mouth?

How Stress Affects Oral Health

One of the primary ways that stress affects the mouth is because it can cause tooth grinding or tooth clenching – which can place a lot of pressure and stress on the tooth enamel, causing it to wear away over time.

Clenching and grinding can also cause your teeth to become painfully sensitive and put them at risk of possible fractures, breaks, and other damage – even to your jaw joints!

Chronic stress can also lead to an increased risk of gum disease. This happens because when you’re stressed, your immune system’s ability to fight off the bacteria that cause gum disease is lowered.

Stress can also cause dry mouth, tooth decay, and canker sores!

So how can you stop stress and protect your oral health? Some of the things you can do include:

Find a hobby. Hobbies can keep your mind off stressful situations and provide an outlet to relax.

Exercise. Stress helps to boost endorphins that elevate your mode and fight cortisol, the stress hormone. We suggest yoga, tai chi, bicycling, and even walking on a Frisco trail.

Listen to relaxing music. One of the best stress relievers is listening to relaxing music such as jazz or chanting.

Meditate. Taking time to pause and focus allows you to relax and feel more centered.

Nasal breathing. Note: we said nasal breathing and not just deep breathing. Nasal breathing is critical in reducing stress because it engages that lower lung, which stimulates the production of anti-stress hormones and allows you to relax and feel calmer.

Nasal breathing has other benefits, too. It allows you to get significantly more oxygen than mouth-breathing and helps you get better sleep which improves your overall health.

Nasal breathing and increased oxygen is a benefit for all of your body’s organs and tissues and can help prevent conditions such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and heart disease.

Also, nasal breathing can improve your performance and recovery during sports and exercise.

Learn more about the importance of nasal breathing by calling Millennium Smiles in Frisco, Texas, today at 972-430-2773 now.