For many people who are seeking the benefit of restorative sleep, the idea of mouth taping at night may seem intimidating.
You may worry you won’t be able to get enough air to breathe, or that you won’t know how to breathe through your nose.
Fortunately, there are simple practices you can do during the day to naturally train your body to breathe through the nose at night, and best of all, these steps will also help calm you during the day.
The simplest, easiest way to begin training your body to nose breathe at night is to practice slow and steady breathing during the day.
Beyond helping to introduce the body to the concept of nose breathing, adding this practice to your daily routine will help calm the mind, rest the stomach and prepare you for better sleep.
How to Get Started
To start, keep your lips closed and breathe in slowly through the nose and exhale slowly through the nose. Keeping your lips closed during your daily nose-breathing practice will help your body become comfortable having your lips taped at night with a Simply Breathe strip.
While breathing in through your nose, focus your thoughts on two muscles: the tongue and the diaphragm. Hold the tip of your tongue on the front portion of your palette with slight pressure and follow your breath as you slowly contract your breathing muscle, the diaphragm. It will expand your belly while it pulls air slowly into the lungs.
While breathing out through the nose, relax your abdomen muscles and let the air naturally leave softly through your nose.
You can practice this slow and steady breathing at the following times:
- When you wake up
- Before and after eating
- When you lie down to fall asleep
This intentional breathing pattern has a tremendous calming effect on your mind. It is a breathing pattern that you will carry naturally into restful sleep. If you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night, you can also practice this breathing technique to calm your mind and help yourself fall back asleep.
Have you tried it? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
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