Nose or mouth breathing? How to test it yourself at home

Many people do not know whether they breathe through their nose or mouth while sleeping. That is logical: you are unconscious. Nevertheless, there are clear signs that are visible during the day and immediately upon waking. With a simple self-test, you can discover within a few days whether mouth breathing is an issue for you and what you can do about it.

How do you recognize mouth breathing in yourself?

Mouth breathing during sleep leaves traces that you can notice immediately in the morning. The most recognizable sign is a dry mouth or dry throat upon waking. The mouth has been open all night, causing the moisture to evaporate.

Other signals include bad breath in the morning for no clear reason, regular snoring (whether or not reported by your partner), and a feeling of fatigue that does not match the number of hours you have slept. All these signs point in the same direction.

During the day, you can also pay attention to your breathing habits. Do you breathe through your nose when sitting quietly, reading, or working behind a screen? If you notice that your lips are apart and you are breathing through your mouth at rest, it is very likely that this pattern continues more intensely at night.

Self-test: signs of mouth breathing

You can identify mouth breathing yourself in a few ways. The following checklist helps you quickly form an idea of your own breathing pattern. The more points you recognize, the greater the chance that mouth breathing is an issue for you.

• You wake up in the morning with a dry mouth or throat.
• You regularly have bad breath immediately upon getting up.
• Your partner reports that you snore or make sounds while sleeping.
• You breathe through your mouth more often than your nose during the day while at rest.
• Your lips are dry or chapped, even if you drink enough.
• You are tired after a night's sleep without any other clear cause.
• Your nose feels congested in the morning, while that is less of an issue during the day.

What does your morning feeling tell you?

The morning is the best time to assess your nighttime breathing. Your body has just had a night of rest and the effects are still visible. When you wake up, take a moment to consciously check how your mouth and throat feel.

With nasal breathing, the mouth is normally moist, the breath is neutral, and the feeling in the throat is clear. With mouth breathing, the opposite is the case. A structurally dry mouth after a night's sleep is a reliable signal that your mouth has been open.

Keep track of this for a week. Note how you wake up each morning. After seven days, you will have a pattern that shows whether mouth breathing is incidental or structural.

How to use a simple test at home

There are two simple methods to test for mouth breathing at home, without equipment or a doctor.

The tape test

Apply a small piece of paper tape or mild mouth tape over your lips before going to sleep. If you wake up in the morning and the tape is still in place, you slept with your mouth closed. If the tape is off or crooked, your mouth has opened.

Use only tape specifically designed for mouth use, such as hypoallergenic mouth tape. Regular adhesive tape is too strong and can irritate the skin. Only do this test if your nose is sufficiently clear to breathe comfortably through it.

The mirror test

Hold a small mirror horizontally under your nose while sitting at rest. Breathe normally. If the mirror fogs up on the nose side, you are breathing through your nose. If the fogging is on the bottom side or absent near the nose, you are partially breathing through your mouth.

This is a test for daytime, but it gives a good indication of your baseline pattern. People who already mouth-breathe during the day almost certainly do so at night as well.

First step: what can you do now?

If you conclude from the test that mouth breathing is an issue for you, mouth tape is the most direct and inexpensive first step. Mouth tape keeps the lips closed during sleep and encourages the body to automatically breathe through the nose.

Start with a two-week trial period. Use the tape every night and note how you wake up. Most people notice a difference within just a few nights: less dry mouth, less snoring, and a fresher feeling in the morning.

Is your nose also congested? Then combine mouth tape with nose strips. Nose strips open the nostrils from the outside and make nasal breathing easier, so you don't subconsciously revert to mouth breathing.

Start immediately with mouth tape from PurelyGoods and test the difference