Opening the mouth while sleeping is mainly due to the lack of oxygen supply when using nasal breathing alone during sleep, and the need to open the mouth, to help breathing. This is actually a sign of inadequate ventilation during sleep.
This phenomenon is mostly seen in people who are obese. In obese people, there is a large accumulation of fat on the body surface, and the area around the thorax is no exception. During sleep breathing, due to the fat accumulation around the thorax a large amount of fat accumulation will limit the breathing movement, the upper airway is narrowed and blocked, the oxygen supply is insufficient, and it is necessary to open the mouth to increase the supply of oxygen.
In addition, some people with rhinitis, nasal polyps, sinusitis, nasal cavity, when breathing, will limit the smoothness of the respiratory tract, the oxygen into the lungs will be reduced, during sleep, open mouth breathing, can alleviate this problem of insufficient oxygen supply.
Some elderly people, due to long-term obstructive lung disease, can have a large amount of oxygen entering their lungs during sleep breathing, but, because the effective breathing area of the lungs will be reduced, oxygen cannot enter the body’s blood, which will also lead to lack of oxygen in human tissues. The human body will improve this situation by increasing the supply of more oxygen, and it is natural to open the mouth to breathe in order to increase the supply of oxygen and relieve the lack of oxygen in the organism.
In rare cases, due to problems with the development of the thorax, or thoracic deformities after trauma. During sleep, it affects the normal ventilation and cannot inhale more oxygen through the nasal cavity, which requires opening the mouth to help breathing.
In general, this phenomenon is a self-regulatory response of the body to the lack of oxygen during sleep. In more severe cases, it can also lead to a sleep disorder – sleep apnea syndrome. This is a disease that can cause abnormalities in the body’s cardiopulmonary function, and it is important to be vigilant.