Is Your Child A Mouth Breather? Sleep, Focus And Speech

Why do so many bright kids struggle to concentrate, sleep well or speak clearly? Part of the answer may be where the tongue rests and how they breathe.
In this weekly update, former paramedic Ross Pollard shares what he took from a conversation between breathing expert Patrick McKeown and speech pathologist Laura Walls.
Learn how tongue position and mouth breathing affect posture, speech and sleep. Find out how the nerves of the face and throat link to the calming vagus nerve, why nasal breathing delivers nitric oxide to your lungs, and why teeth grinding can be a warning sign.
You’ll finish with simple things to try at home tonight, including a bedtime breathing game for kids.
Tongue up. Lips together. Breathe through the nose.

Transcript

Hi, It's Ross. Welcome to this week's update. This week I listened to a great podcast between Patrick McKeown and Laura Walls. Laura Walls is a speech pathologist in California who works with kids and young adults. Brought together a few key areas that I'm interested in. Breathing. Sleep. And how we develop from childhood into healthier adults. It started with a question that stuck with me. Why do so many bright, Capable kids struggle to concentrate, Sleep well, Or speak clearly? Often part of the answer comes down to two things, Where the tongue rests and how the child breathes. Firstly, The tongue. The tongue's natural resting place is up against the roof of the mouth, Just behind the front teeth. Lips together, Teeth slightly apart, Tongue up. When it rests there, It gently supports the shape of the upper jaw and keeps the airway at the back of the throat more open. When a child breathes through their mouth, The tongue drops to the floor of the mouth. Over time, That can affect how the face and jaw grow, How they swallow, And how clearly they speak. Sounds like L, T, D and S all depend on the tongue knowing where to go. What about posture? When the mouth hangs open and the tongue drops, The body has a clever trick to keep the air flowing. The head pushes forward, The shoulders round, You'll see it in kids slumped over on a tablet or a desk. It's not just a posture problem, It's the body working to keep the airway open. Bring the tongue back up to the roof of the mouth, Close the lips, And the head often naturally sits taller. Then there are the nerves. The tongue, Jaw, Face and throat are wired directly to the brainstem through a group of nerves called the cranial nerves. One of them is the vagus nerve, The body's main calming nerve. It runs from the brainstem, Through the throat, And down to the heart and gut. Slow nasal breathing, Long gentle out-breaths, And even humming all help switch on that calm side of the nervous system. So how a child holds their mouth, Tongue and head isn't separate from how calm or settled they feel. It's all connecting. And then there's the nose itself. As we know, The nose does a lot more than let air in. It filters, Warms and moistens the air. It cleans it. And the sinuses make a gas called nitric oxide. When you breathe through your nose, You carry that nitric oxide down into your lungs. It helps open the airways and blood vessels, Helps oxygen get into the blood, And helps the body defend against germs. Mouth breathing skips all of that. Here's a fun fact for the kids. Humming can boost the nitric oxide in your nose many times over. Put it all together at night. A child who breathes through their mouth while asleep tends to sleep more lightly. They may snore, Toss and turn, Grind their teeth or wake up tired. And a tired child doesn't always look tired. They can look distracted, Restless, Emotional or hard to settle. It's easy to see that as a behaviour problem when it may be a breathing problem. Couple of other things are worth knowing. Teeth grinding can be a sign a child's airway is working hard at night. Mention it to your dentist or doctor. And having tonsils or adenoids removed doesn't automatically mean a child will start breathing through their nose. The mouth breathing habit can stay, So the habit needs retraining too. And on this, I'm sorry if I sound controversial, But how many unnecessary ENT surgeries are children having when they should have just retrained their breathing? As a paramedic, I looked after a lot of kids. You learn quickly to watch how a child is breathing because it tells you so much. I just didn't realize back then how much it shapes their everyday life. Their sleep, Their focus, Their speech, Even how they stand with their posture. So here are a few simple things to try at home. Watch your child while they sleep. Is their mouth open? Do they snore or grind their teeth? During the day, Use a simple reminder. Lips together, Tongue up. Check their posture at the screen or desk. Head tall, Shoulders soft. Try teddy bear breathing at night. Teddy on the tummy, Breathe in and out through the nose and rock teddy to sleep. Finish with a few bee hums. And if you're worried, Talk to your GP, Dentist, Or a speech pathologist. There's a lot of help out there. Tongue up, Lips together, Breathe through the nose. Better breathing means better sleep. Better sleep means a calmer, Clearer, More focused, Happier child. I'll see you next week.