Welcome!
We covered a lot in your consultation, and no one remembers it all, that's what this page is for. These handouts reinforce what you learned and help you put it into practice, one step at a time. Read them right here, or download a PDF copy to save or print. This page is just for our patients, so bookmark it or hang on to the email that brought you here.
Optimizing Nasal Breathing, Sleep Hygiene & Circadian Alignment
Better sleep is built during the day, not just at night. These four steps work together: train your breathing while you're awake, prepare your bedroom each evening, keep your nose clear, and keep your body clock on schedule.
Step 1: Practice Nasal Breathing All Day
The way you breathe during the day is the way you tend to breathe at night. The nose filters, warms, and humidifies the air, and nasal breathing encourages slower, deeper, more efficient breaths. Making it your daytime default is the single best way to carry it into sleep.
Breathe through your nose. Keep your lips gently together and breathe through your nose during everyday activities: working, walking, watching TV. If you catch yourself mouth breathing, simply close your lips, exhale through your nose, and carry on. No forcing required; awareness does most of the work.
Mind your tongue position. At rest, your whole tongue should sit lightly suctioned to the roof of your mouth, not just the tip. The tip rests just behind (not touching) your front teeth, lips together, teeth slightly apart. This resting posture supports the airway, keeps the mouth naturally closed, and reinforces nasal breathing without any conscious effort.
Build the habit with check-ins. Tie a quick self-check to routine moments: red lights, opening your email, boiling the kettle. Ask yourself two questions: am I breathing through my nose, and where is my tongue? During walks or light exercise, keep your mouth closed and let your nose set the pace.
Take it further. These skills are the foundation of orofacial myofunctional therapy (OMT), a set of simple exercises that retrain the tongue, lips, and airway muscles that weaken with chronic mouth breathing. An easy way to build this training into your day is the REMplenish Myo-Nozzle, a water-bottle nozzle that adds gentle resistance to each sip and engages those same muscles every time you drink. You'll find it on our Recommended Products page.
Step 2: Prepare Your Bedroom an Hour Before Bed
About an hour before bed, start winding down and set the room up for sleep. Your bedroom should be used for sleep only; this trains your brain to associate the space with rest. Aim for three conditions:
• Cool: a slightly cool room supports the natural drop in body temperature that comes with sleep
• Dark: blackout curtains or blinds if streetlights or early sun are an issue
• Quiet: a sound machine (white, pink, or brown noise) can mask disruptive sounds like traffic or a snoring partner
Protect the wind-down, too: avoid alcohol, heavy meals, and vigorous exercise late in the day. All three interfere with the body's transition into deep, restful sleep. Our preferred sound machine is on our Recommended Products page.
