4 ms·

General question for anyone with an opinion. Is it common knowledge in your society/culture/family that "mouth breathing" is a bad thing? I'm really fascinated

General question for anyone with an opinion. Is it common knowledge in your society/culture/family that "mouth breathing" is a bad thing? I'm really fascinated by this because some of the comments I've been reading here are very opinionated but I don't know what they are based on.

drukenemo 4y ago
I recommend the book Breath by James Nestor. A well researched book, in which he makes the case for nasal breathing.
- adaml_623 4y ago
  That's not an answer to my question at all. I'm asking about the comments and attitudes that seem to treat mouth breathing as bad and wondering where they come from. I'm (relatively) sure that a book published in 2020 isn't the root cause.
  - LanceH 4y ago
    Historically, it feels more like a class thing. A proper, civilized person would keep their mouth closed. As for the current mouth vs nose and belly vs chest breathing, it really feels like a fad/cult. There seem to be a constant stream of very small "studies" with questionable methodologies with just enough results to warrant further investigation.
  - jamiek88 4y ago
    It’s been a thing in uk for hundreds of years and because of the internet cultures are merging.
soneca 4y ago
Not an idiomatic expression in Brazil. There is some cultural behavior of my parents telling me to “close my mouth” as it was an inherent bad/impolite/ugly/improper thing.
nobody9999 4y ago
>General question for anyone with an opinion. Is it common knowledge in your society/culture/family that "mouth breathing" is a bad thing? Yes and no. Mouth breathing in and of itself isn't, socially, a negative. However, in English[0][1][2], a "mouth breather" is also a euphemism for someone of below average quality and intelligence. Not sure how that came to be, but that's the answer to your question. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouth_breathing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouth_breathing [1] https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/mouth-breathers https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/mouth-breathers [2] https://www.definitions.net/definition/mouth%20breather https://www.definitions.net/definition/mouth%20breather
xuaihua 4y ago
For what it’s worth, I’ve only heard this term in my (American) culture for the past 5 or so years. My first exposure to the term was via internet memes where “mouth breathing” was conveyed as existing only with those who were mentally impaired. Check out the Urban Dictionary link someone else responded to you with in a different comment thread for more context. I don’t recall ever hearing anything about “mouth breathing” in my society/culture/subculture before exposure to these memes, so I wonder if it’s a newer thing? If so, silly memes really are influencing our culture!
Roark66 4y ago
Definitely yes. Parents tell their kids to "close their mouth" etc. Being seen in public with your mouth open is seen as impolite/a sign of some mental issues.
Firther 4y ago
There has been a social stigma against breathing through your mouth in the UK for as long as I can remember, with it being associated with negative qualities like being undisciplined, unathletic, dimwitted, along with it being considered an impolite thing to do. I doubt this was part of the curriculum, but in fitness classes at school we were told that breathing through your nose with your tongue pressed against the roof of your mouth helps develop your face/jaw and that breathing through your nose moistens the air and helps filter it. We were also told that it's not necessary to breath through your mouth when you're out of breath as you won't get or don't need more oxygen and that you risk hyperventilating this way, instead we were told that you should breath using your diaphragm to help mix the air in the lungs and that you should hold the breath for about as long as you inhale/exhale if you can help it. This sort of breathing exercise seems pretty common in any fitness/exercise related guide I've seen too. As far as other countries/cultures go, any country that has a strong yoga/meditative culture likely considers breathing through your mouth to be bad too, but this is just speculation on my part. Pranayama is thousands of years old for instance and is primarily concerned with controlling and reducing your breathing, which is hard to do if you're not breathing through the nose.
lbayes 4y ago
I was raised in the American South. I always thought "mouth breather" was referring to stupid, but tough guys who did so much fighting that their smashed noses don't work anymore. Also, my nose has been broken a few times and I can't ever really get enough air through it...

drukenemo 4y ago

I recommend the book Breath by James Nestor. A well researched book, in which he makes the case for nasal breathing.

adaml_623 4y ago
That's not an answer to my question at all. I'm asking about the comments and attitudes that seem to treat mouth breathing as bad and wondering where they come from. I'm (relatively) sure that a book published in 2020 isn't the root cause.
- LanceH 4y ago
  Historically, it feels more like a class thing. A proper, civilized person would keep their mouth closed. As for the current mouth vs nose and belly vs chest breathing, it really feels like a fad/cult. There seem to be a constant stream of very small "studies" with questionable methodologies with just enough results to warrant further investigation.
- jamiek88 4y ago
  It’s been a thing in uk for hundreds of years and because of the internet cultures are merging.

soneca 4y ago

Not an idiomatic expression in Brazil. There is some cultural behavior of my parents telling me to “close my mouth” as it was an inherent bad/impolite/ugly/improper thing.

nobody9999 4y ago

>General question for anyone with an opinion. Is it common knowledge in your society/culture/family that "mouth breathing" is a bad thing? Yes and no. Mouth breathing in and of itself isn't, socially, a negative. However, in English[0][1][2], a "mouth breather" is also a euphemism for someone of below average quality and intelligence. Not sure how that came to be, but that's the answer to your question. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouth_breathing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouth_breathing [1] https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/mouth-breathers https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/mouth-breathers [2] https://www.definitions.net/definition/mouth%20breather https://www.definitions.net/definition/mouth%20breather

xuaihua 4y ago

For what it’s worth, I’ve only heard this term in my (American) culture for the past 5 or so years. My first exposure to the term was via internet memes where “mouth breathing” was conveyed as existing only with those who were mentally impaired. Check out the Urban Dictionary link someone else responded to you with in a different comment thread for more context. I don’t recall ever hearing anything about “mouth breathing” in my society/culture/subculture before exposure to these memes, so I wonder if it’s a newer thing? If so, silly memes really are influencing our culture!

Roark66 4y ago

Definitely yes. Parents tell their kids to "close their mouth" etc. Being seen in public with your mouth open is seen as impolite/a sign of some mental issues.

Firther 4y ago

There has been a social stigma against breathing through your mouth in the UK for as long as I can remember, with it being associated with negative qualities like being undisciplined, unathletic, dimwitted, along with it being considered an impolite thing to do. I doubt this was part of the curriculum, but in fitness classes at school we were told that breathing through your nose with your tongue pressed against the roof of your mouth helps develop your face/jaw and that breathing through your nose moistens the air and helps filter it. We were also told that it's not necessary to breath through your mouth when you're out of breath as you won't get or don't need more oxygen and that you risk hyperventilating this way, instead we were told that you should breath using your diaphragm to help mix the air in the lungs and that you should hold the breath for about as long as you inhale/exhale if you can help it. This sort of breathing exercise seems pretty common in any fitness/exercise related guide I've seen too. As far as other countries/cultures go, any country that has a strong yoga/meditative culture likely considers breathing through your mouth to be bad too, but this is just speculation on my part. Pranayama is thousands of years old for instance and is primarily concerned with controlling and reducing your breathing, which is hard to do if you're not breathing through the nose.

lbayes 4y ago

I was raised in the American South. I always thought "mouth breather" was referring to stupid, but tough guys who did so much fighting that their smashed noses don't work anymore. Also, my nose has been broken a few times and I can't ever really get enough air through it...