Breathing Re-Education
Breathing re-education retrains dysfunctional breathing patterns, mouth breathing, over-breathing, irregular breathing, and snoring, back toward quiet nasal breathing. Advanced Therapy & Wellness Center provides breathing re-education for children and adults in Crest Hill, Illinois, using Buteyko-informed methods, often paired with myofunctional therapy.
Most people never think about how they breathe. But breathing pattern affects sleep quality, energy, focus, and how the face and airway develop in a growing child. A mouth that hangs open at night, constant sighing and sniffing, air hunger during easy activity: these are trainable patterns, not personality traits.
Our clinicians are trained in the Buteyko Breathing Method and combine breathing retraining with myofunctional therapy when the two problems travel together, which is often. The tongue, the lips, and the breath are one system.
Signs of a dysfunctional breathing pattern
- Mouth breathing, day or night
- Snoring, or breathing you can hear at rest
- Over-breathing or hyperventilation
- Unexplained breathlessness during light activity
- Irregular breathing: breath holding, big gulps of air
- Frequent sighing, sniffing, or yawning
- Upper-chest breathing with lots of visible movement
- Waking with a dry mouth; restless, unrefreshing sleep
Who it helps
We work with children (breathing habits are easiest to reshape while the face and airway are still developing) and with adults, including those whose dentist, ENT, or sleep physician flagged mouth breathing or snoring, and those simply tired of waking up tired.
What breathing re-education looks like at ATWC
Evaluation starts with observation and history: how you breathe at rest, during speech, and under light exertion, plus sleep quality, congestion history, and habits. We're mapping the pattern before we change it.
Training itself is gentle and incremental. You'll learn nasal-breathing exercises, decongestion techniques, and habit cues that gradually reset your baseline, with short daily practice between sessions. Kids get a version built on games rather than discipline.
Breathing work is a team sport when medical factors are involved. Nasal obstruction, enlarged tonsils, and sleep apnea belong to ENTs and sleep physicians, and we refer and collaborate when we see red flags. What we retrain is the pattern, and patterns respond.
Not sure where to start? Score your airway.
The free Airway Score takes a few minutes and tells you whether mouth breathing, snoring, or oral habits deserve a closer look, for you or your child. It's the easiest first step, and it costs nothing.
Get Your Free Airway ScoreFrequently asked questions
What is breathing re-education?
Breathing re-education is structured training that replaces dysfunctional breathing patterns, such as mouth breathing and over-breathing, with quiet nasal breathing at rest, during activity, and during sleep. It uses graded exercises and habit training rather than devices or medication.
Why is mouth breathing a problem?
Chronic mouth breathing bypasses the nose's filtering, humidifying, and airflow-regulating functions, and it is linked to snoring, disrupted sleep, dry mouth, and dental problems. In children, an open-mouth pattern also influences how the face, palate, and airway grow.
What is the Buteyko Breathing Method?
The Buteyko Breathing Method is a program of gentle breathing exercises designed to normalize breathing volume and encourage nasal breathing. Our clinicians have completed Buteyko training and fold its techniques into individualized breathing re-education programs.
Can breathing re-education help with snoring?
Snoring often involves open-mouth sleep and poor tongue posture, and retraining nasal breathing and oral rest posture addresses both. Because snoring can also signal sleep apnea, which needs medical evaluation, we screen for red flags and refer to sleep physicians when appropriate.
My child always has a stuffy nose. Can they still do this?
Usually yes. Training includes gentle decongestion techniques, and mild chronic congestion often improves as nasal breathing increases. If there's a structural blockage, such as enlarged adenoids, we'll refer you to an ENT and coordinate care.
How is breathing re-education different from myofunctional therapy?
Myofunctional therapy retrains the muscles of the mouth and face, while breathing re-education retrains the breathing pattern itself. The two overlap and are frequently done together at ATWC, because an open mouth and dysfunctional breathing reinforce each other.
