The Sleep Is A Skill Podcast 256: Patrick McKeown, Breathing Expert & Author: The Breathing Cure for Better Sleep (UARS, Apnea, Mouthbreathing, and more!)
Feb 27, 2026
Patrick McKeown, breathing expert and author of The Breathing Cure for Better Sleep, shares how nasal breathing, tongue posture, and daytime breathing patterns shape nighttime rest. He covers mouth taping cautions, UARS and why it often hides in women, myofunctional therapy, and practical tools like guided audio and nasal aids for quieter, more restorative sleep.
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How One Night Of Nasal Breathing Changed His Life
- Patrick McKeown discovered nasal breathing by taping his mouth closed and felt refreshed the next morning after years of waking with a dry mouth.
- That immediate change convinced him to switch careers and teach breathing rehabilitation, starting a lifelong focus on daytime breathing patterns affecting sleep.
Switch To Nasal Breathing But Don't Force It
- Do aim to breathe through your nose not your mouth because nasal breathing widens the airway, recruits the diaphragm, and signals upper airway dilators to reduce collapse risk.
- Avoid forcing nasal breathing during sleep until underlying daytime breathing pattern is improved, and never tape people with moderate–severe OSA.
Child Mouth Breathing Alters Facial Growth And Airway
- Insight: Childhood mouth breathing leads to low tongue posture and narrow maxilla, altering facial growth and increasing later airway problems and sleep disorders.
- Harvold's monkey experiments mirror human craniofacial changes from chronic mouth breathing in children.
