Craniofacial Development, Breathing, and the "Health ≠ Vanity" Paradox: A Thread

[champagnepapi]

There is a scariness to how blurry lines can become and now easily ignored certain signs can be. If you have been on here long enough, you are familar with the various "pills" and the many ways you can be / have been "pilled". Here is an important branch of the reality pill, I suggest you all take it. Even if this doesn't directly apply to you, I'd like you to read how far this kind of stuff can effect the human body.

The topic of this thread is centered around Craniofacial Development. Specifically negative effects such as recession, downwards growth, and more.

• Introduction

I would like to begin with genetic factors are estimated to determine approximately 50–80% of how people look, excluding lifestyle and environmental influences; however, the exact percentage can vary depending on the specific trait in question. For craniofacial development and facial appearance, genetics typically will account for 40%–80% heritability depending on the specific trait, with some features being far more genetically determined than others. Source

For example,

• Major facial distances and angles show moderate to high heritability, ranging from about 0.4 to 0.7 (40–70%). Source
• Mandible length and jaw structure can be highly heritable, with some studies citing values over 0.7 (up to 77%).
• Chin width is moderately heritable, around 42% in some studies. Source

Though, the appearance of softer and more delicate features of the face are intimately tied to sizes and proportions of these bones, like your lips and eyes.

Blah be blah be blah, it is no secret that doing anything enough over a certain amount of time will have an effect on you either physically, cognitively, spiritually - whatever.

How bad it can be for someone to suddenly learn the gross and seemingly twisted ways their body has changed due to the consequences of particular habits, well, I certainly wouldn't be a happy chap. But, knowledge is power, and I wouldn't want people to continue living in the dark. I'd like to at least explain it gracefully.

Our bodies are truly incredible machines, we have billions upon billions of completely autonomous processes going on right this second, so many operations working together to get the next one going. If you've ever looked into human biology, psychology, even nutrition for that matter, you will understand what I mean.

How many of you would know the great impacts on your health and even on your looks that breathing from your stomach versus breathing from your chest has had?

• Breathing

Stomach breathing (properly called diaphragmatic breathing):

• Efficient and higher oxygen exchange.
• Activates the parasympathetic nervous system which contributes to relaxation, stable mood, lower blood pressure.
• Supports healthy posture (diaphragm and core).

Chest breathing:

• Inefficient oxygen intake. Shallow, quick breaths. Accessory use of other muscles such as using the intercostal (rib) muscles and accessory muscles in the neck, instead of the diaphragm.
• Associated with stress, anxiety, and fatigue (sympathetic dominance).
• Can worsen posture (forward head, hunched shoulders). Are you seeing it now?
• Often found in people with narrow airways, deviated septum, or long-face/downward growth patterns.

Isn't that crazy? Doesn't that just piss you off?

Poor facial development, (recession & downward growth) can absolutely without a doubt shift breathing style from belly breathing --> chest breathing, with major downstream consequences for both your health and psyche. While also depending on the age you are, completely DISTORT, PERVERT, and quite frankly FUCK your entire walk of life.

Like other fantastic threads on here have covered,

• If the face grows forward (wide palate, strong foward maxilla/mandible), the airway stays open and unrestricted --> you breathe through your nose --> the diaphragm does the work --> deep, calm belly breathing.
• If the face grows downward (narrow palate, recessed jaws), the airway is more restricted --> nasal breathing becomes harder --> you default to mouth breathing --> shallow, stressed chest breathing.

Like many aspects in life you will find many patterns of "action reaction action reaction action reaction" to quote George Lucas, "It's like poetry, it rhymes" Unfortunately this process is not just a cosmetic issue, it’s oxygen, sleep, stress, mood, posture, and long-term health. All of these things setting up more things.
The same process that changes how your face looks also changes how you breathe and feel day to day. Because it’s all one system your bones, muscles, airway, nervous system, psyche.

Forget all the pressures of society, the relationships, the politics, the goyslop already trying to wraggle you. Or at least what you attribute to what's getting you down & lazy..

Chest breathing limits the amount of oxygen reaching the lower lungs, which decreases overall oxygen saturation in the bloodstream and subsequently the brain. This can impair essential functions like attention, memory, and learning, as adequate oxygen is critical for optimal brain activity, neuroplasticity, and neurotransmitter synthesis.

Chest breathing is associated with activation of the sympathetic ("fight or flight") nervous system, leading to higher stress and cortisol levels, which can harm cognitive performance and emotional regulation over time. Chronic physiological stress impairs areas such as the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, undermining memory, executive function, and overall brain capacity.

In contrast, diaphragmatic (stomach) breathing is shown to increase attentional capacity, improve mental focus, and lower cortisol levels, supporting cognitive health, even in healthy adults. Deep breathing also enhances heart rate variability and vagal tone, physiological markers strongly linked to improved cognition and emotional well-being.

Can you imagine how many people are out there mad at the wrong things? Just completely fucking lost and misunderstanding everything because certain levels in their body weren't reached due to the shallowness of the breaths they were taking!

• Research

There is substantial research demonstrating how mouth breathing, airway obstruction, and facial growth patterns are so deeply interconnected, affecting structure, function, and even breathing mechanics.

Studies found that mouth-breathing children have significant skeletal changes:

• Lower SNA and SNB angles (i.e., retruded maxilla and mandible),
• Increased mandibular plane angle, greater lower/total anterior facial height, and decreased posterior facial height—hallmarks of a vertical, backward-rotated growth pattern Source.

Another meta-analysis showed similar findings:

• Backward and downward rotation of the jaws, a steeper occlusal plane, protruding front teeth, and narrowed airways in mouth breathers compared to nasal breathers Source.

As it is a pretty popular or common topic on .org, we will often see people talking about what to do with these changed faces, or even for some changing faces depending on their age. I can understand where this section may not be so appealing.

I'm not alone in noticing it. The knowledge that airway, breathing patterns, and facial growth are linked has been around for decades, but it hasn’t been promoted to the public as much as you’d expect. There are several reasons.

ENT specialists, orthodontists, pediatricians, dentists, all see different “parts” of the problem:

• ENT --> focuses on airway obstruction, not always on growth
• Orthodontists --> focus on teeth, not breathing habits, for example the term "camofladge orthodontics" - I myself have been affected by this.
• Pediatricians --> may treat allergies but not check tongue posture

Without a unified model, families rarely hear “the whole picture.”

For a long time, orthodontics was about straightening teeth for aesthetics. Narrow arches were fixed with tooth extraction + braces, instead of expansion to preserve airway space. Only in recent decades has airway-centered orthodontics gained traction. People are keeping their wisdom teeth! Hooray! Why? Because their mouths are wide enough to accomodate them!

• Perception​

When the problem is presented as “facial aesthetics,” it gets dismissed as vanity. This is where many of the Blackpilled ideals originated I believe.

There are campaigns for obesity, smoking, and even dental hygiene but mouth breathing and airway health aren’t taught in schools or public health.
Parents often think “snoring is cute” or “mouth breathing is harmless,” or even the old "I used to snore" . "_____" snores and they're fine" when it’s actually a pretty big red flag.

Prevention (screening early, promoting nasal breathing, expanding palates) is cheaper than late orthodontics and surgeries. But healthcare often profits from treating problems later rather than preventing them. Because there is a greed problem, and there is a money problem. Why wouldn't keep charging hundreds of dollars for half hour appointments barely explaining why this is happening?

• The "Health ≠ Vanity" Paradox

If we admitted how much environment (diet, breathing habits, posture, air quality, bottle feeding vs breastfeeding, etc.) shape faces, it would call into question decades of orthodontic and medical practice. But not just that, morals, ethics, your relationships, all of the advice you've been given, every single interaction you've ever had. But how could we? There would be mass hysteria, sadness, anger, even suicide, if everyone suddenly was told why they aren't pretty as they could have been. In other words.. "Broootal"

As always in every aspect of life, we are limited to what we know.

Forward growth supports nasal breathing, diaphragm breathing, good sleep. Downward growth literally disrupts oxygen and recovery. This isn’t just about looking good it’s about being healthy and resilient.

Wide cheekbones, strong jawline, good symmetry ARE signs of strong airway and efficient growth.
Sunken eyes, long face, weak chin ARE signs of chronic airway restriction and mouth breathing.

So what gets labeled as “attractiveness” is actually the visual language of health. Because aesthetics reflect function.

Easier to say: “beauty is subjective, don’t worry about it.”

"Just be confident"

• Closing Remarks

I would like this thread to serve as informational and encouragement to seek out more information should you become interested in this stuff. There really are whole worlds out there of information that can benefit us in our day to day lives. If you are recognising changes in your face then I prompt you to approach it rationally and with care should you want to plan to intervene. If you recognise these changes have taken place then I prompt you to be kind to yourself and know that it wasn't your fault and that there are periods in our lives where we can't control things. It takes time to see things in a new light, even if you've been told it can only be one way. "Your eyes can decieve you, don't trust them" - Alec Guinness

The secret to getting ahead is getting started!


Thank you for reading! Or DNReading !