Your teeth are an integral part of your everyday life. Without teeth, it would be extremely hard to eat certain foods. This could eventually affect your nutrient intake. This is why it is imperative to protect and care for your teeth in every manner possible. Working out or playing any type of contact sport can always put your teeth at risk. Just the slightest slip and you could crack a tooth, break it out, or even jam it up into your gums. All of the situations are undesirable, but they will eventually lead to more problems if the situation isn’t rectified. This is exactly where mouthguards can come in handy, but what kind of effect do these devices have on your performance and fitness level?

Fitness History 

The truth of the matter is that fitness wasn’t always as important as it is today. Well, people didn’t put as much emphasis on it. Nevertheless, it is true that physical fitness was a vital component of everyday life. Without being physically fit, people would have never survived. After all, there were no easy forms of transportation in the early days. Early mankind was required to walk from one location to the next. They also hunted for their food. This combination kept people fit and ready to go.

Wars And Fitness

Eventually, the war brought about the need for further fitness. In the early days, people fought wars physically. There were no tanks or machine guns. Instead, soldiers went to battle using swords and arms to arms combat. This ultimately forced these individuals to get into shape. Military officials knew that their soldiers would lose the battle unless they were very fit. This forced the armies around the world to discover new fitness routines and some of those methods are still around today.

Physical Education Classes 

Eventually, it was discovered that more and more importance needed to be placed on physical fitness. This ultimately led to the federal government added physical education classes to schools. This has died out somewhat today, but physical education classes were available in all schools at one point in time. At one point in time, America was one of the fittest countries in the world, because of this federal action.

The Future 

The future of fitness is changing greatly. More and more people are becoming obese. Before too long, the federal government will be forced to step in and act. When that happens, there is a good chance that you’ll see more adverts promoting good health. You’ll also see fitness classes added to elementary and high schools. They might even be added to universities and colleges.

Restricting BreathingTo Enhance Endurance 

If you have been in the fitness industry as of late you may have seen many individuals training, sparring, and running with mouthguards. Why are they doing this when it restricts their breathing? Well, when you restrict your breathing during cardiovascular exercises it will actually help increase your overall endurance levels. Sure, these annoying little devices might be hard to get used to and restrict your breathing, but if you want to really enhance your cardio workouts; you should consider investing in one.

Improving Your Recovery Rates 

Is it even possible that utilizing a mouthguard could potentially enhance your recovery rates as well? According to new research that is exactly what the experts are saying. When you are working out you are actually putting stress on your body. This means that your body will produce more cortisol hormones during these training sessions. The harder you push yourself, the higher your cortisol levels will be. You probably already know that stress can have a variety of negative impacts on the body, including restricting your recovery rates.

Clenching or biting when you are stressed can help naturally reduce these cortisol levels. So, when an individual is working out and biting down on his mouthguard it reduces the amount of cortisol in the body. Reducing these levels can help your body recover faster after more intense workouts. Any expert at Markham Dental Hygiene & Wellness will recommend wearing a mouthguard when training to preserve your teeth. You can see that this little $5 device could even provide more benefits.

Supplying More Oxygen To The Muscles 

Since these new discoveries have been made there have been a lot of changes made in the mouthguard industry. In fact, it is possible that you have already seen some of these changes for yourself. Dentist’s offices are now offering what is known as performance mouthguards. Yes, these devices must be custom designed by a professional dentist and can run you anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars, but they come along with their own special set of benefits. These devices are light, flexible and molded perfectly to the teeth. They are nothing like what you see football players or mixed martial artists wearing. These devices are similar to a retainer in their look and design.

They are designed in this manner so that individuals can take in more air when they are exercising. More oxygen feeding your muscles with a relaxed clenched jaw is going to decrease your stress and help your body function more efficiently. In addition to this, the device will be all around more comfortable and natural to wear.

Improve Your Lifts 

You already learned that mouthguards can have a major impact on your endurance and cardiovascular training, but what can it do for your strength levels? Well, you should already know that when your endurance is higher you are going to have more energy to churn out those heavier repetitions. However, the most important thing is the clenching of the teeth. When you are squatting or lifting large amounts of weights you have probably noticed that you are constantly grinding or clenching your teeth. While this action might seem extremely simple, it actually helps the body relax and gives it the focus that it needs to complete the lift.

Unfortunately, the repeated effect of this practice can be extremely hard on the teeth. A mouthguard will not only help your jaw clench and relax in a more effective manner, but it will reduce the wear and tear on your teeth.