Julia Bradbury reveals the bizarre ritual she performs every night before going to sleep in a bid to improve her health after being diagnosed with breast cancer

Julia Bradbury has revealed she sleeps every night with her mouth taped shut to breathe through her nose.

The presenter, 53, candidly described her nightly ritual that she practices religiously every night to improve her sleep habits amid her battle with breast cancer.

Julia, who was diagnosed with the disease in September 2021 before undergoing a mastectomy to have a 6cm tumor removed, told BBC Radio Wales that the best thing you can do to ‘improve your health’ is by learning to sleep through your nose’.

She said: ‘We all breathe too fast and we tend to breathe through our mouths, and that’s not good for our health.

‘The best thing you can do for your health is learn how to breathe through your nose. Some people will say, “I can’t breathe through my nose, it’s clogged.”

Sleep routine: The host candidly described her nightly ritual that she practices religiously every night to improve her sleep habits amid her battle with breast cancer

‘There is a nose blocking exercise that will help you with this. The more you sleep, breathing through your nose, the better you will become at it.

‘I sleep with a tape, a small thin tape, over my mouth at night to encourage me to breathe through my nose at night.

‘It’s just a little piece of tape that goes from under my nose to under my lower lip. And it just means it helps my nasal breathing during the night.”

Julia, who wrote and published a book called Walk Yourself Happy after overcoming her cancer diagnosis, added that you can exercise during the day if you get nervous.

She continued, “Put on some tape while you’re at your laptop and see how you feel.”

Health experts claim that exhaling through the nose filters dust particles, allergens and pollen and warms and humidifies the air, making it easier on your lungs and improving oxygen circulation throughout the body.

Mouth breathing is associated with allergic reactions, asthma, tooth decay, gingivitis, sleep apnea and tooth or jaw abnormalities.

She also recently revealed that she has an ‘eating window’ after overhauling her lifestyle.

Cancer journey: Julia was diagnosed with the disease in September 2021 before undergoing a mastectomy to remove a 6cm tumor – pictured days before her mastectomy

Health Tips: Julia believes that the best thing you can do to ‘improve your health is to learn how to sleep through your nose’

And in a new interview, two years after she was first diagnosed, Julia told how she went on a health kick and cut out booze and junk food from her diet while asking herself: ‘Do I want that feeling again, or do I want to stay?’ empathize?’

Meanwhile, the mum-of-three admitted she is ‘grateful’ for her breast cancer diagnosis as it has allowed her to ‘reexamine my life’.

Looking fantastic in a new photoshoot with Great magazineJulia told the publication about her life changes, noting that she has an “eating window” in which she eats breakfast around 1 a.m. and 6 p.m., with plenty of vegetables, fats and protein.

She explained: ‘What I don’t do anymore is have buckets of ice cream and chocolate brownies. I’ve also cut out booze, as alcohol can increase the risk of recurrence, and I’ve probably had enough to drink in my life. The question is: do I want that feeling again, or do I want to stay alive?’

The broadcaster went on to reveal how having cancer has changed her as a person and given her a different outlook on life – something she is grateful for.

She said: ‘There is no doubt that a cancer diagnosis is life-changing. It doesn’t define you, it shapes you. It has certainly revolutionized my approach to health, life and death. It brought gratitude to the forefront of my mind, made me examine every aspect of my lifestyle, and increased my love for Mother Nature.

‘I also think it has made me a kinder, more understanding and patient person. It may sound strange to say, but I’m actually grateful for my diagnosis because it made me re-examine my life.’

And while Julia is grateful for how she sees life now, she adds that practicing gratitude is really “important” to her and is “edifying,” as the star now wakes up with a smile every day.

Brave: Julia shares her son Zephyr, 12, and her twin girls, Xanthe and Zena, eight, with her husband, property developer Gerard Cunningham (pictured together in 2022)

Amid her heartbreaking ordeal, there is one person who has always been by her side: husband Gerard Cunningham, with whom she shares son Zephyr, 12, and twins, Xanthe and Zena, eight.

Julia told how he supported her through her battle with cancer, brought them ‘closer together’ and added ‘a new dimension’ to their relationship.

After her diagnosis in 2021, she had the tumor, two lymph nodes and her left breast removed before undergoing reconstruction surgery.

Julia first discovered a lump in her breast in 2020, which turned out to be a benign cluster of cysts.

A year later, she had another mammogram, and while that turned up nothing unusual, doctors found a shadow at her follow-up appointment.

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world, affecting more than two MILLION women every year

Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in the world. There are more than 55,000 new cases in Britain every year, and the disease claims the lives of 11,500 women. In the US it affects 266,000 people and kills 40,000 every year. But what causes it and how can it be treated?

What is breast cancer?

It comes from a cancer cell that develops in the lining of a duct or lobe in one of the breasts.

When the breast cancer has spread to surrounding tissue, it is called ‘invasive’. Some people are diagnosed with ‘carcinoma in situ’, where no cancer cells have grown outside the duct or lobule.

Most cases develop in people over the age of 50, but sometimes younger women are also affected. Breast cancer can develop in men, although this is rare.

Staging indicates how big the cancer is and whether it has spread. Stage 1 is the earliest stage and stage 4 means the cancer has spread to another part of the body.

The cancer cells are classified from low, which means slow growth, to high, which means fast growth. High-grade cancers are more likely to come back after they are first treated.

What causes breast cancer?

A cancerous tumor starts from one abnormal cell. The exact reason why a cell becomes cancerous is unclear. It is thought that something damages or changes certain genes in the cell. This causes the cell to become abnormal and multiply ‘out of control’.

Although breast cancer can develop for no apparent reason, there are some risk factors that can increase its likelihood, such as genetics.

What are the symptoms of breast cancer?

The usual first symptom is a painless lump in the breast, although most are not cancerous and are fluid-filled cysts, which are benign.

The first place breast cancer usually spreads to is the lymph nodes in the armpit. When this happens, a swelling or lump develops in the armpit.

How is breast cancer diagnosed?

• Initial assessment: A doctor examines the breasts and armpits. They may do tests such as a mammogram, a special X-ray of the breast tissue that can indicate the possibility of tumors.
• Biopsy: A biopsy involves removing a small piece of tissue from a part of the body. The sample is then examined under a microscope to look for abnormal cells. The sample can confirm or rule out cancer.

If you are confirmed to have breast cancer, further tests may be needed to assess whether the cancer has spread. For example, blood tests, an ultrasound of the liver or an X-ray of the chest.

How is breast cancer treated?

Treatment options that may be considered include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment. A combination of two or more of these treatments is often used.

• Surgery: Breast-conserving surgery or removal of the affected breast, depending on the size of the tumor.
• Radiotherapy: A treatment that uses high-energy beams of radiation aimed at cancerous tissue. This kills cancer cells or prevents them from multiplying. It is mainly used as an adjunct to surgery.
• Chemotherapy: A cancer treatment that uses anti-cancer drugs that kill cancer cells or prevent them from multiplying.
• Hormone treatments: Some types of breast cancer are affected by the ‘female’ hormone estrogen, which can stimulate cancer cells to divide and multiply. Treatments that lower the levels of these hormones or prevent them from working are often used in people with breast cancer.

How successful is the treatment?

The outlook is best in those who are diagnosed when the cancer is still small and has not spread. Surgical removal of a tumor at an early stage can then give a good chance of cure.

Thanks to routine mammography offered to women between the ages of 50 and 70, more cases of early-stage breast cancer are being diagnosed and treated.

For more information, visit breastcancernow.org or call the free helpline on 0808 800 6000