The importance of nasal breathing
The way we breathe can completely transform our health, energy and mental state.
Introduction
A Key Tip:
If I had to give you one piece of advice on breathing, it would be this: breathe through your nose whenever you can.. Parece algo menor, pero te aseguro que puede marcar una diferencia enorme.
Many people have spent years breathing through the mouth without realizing and live with fatigue, anxiety, sleep problems or chronic allergies, not knowing that everything could improve simply by using the nose for what was designed.
In this article I will explain why the nasal breathing is so crucial, what problems it brings to breathe through the mouth and how you can reeducate your body so that this vital act becomes automatic and natural.
Why Nose is the Best Option
The nose is not there just to hold the glasses or to sneeze from time to time. It is an incredibly sophisticated organ, designed specifically for the air we inhaled to reach the best possible conditions in our lungs.
1. Air conditioning
When you breathe through the nose, the air passes through a complex natural filtering system. The nasal (vibrous) and mucus hairs catch dust, pollen, bacteria, viruses and other allergens before they reach your lungs. At the same time, the internal structures of the nose, such as the cornetes, heat and moist that air, preparing it not to irritate the delicate lower airways.
Think about it like this: the nose is your first line of defense and a high-tech air conditioner built in.
Instead, if you breathe through your mouth, everything goes straight in and out of control: cold, dry air and full of particles. Did you notice that those who usually breathe through the mouth often colds more often or have recurring throat problems? It's no coincidence; your respiratory system is much more exposed.
2. Nitric Oxide (NO): A Supergas Produced at Home
An exclusive benefit of nasal breathing is the production of nitric oxide (NO) in the paranasal sinuses. This gas, which mixes with inhaled air, has vital functions:
- It's a powerful agent. vasodilator: Relax blood vessels, including those in the lungs, which improves circulation and can help reduce blood pressure.
- Optimizes the oxygen update: By dilating the airways and pulmonary blood vessels, it makes it easier for oxygen to pass more efficiently into the blood.
- Antimicrobial defense: It has antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties, helping to neutralize inhaled pathogens.
Fun Fact: if you hum or buzz (like when chanting "Om"), you can increase the production of nitric oxide up to 15 times! That is why many ancient practices include chanting or vibration in their breathing techniques.
3. Optimizes Gases Dynamics and Oxygenation
The nasal breathing, by offering a slight resistance to the passage of the air, makes the breathing naturally slower and deeper. This allows longer time for the gas exchange in the lungs.
- Better O₂/CO₂ balance: It helps maintain an adequate balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide (CO) in the blood. Reminds the importance of CO, which we saw in the Bohr effect: it is crucial for hemoglobin to release oxygen to the tissues. Breathing through the mouth tends to eliminate CO-- too fast.
- CO₂ tolerance: If you ever felt that you lack air or that you breathe too fast (even at rest), your carbon dioxide tolerance may have decreased, partly by breathing chronically in the mouth. This affects from sports performance to stress management.
4. Nervous System Regulation: Calm or Action, as required
Nasal breathing directly influences our autonomous nerve system.
- A slow and calm nasal breathing tends to activate the parasympathetic nerve system, responsible for "rest and digestion," promoting relaxation and recovery.
- On the contrary, breathing quickly and superficially through the mouth (a common pattern in stress or anxiety) tends to overstimulate the sympathetic nervous systemThe "fight or run." If you live breathing through your mouth without realizing it, your body is likely to be unnecessarily in an almost constant state of alert or mild stress.
5. Dental Health and Best Night Rest
- Oral health: Breathe through the dry mouth the saliva. saliva is crucial because it neutralizes acids, helps prevent caries and has antibacterial properties. The chronic dry mouth increases the risk of cavities, bad breath and gums diseases.
- Sleep better: Breathing through the nose during the night significantly reduces snoring and can reduce the severity of sleep apnea, improving the overall quality of rest. If you wake up with a dry mouth or an irritated throat, you are likely to have been breathing through your mouth. A simple solution that many people use is to gently cover their lips with specific microporous tape to sleep, which helps to reeducate the night nasal breathing.
How to Reeducate Your Breathing
When we talk about "breathing through the mouth," we don't always mean having an open mouth constantly; that little less common situation. The problem is mixed breathing, where the use of the nose and mouth is unconsciously altered as a way into the air, or where the mouth becomes the main way without us being noticed.
If you have been with this mixed pattern for years, making the change to a predominantly nasal breath can take a little time and consciousness, but the benefits make it worth every effort.
- Become Active Aware: During the day, check periodically how you are breathing. Is your mouth closed? Is air going in and out through your nose? Every time you catch yourself mouth breathing (without being in extreme physical effort), gently close it and redirect the air through your nose.
- Give your Body time: If at first you feel a slight feeling of "lack of air" or congestion when trying to breathe only from the nose, it is normal, especially if your nasal ducts are not used. Your body needs to adapt. Give it time, be constant, and you will notice how, little by little, it becomes easier and natural.
- Use Nose in Exercise (When Possible): For low and medium-intensity training, try to keep your breathing exclusively nasal. This not only trains your diaphragm and your tolerance to CO₂, but also improves your efficiency. In very high-intensity exercises, it may be necessary to turn to the mouth, but make sure that it does not become the habit outside of those peaks of effort.
- Practice Nasal Breathing Exercises: He will spend a few minutes a day making controlled and conscious nasal breaths. Simple exercises such as reducing the respiratory volume or breaks after exhalation (such as those inspired by the Buteyko Method) strengthen the habit and improve your respiratory capacity.
- Consider the Microporous Tape to Sleep: If you suspect that you breathe through the mouth at night, gently covering your lips with a microporous tape suitable for the skin can make a great difference in the quality of your sleep and how you feel when you wake up.
A Small Habit with a Giant Impact
Taking the nasal breath is not a punctual task, but a continuous and fundamental way to take care of your body and prevent future problems. It's a habit of hygiene as important as washing your teeth. When breathing through the nose, you use your breathing system as designed, allowing for its optimal operation. Correcting chronic oral breathing is a key, and unfortunately very ignored, preventive act.
Constant nasal breathing is the foundation from which any respiratory practice or search for well-being becomes much more meaningful and effective.
Even if you didn't want to go deeper in breathing techniques, make this small, but powerful, adjustment can bring you enormous benefits in exchange for a relatively low time and attention investment. As it is so simple and logical, I invite you to share this information with anyone you think might be relevant to.
