Nostril Vs Mouth Breathing
We are never taught how to breathe and it is very common for people to shallow breathe through their mouths, especially under times of stress.
What happens when you breathe through your mouth?
Breathing through the mouth usually only fills up the upper lobes of the lungs which have more sympathetic nervous system receptors and has a more stimulatory response in the body that can release stress hormones.
This may have evolved to help us under times of great exertion and stress, when greater volumes of oxygen may be needed, along with a boost in our sympathetic, flight or fight response.
When you work out intensely you will naturally breathe through both your nose and mouth to bring in more oxygen to supply your muscles demands. However under times of emotional stress you may also breathe through your mouth more when in fact you do not need the excess oxygen as you are not physically active. This can lead to unnecessary extra stress on the body and more stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system than is actually required.
What happens when you breathe through your nostrils?
Your energy levels are directly linked to the function of your lungs as this is where oxygen is absorbed into the body. They extract oxygen from the air primarily on the exhalation.
- As your nostrils are much smaller than your mouth, the rate of air flow into your lungs is reduced. Air exhaled through your nose creates extra back pressure and the air is retained for longer inside your lungs. This gives more time for oxygen to be absorbed into your blood stream.
- Breathing through your nostrils also filters, cleans and conditions the air so that you breathe higher quality air into your lungs.
- Nitric Oxide (NO) is produced in the paranasal sinuses just above the nose and is secreted continuously during the in breath reaching down to the lungs. This aids in relaxing the pathways to the alveoli and the alveoli itself allowing for a greater transfer of oxygen to the blood.
- As nostril breathing also warms the air, it flows into the lower part of the lungs where there are more parasympathetic receptors. This helps you stay calm and relaxed. If you are competing in sports, by simply breathing through your nostrils, you can stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system to maintain more focus. In some cases you will need extra oxygen and so breathing through both your nostril and mouth at the same time will ensure you do not over stimulate your sympathetic nervous system.
- Studies have shown that NO has a strong antibacterial effect, and can kill both bacteria and viruses. It can successfully eliminate bacteria such as Salmonella and Shigella as well as other bacteria that often affect patients with pulmonary diseases caused by smoking or cystic fibrosis.