Everyone breathes…but are you breathing properly?
Have we forgotten how to breathe through our nose – or is it congested so its lost function?
When you are jogging or playing sport are you breathing through your nose?
Why Is Nasal Breathing Important?
Breathing comes naturally, and most of us don’t tend to think about it much. However, nasal breathing is our natural state and is important for several reasons - diet and stress and structural change overtime can block our nasal passageway to prevent nose breathing - this can deteriorate out health.
The nose is specifically designed for breathing and has many functions that enable you to breathe properly, efficiently, and safely. The first of these is the nose’s ability to filter out foreign particles such as dust, pollen, and allergens. Breathing through your nose helps to prevent these particles from entering your lungs.
NITRIC OXIDE
In addition, your nose releases critically important nitric oxide (NO), a vasodilator that helps to widen blood vessels during nasal breathing, which helps improve the circulation of oxygen throughout your body. Nitric oxide improves cardiac health, enhances performance during exercise, improves healing, reduces erectile dysfunction, reduces high blood pressure during pregnancy and improves respiratory response.
Your nose helps to warm and moisturize the air you inhale to your body temperature, which makes breathing easier on your lungs.
Benefits of Nasal Breathing
Since your nose was designed to breathe, nasal breathing benefits include the following:
Reduced exposure to foreign substances
Improving your lung volume
Increasing uptake of oxygen
Increasing airflow to nerves, arteries, and veins
Aiding your immune system
Increasing your circulation
Lowering your risk of developing allergies and hay fever
Lowering your risk for sleep apnea and snoring
Your nose ensures you breathe correctly and safely. Not only do individuals who breathe through their noses experience the above benefits, but they also are more likely to enjoy a better quality of sleep than people who breathe through their mouths.
Mouth breathing, on the other hand, can result in several long-term oral issues like face changing shape - weak chin and jaw, crowded teeth, cracked lips and gum disease.
The Dangers Of Mouth Breathing
An estimated 30-50% of adults breathe through their mouths every day.
While mouth breathing is necessary in some cases – for instance an emergency option if you have small nostrils, a deviated septum, or congestion – there are also downsides.
Breathing through your mouth means your mouth loses moisture, which can lead to dry mouth, bad breath, infection and gum inflammation (also known as gingivitis). Mouth breathing can also increase your risk of allergic reactions to allergens, developing asthma, experiencing teeth or jaw abnormalities, inhaling unfiltered air, and can even exacerbate snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), as it can increase airway collapse and nasal resistance.
Nasal Breathing and Sleep Apnea
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a condition that causes breathing to repeatedly stop and start during sleep and therefore repeatedly deprives your body of oxygen. When your oxygen level dips, your body may signal you to start suddenly gasping or gulping in the air quickly.
Experiencing this phenomenon often can cause you to develop a habit of breathing with your mouth open to accommodate your body’s need for more oxygen. When mouth breathing happens consistently during sleep–and you find yourself snoring as a result–you may consider excellent fast and effective treatment options like NasalRX. (click to find out)
Bottom Line
Nasal breathing not only encourages an increase in blood oxygenation and the amount of oxygen delivered to tissues and organs – along with other benefits – but it also promotes a healthier, sounder, and quieter sleep.
If you’d like to learn more about how NasalRX can help with your nasal breathing – thereby helping with snoring and sleep apnea and/or that of a loved one’s – reach out to us at Headache & Tendon, Brisbane and Sunshine Coast
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