Health | Fitness

If You Don’t Breath Through Your Nose, You’re Missing Out

Your life can drastically improve with a few deep breaths

Listen mouth-breathers, I’m not looking to offend anyone. I want to help.

So, pause and take a deep breath. Get yourself into a listening state. Don’t feel any better? That’s because you’re doing it wrong.

Have you ever taken your car to get its oil changed? Perhaps you’re handy and do it yourself. Congrats. Either way, you’ve likely seen a dirty air filter. At the 10-minute oil change spots, they’ll pull it out and rub all the black gunk around with their white-gloved fingers.

“Did you know you’re breathing this in every day?”

Then, they’ll proceed to sell you a new air filter at a 600% markup. You’ll pay full price because you care about your health.

Now, imagine a world where that air filter improves the performance of your vehicle, supercharges the engine, reinforces the chassis, and shines the grill. In this fantastical world, it’s also free. All you have to do is remember to turn it on whenever you use your car.

Sounds like a dream right? Well, it’s not. Your body has this feature. It’s called your nose. We’ve merely lost sight of how to use it.

Here’s everything you’re missing out on by breathing through your mouth.

Why do we breathe through our mouths?

If breathing through your nose is so much better than our mouths, why even have the capability, right?

Originally, humans were made to breathe through our noses. Besides the countless health benefits of nose-breathing (that we will dive into in a moment), it was an efficient way to eat while breathing and not choke.

Over time, we began breathing through our mouths out of laziness. Our brains are always looking for ways to save energy and mouth-breathing is much easier. Just like anything in life, taking the easy route leads to undesirable results. So, over the years, we begin breathing undesirably.

Our posture began to slouch forward, brain function slowed, and our mouths now hang open when not in use, as if we’re fishing for flies.

Besides devolving into less efficient versions of ourselves, mouth-breathing has adverse effects on our dental hygiene, fitness levels, mental health, and cognitive abilities.

Here are some not-so-known benefits of nose-breathing

If you’ve ever tried to breathe through your nose, it’s difficult. You might even feel light-headed or panicky. That’s because we love habits. Specifically easy ones. Breathing through your mouth is the easy route you don’t even know you’re taking every day.

Undoing negative habits is slow and painful. So hang in there and take baby steps. You’re going to love the benefits of nose-breathing:

Improved sleep quality:

Breathing through your nose increases airflow to your brain and body. During and just before sleep, your body has a wind-down feature known as the “physiological sigh”. It involves taking two elongated breaths through the nose followed by one long exhale through the mouth.

This pattern allows you to offload carbon dioxide which lowers stress levels. Lower stress leads to better, more restful sleep. In addition, many studies link mouth-breathing to sleep disorders and interrupted sleep.

Increased physical capabilities:

Breathing through your nose directs airflow toward the bottom of your lungs. Take a deep breath through your nose right now. You’ll feel air collect at the base of your lungs, expanding your stomach. Now do the same through your mouth. The air will naturally collect in your chest.

A breath from deep in your stomach introduces more air into your muscle tissue and allows for more oxygen to be taken in. This means the ability to exercise longer and harder. Breathing through your nose also directs more oxygen to your brain allowing you to think faster and clearer. And if that wasn’t enough, it also improves digestion.

Whiter smile:

The nose was humankind’s first breathing apparatus. It allows us to smell, taste, and even comes with its own filtration system. Your nose hairs (called cilia) actually filter out bacteria as it enters your body. When you breathe air through your mouth, you are not only pulling bacteria into your lungs but your mouth as well.

Studies show that mouth-breathing increases plaque and leads to tooth decay. Long-term mouth-breathing can permanently change the shape of your jaw, causing misalignment and dental issues.

Makes you happier:

Noses are nature’s face masks. Besides filtering bacteria and warming air as it enters your body, breathing through your nose makes you happier.

Nose-breathing interacts with your parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for stress, anxiety, and relaxation. Long, deep breaths through the nose send signals to your brain telling it that you are safe, allowing you to relax and be happy. Short, shallow breaths do the opposite, telling your brain you’re in a state of fight-or-flight.

Improved posture:

How you breathe is a reflection of how you feel. As Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do.” How you breathe also affects how carry yourself. Studies show that mouth-breathing can create a forward-leaning, droopy posture.

Nose-breathing, on the other hand, supports a tall, healthy, and powerful posture. Just imagine filling up a balloon with air inside your stomach. Now, in your chest. Imagine how each scenario would affect your posture. This is essentially what’s happening every time you inhale and expand your lungs.

Breath through your nose, stand tall, and face the world head-on.

To breathe is to live (in summary)

Grow every day by living the habits that serve you. Nose-breathing, is a habit that serves you every second of every day.

Motivation is a domino effect. If you feel unmotivated, topple that first piece by taking a deep breath through your nose. You’ll know that you’ve just done something productive. The rest, is a matter of gravity.

Breathing through your nose is a cheat code. Your mouth, an air-filter scam. Keep your chassis in tip-top shape by switching on your nose-breathing function as often as possible.

To help solidify this information into memory, nose-breathing:

• Increases fitness and mental clarity
• Keeps your pearly whites clean
• Contributes to better sleep
• Makes you happier
• Helps you stand up tall

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