Take a big inhale breath, and exhale it all out. I am sure you have heard this in yoga or meditation class. In Pilates, we are big on cuing big breath cycles as well. Who doesn’t love a deep breath or sigh to feel better? Then I read the book “Oxygen Advantage” by Peter McKeown, who shattered my little world of breath. According to the book, we are actually losing a lot of carbon dioxide and oxygen by exhaling too much. Keeping the carbon dioxide and oxygen in, is beneficial. So instead of breathing big through the mouth, especially the exhale, his answer is to breathe through the nose. But what does nose breathing have to do with it and why?

Nose breathing vs mouth breathing

Although the book references athletic training, I think we can all benefit from nose breathing training. Note the word training and this post is not intended to help train your nose breathing. It’s a process to change the habit for better health and it can be detrimental jumping into it right away. Let’s look at the benefits of nose breathing and explore why mouth breathing is not advantageous.

The Nose Knows!

1. The nose warms and conditions the air before it gets to the lungs. This is helpful to maintain body temperature.

2. Inhalation through the nose mixes with nitric oxide, which helps fight infections and acts as a vasodilator. Not to be confused with nitrous oxide from the dentist! Nitric oxide opens up the alveoli (little pockets at the end of our lungs which deliver gases to the blood) to create better absorption of oxygen. Vasodilation also brings better blood flow and circulation. Because of that, it is being investigated as a treatment for Covid-19. And on a TMI note, it’s a natural viagra for men.

3. Breathing through the nose acts like a filter, and prevents bacteria from entering the body, not only with the help of nitric oxide, but mucus (aka snot). Bacteria can’t survive in it.

4. Nose breathing slows down the breath cycle. We exhale less than we would with the mouth. More oxygen stays within the body to absorb. Even more importantly, we keep in the carbon dioxide to deliver the oxygen. The added benefit of slowing the breath is the stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system, which creates calm throughout our entire system. We also learned how a slow exhale can stimulate the vagus nerve to stimulate the parasympathetic from my last post.

5. Carbon dioxide (CO2) helps deliver oxygen to our tissues. The more CO2 that stays in our body, the less lactic acid build up (soreness) we will have from our workouts. As a result, performance will be better as well as decreased levels of soreness. The bigger the exhales from mouth breathing or hyperventilation, the more CO2 we lose, the less oxygen can be absorbed. This challenged everything I learned about breathing while working out!

6. The combination of more CO2 and oxygen that stays in our bodies helps create better blood chemistry.

7. More oxygen, better brain function.

8. Diaphragmatic breathing. The diaphragm, our muscle of breath, is activated, moving the breath into the belly, thus creating a rhythm relationship with the pelvic floor. It is a deep core muscle, and a fluid and organ pump, facilitated with nose breathing.

Callate La Boca!

Mouth breathing is appropriate for emergency situations, like a fight or flight response or just pure panic. Mouth breathing is not ideal for these reasons:

1. Bad bacteria enter into our systems through our mouths and we have no mechanisms of defense, like the nose. Mouth breathers are more susceptible to infection, including colds.

2. Dry mouth and bacteria from mouth breathing creates oral halitosis, bad breath.

3. More oxygen and CO2 leave the body faster, less absorption of both. This affects performance and changes the blood PH. Low levels can also create heavy breathing as a vicious circle, as the body is trying to recoup correct levels. Circulation (vasoconstriction of blood vessels), brain function, and heart function will be affected over time.

4. Breathing through the mouth weakens the muscles and structures of the nose and throat, leading to snoring and eventually, sleep apnea. Sleep quality and oxygen intake is affected. It can actually affect facial musculature and create dental issues.

5. Mouths can't smell. The nose has sensors that connect to the brain that sense and interpret smell. Taste deterioration can also be affected by mouth breathing.

6. The diaphragm cannot function properly when breathing through the mouth, which nullifies the benefits of diaphragmatic breathing mentioned above. As a result, the muscles of the neck and shoulders overwork, possibly creating a chronic issue there. Shallow chest breathing becomes the breath pattern.

The idea is to do less mouth breathing and more nose breathing. It doesn’t happen overnight, or should you switch over cold turkey. There is a process to achieve this. Again, this information is not intended to teach you nose breathing, but inform you of its benefits. I would point to the book “Oxygen Advantage” as a way you can start nose breathing training on your own. Or you can explore the website, find a teacher on www.oxygenadvantage.com or watch a plethora of his YouTube videos as well

That is a lot of information, are you practically hyperventilating? All jokes aside, this is not an explanation of the process, just putting out information that I find interesting and worth exploring. Let me know how your breathing journey goes!