We are designed as humans to breathe in and out of our nose most of the time during wakefulness and sleep. The nose performs many critical health functions, whereas the mouth serves no purpose in our daily breathing, except to act as a backup if the nose is congested, or during high intensity exercise (i.e. sprinting, jogging up a hill, etc.). With training, we can learn to breathe in and out through the nose during the day, whilst asleep and during sports up to a moderate intensity, with the exception of swimming, where we have to inhale through the mouth, but we can exhale through the nose.
Think of the nose as part of our respiratory system and the mouth as part of our digestive system. You wouldn't try eating through your nose, so why breathe through your mouth...?
Why do some people become mouth breathers?
There are multiple reasons why children and adults adopt poor breathing patterns, mainly linked to their lifestyle. Stress/anxiety, poor posture, diet, hormonal changes, a sedentary lifestyle, as well as genetics can also lead to mouth breathing. Having a job which involves a lot of talking means you are mouth breathing throughout the day, similarly with singing. Some form of nasal obstruction, narrow nasal passages, and some respiratory conditions and allergies can also lead to mouth breathing. However, this does not mean that nose breathing is impossible as there are breathing exercises to help decongest the nose, even during a cold.
As babies, we naturally breathe through the nose and use the diaphragm (our main breathing muscle). However, as early as 4 or 5 years old, some children start adopting mouth breathing patterns during the day and/or during sleep. Some people continue to breathe this way all their lives and they are unaware of it and the impact it can have on their physical and mental health.
I was one of those people until my mid-forties when I came across the Oxygen Advantage, and re-trained myself to breathe through my nose during the day and when sleeping. Changing my breathing has improved my sleep, migraines, my energy levels & my focus. It has improved my swimming endurance and how I react to stressful situations. I also believe it has helped me minimise menopausal symptoms by regulating my nervous system. As a result, I trained as a functional breathing coach to help others experience the benefits of improved breathing.
So why is nose breathing better than mouth breathing?
In addition to providing us with a sense of smell, the nose performs many important health functions:
The nose acts as the first line of our immune defense by filtering the inhaled air which contains allergens and foreign bodies. Tiny hairs called cilia, mucous and the internal structure of the nose all help to prevent billions of airborne particles from entering the lungs.
Nitric Oxide is produced in the sinuses and purifies the incoming air with its antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties.
Nitric Oxide is also a vasodilator - so it opens up the blood vessels in the lungs which improves blood flow for better gas exchange (getting oxygen into the bloodstream).
The nose warms and moistens the inhaled air which reduces airway irritation or constriction of the airways. Moist air also allows for better oxygen uptake in the alveoli (tiny air sacks) in the lungs.
The nostrils are smaller openings than the mouth, so create 50% more resistance compared to mouth breathing.
The resistance from breathing through the nose forces the diaphragm to contract, which strengthens it, so you are more likely to use your diaphragm to draw air deeper into the lower lobes of the lungs for better gas exchange (more oxygen uptake in the blood).
nose breathing activates the Parasympathetic branch of the nervous system, putting us more in rest, digest and relaxation mode.
If you breathe through the mouth, the only defense against harmful particles are your tonsils and adenoids, which in mouth breathing children can become enlarged. Otherwise, cold, dry, unfiltered air travels straight down into your airways through your mouth. Nitric Oxide is not released in the mouth, so cannot purify the air or be harnessed and taken into the lungs for optimal gas exchange (getting oxygen into the bloodstream). Your diaphragm is not activated as much as there is much less resistance when breathing through the mouth compared to the nose.
Mouth breathing therefore tends to create faster, shallower breathing and hyperventilation or over-breathing. Many people will think of hyperventilation as an over-exaggerated breathing pattern, like when someone is having a panic attack or is in shock, but it often just means breathing more air than the body requires at a given time. Upper chest breathing mainly recruits the neck, chest and shoulder muscles more than the diaphragm. These are auxillary breathing muscles which are not designed for breathing all the time, only when we are out of breath and taking bigger breaths. In some people this breathing pattern can cause neck, chest or shoulder pain.
Fast, upper chest breathing and hyperventilation through the mouth is less efficient at getting oxygen deep into the lungs and diffused into the blood stream to be delivered to all your cells. With every breath we take, 150ml of air gets lost in dead space in the airways and does not reach the alveoli where it enters the bloodstream. If we slow down our respiratory rate and take more air deep into the lungs using our nose and diaphragm, our breathing efficiency can improve by up to 20%!
When a person overbreathes, they breathe in too much oxygen but also exhale too much carbon dioxide which disrupts our respiratory biochemistry. We are saturated with 95-99% oxygen in the body, but we can lose too much carbon dioxide by over breathing on a daily basis. We need to exhale excess CO2, but the red blood cells that transport oxygen around the body need a certain level of CO2 in the blood to release the oxygen into the cells throughout the body.
Mouth breathing also affects our mental state as it sends a signal to our brain to say that we do not feel safe. This is an evolutionary response and the brain interprets hyperventilation as a stress signal. If this becomes a chronic pattern of breathing, the person is likely to be stuck in fight or flight mode as a result, feel more anxious or stressed, or "react" rather than "respond" to stressful situations in life.
People who mouth breathe tend to have poorer dental health as the mouth will become dry and therefore more acidic, which contributes to tooth decay and halitosis (bad breath!).
More worryingly, mouth breathing in children from an early age can impact their craniofacial development which often leads to crooked teeth and a high palate, creating a narrow, long face and/or set back jaws which makes the airways smaller. Studies have shown that mouth breathing and sleep disrodered breathing can also affect cognitive and academic performance. So it is imperative to encourage nasal breathing during wakefulness and sleep from an early age, and to seek help from a functional breathing coach for guidance.
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