Nose vs. Mouth Breathing, It Matters!
Are you someone that suffers from sleep apnea, snoring, lack of energy, or poor posture and/or facial structure? If so, you might have one simple problem, and that is improper breathing!
Your body’s most important resource is oxygen. Just a few minutes without oxygen and you would die! But even when we are getting enough to survive that does not necessarily mean we are getting enough to thrive! A low blood oxygen level leads to high blood pressure, fatigue and poorer recovery during sleep. When we aren’t getting enough oxygen, many of our organs suffer and can permanently weaken or die out as a result. That includes our skin, which when getting poor oxygen supply will age faster. When we breathe with our mouths instead of our nose these oxygen intake problems only worsen.
Humans are naturally nose breathers. Our nose is our body’s natural filter, keeping germs and dirt out of our lungs. That is why mouth breathers are also more likely to have bad breath and get sick more often. To maintain adequate oxygen intake it’s important for us to have clear nasal passages. However, that is not always the case with many of us and as a result our bodies compensate in various ways to make us into mouth breathers. Some features that those of us who primarily breathe through our mouths develop are droopy tired eyes, an undeveloped jaw line, and a crooked “nerd neck”. When we don’t have an adequately developed jaw it also leads to crooked teeth and dental problems, particularly in kids and young adults whose jaws and faces are still developing. Those infamous impacted wisdom teeth that we often end up needed extracted are just one example of a jaw that has not developed properly to comfortably fit all of our teeth. The good news is that so much of this is preventable and in many cases reversible with good diet and proper breathing!
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The picture above is an example of poor facial development during childhood as a result of mouth breathing.
Sleep is our body’s natural form of recovery. You may have heard before that when we workout, our fitness is not actually improved by the workout itself but during the recovery. If you do not have adequate recovery after a workout, you will do yourself more damage than good. That is why it is so crucial that we get enough sleep based on our own personal needs. However, quality of sleep is just as important if not more important than total hours. And nothing jeopardizes sleep quality more than difficulty breathing. Sleep-apnea and snoring are signs that our body is having difficulty passing air into our lungs. When we can’t pass oxygen into our lungs while we are sleeping, not enough will get to our organs. Needless to say this can cause a lot of issues in our body. That is why it is so important to learn to breathe through your nose! Making sure that we get enough oxygen whether awake or asleep is the best antidote to fighting the fatigue that results from what is truly an oxygen deprived body.
Nose Breather:
Mouth Breather:
So how can you relearn how to breathe through your nose? There are several things you can do for that. Examples of some include tongue exercises or simply engaging in taking deep breaths through your nose. Another tip is to perform moderately intense physical activity while only breathing through your nose. If you are used to nose breathing while exercising, doing so at rest becomes much easier!
Another major factor to consider is stress. When you are less stressed you have better control over your breathing and thus are more likely to be a nose breather. That is why meditation and yoga can be so successful in this department. Not only do they provide you with mobility and a stress reducing workout, but they also help you focus on properly breathing! There are many options available; you just have to find one that works for you!
One final thing that can cause clogged nasal passages is allergens and poor air quality. While maintaining a cleaner environment can provide temporary relief for a stuffy nose, its long term effects can do more harm than good. When our environment is to clean our body no longer learns to coexist with dirt and germs which can often make our allergies worse and even weaken our immune system. But regardless of how dirty or clean the air around you may be, learning to nose breathe is crucial. Remember, our nose has a filter as a first line of immune defense, our mouth does not.
Poor posture, facial structure, and sleep quality do not have to be a permanent matter in life. Learning to breathe through your nose can reverse much of the damage done by excessive mouth breathing and substantially improve the quality of your everyday life! With the help of a few breathing techniques you can look better, feel better, and be a more confident individual!
Go Back Your body’s most important resource is oxygen. Just a few minutes without oxygen and you would die! But even when we are getting enough to survive that does not necessarily mean we are getting enough to thrive! A low blood oxygen level leads to high blood pressure, fatigue and poorer recovery during sleep. When we aren’t getting enough oxygen, many of our organs suffer and can permanently weaken or die out as a result. That includes our skin, which when getting poor oxygen supply will age faster. When we breathe with our mouths instead of our nose these oxygen intake problems only worsen.
Humans are naturally nose breathers. Our nose is our body’s natural filter, keeping germs and dirt out of our lungs. That is why mouth breathers are also more likely to have bad breath and get sick more often. To maintain adequate oxygen intake it’s important for us to have clear nasal passages. However, that is not always the case with many of us and as a result our bodies compensate in various ways to make us into mouth breathers. Some features that those of us who primarily breathe through our mouths develop are droopy tired eyes, an undeveloped jaw line, and a crooked “nerd neck”. When we don’t have an adequately developed jaw it also leads to crooked teeth and dental problems, particularly in kids and young adults whose jaws and faces are still developing. Those infamous impacted wisdom teeth that we often end up needed extracted are just one example of a jaw that has not developed properly to comfortably fit all of our teeth. The good news is that so much of this is preventable and in many cases reversible with good diet and proper breathing!
The picture above is an example of poor facial development during childhood as a result of mouth breathing.
Sleep is our body’s natural form of recovery. You may have heard before that when we workout, our fitness is not actually improved by the workout itself but during the recovery. If you do not have adequate recovery after a workout, you will do yourself more damage than good. That is why it is so crucial that we get enough sleep based on our own personal needs. However, quality of sleep is just as important if not more important than total hours. And nothing jeopardizes sleep quality more than difficulty breathing. Sleep-apnea and snoring are signs that our body is having difficulty passing air into our lungs. When we can’t pass oxygen into our lungs while we are sleeping, not enough will get to our organs. Needless to say this can cause a lot of issues in our body. That is why it is so important to learn to breathe through your nose! Making sure that we get enough oxygen whether awake or asleep is the best antidote to fighting the fatigue that results from what is truly an oxygen deprived body.
Nose Breather:
Mouth Breather:
So how can you relearn how to breathe through your nose? There are several things you can do for that. Examples of some include tongue exercises or simply engaging in taking deep breaths through your nose. Another tip is to perform moderately intense physical activity while only breathing through your nose. If you are used to nose breathing while exercising, doing so at rest becomes much easier!
Another major factor to consider is stress. When you are less stressed you have better control over your breathing and thus are more likely to be a nose breather. That is why meditation and yoga can be so successful in this department. Not only do they provide you with mobility and a stress reducing workout, but they also help you focus on properly breathing! There are many options available; you just have to find one that works for you!
One final thing that can cause clogged nasal passages is allergens and poor air quality. While maintaining a cleaner environment can provide temporary relief for a stuffy nose, its long term effects can do more harm than good. When our environment is to clean our body no longer learns to coexist with dirt and germs which can often make our allergies worse and even weaken our immune system. But regardless of how dirty or clean the air around you may be, learning to nose breathe is crucial. Remember, our nose has a filter as a first line of immune defense, our mouth does not.
Poor posture, facial structure, and sleep quality do not have to be a permanent matter in life. Learning to breathe through your nose can reverse much of the damage done by excessive mouth breathing and substantially improve the quality of your everyday life! With the help of a few breathing techniques you can look better, feel better, and be a more confident individual!