Nose Breathing Can Help Exercise

When exercise gets tough, the tough start breathing mainly through their mouths. That’s because mouth breathing seems to get air into our lungs faster, at a time when we want more air. But now comes research suggesting that nasal breathing may offer some important benefits to bodies that are working hard. The Washington Post reports that breathing through our noses can actually help more oxygen get to our muscles, because it releases nitric oxide, which increases the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the blood, and that frees up more oxygen. Yes, it’s complicated. The Post links to a study in which ten runners used only nasal breathing for six months. What happened? The rate of oxygen consumption did not change, but nasal breathing diminished the runners’ respiratory rate, breaths per minute, and the ratio of oxygen intake to carbon dioxide output. Those are good things, the Post reports, as slower breathing allows more oxygen to get to the bloodstream. The paper also tell us that nasal breathing activates the part of the nervous system that supports rest, recovery and digestion, rather than the part of the nervous system that is responsible for survival or stress states. That’s good too, because it can deliver a sense of calm that helps our bodies function better.

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