Are you a mouth breather or nose breather? Most people might have never given it a second thought. For the passionate mouth breather, you probably don’t want to hear this, but there are in fact many benefits of nasal breathing! In the blog we’re going to delve into the many health benefits of nasal breathing and learn why mouth breathing might be doing us more harm than we’re led to believe.
For most, mouth breathing has always felt natural and the easiest method for taking a deep breath in. But here at e-Surgery, we believe that our health should always come first, even if that means changing the habits that have become our normality.
So, let’s take a deep breath in, through the nose of course, and start with one that might help us relax a little.
Here’s the Top 10 Benefits of Nasal Breathing!
Stress Reduction
The stress management benefits of nasal breathing show that using the nose as the primary method of breathing can help reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. The demands of the modern world have meant that experiencing stress is now part and parcel of everyday life. It doesn’t have to be this way though, as there are many things, we can do to reduce the likelihood of experiencing stressful feelings.
Men in particular been known to not handle stress very well and is a major contributing factor in the rise in depression. There are steps to improve our stress levels, but nasal breathing should be something everyone should do to promote better mental health.
Improved Lung Function
When you breathe through the nose, the passageways act as a filter and humidifies the air coming into the body, protecting the lungs from receiving any irritants or unwanted germs from reaching them. One of the benefits of nasal breathing is that it encourages deeper breaths that reach the lower lobes of the lungs, helping to improve oxygenation. It also fully engages the diaphragm, which we’ll get to! Nasal breathing encourages the creation of nitric oxide, which relaxes and dilates the airways to improve airflow and oxygen absorption.
Nasal breathing is beneficial for your lungs in so many ways, just don’t use it as a way of making up for your vaping addiction!
Improves Diaphragm
Breathing through the nose strengthens the diaphragm because it is actively engaged when you begin breathing through your nose. When the diaphragm is properly activated during nasal breathing, the vagus nerve is also stimulated, which encourages relaxation and lowers tension, and who doesn’t love feeling relaxed? Better digestion, heart health, and a balanced neurological system are thus supported by this.
Improved Digestion
The benefits of nasal breathing feel endless, as it is also a great way to help improve your digestion. Because breathing through the nose engages the diaphragm, which is a huge factor in the body’s ability to become relaxed, it promotes the production of digestive enzymes and helps enhance blood flow to the digestive organs. We’ve covered how nasal breathing can help reduce stress which helps to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps us digest the food we eat each day.
There are ways you can improve digestion, such as diet changes, getting your body moving through exercise or by medications such as Xenical capsules and Orlistat capsules.
Cognitive Enhancement
Nasal breathing can not only help oxygenate the body but can help improve the brains’ cognitive function. when you breathe through your nose it releases nitric oxide, which encourages vasodilation and improves blood flow to the brain. More oxygen and nutrients are delivered by the increased blood flow, which improves cognitive function and improves mental clarity.
Other benefits of nasal breathing include the rhythmic pattern that nose breathing create which synchronises brainwave activity, which may improve concentration and memory. You can improve your respiratory and cognitive health by using nose breathing to its full potential.
Better Dental Health
One of the main benefits of nasal breathing is the positive effects it can have on our teeth and overall dental health. Breathing through the nose stimulates the tongue to rest against the palate, meaning the likelihood of developing crowded teeth is decreased. Incoming air is also humidified and filtered by nasal breathing, which prevents dry mouth and lowers the risk of bacteria growing, which can cause cavities and gum disease. By adopting nasal breathing, you’re not only promoting the health of your lungs but also a happier, and nicer grin!
Changes Face Structure
Now this one is bound to surprise you, as it did us! Did you know that your face structure is different depending on the way you breathe. Mouth breathing can lead to a narrower upper jaw and a longer face. On the other hand, nasal breathing supports proper tongue posture against the palate, aiding in the development of a wider jaw and well-defined facial features. While there is limited data, it is commonly believed that people who have nasal breathed from a young age are more attractive on average.
So, the way you breathe not only affects your general health but can massively affect the way you look. Next time you think you might need some cosmetic surgery to change the way you look, try breathing through your nose!
Improves Sleep Quality
Sleep is the most valuable and beneficial resource humans have, as it is fundamental in the healing and maintenance of our bodies. If we don’t get good quality sleep and at least 7-8 hours, it can have detrimental effects on our health. Studies show that the benefits of nasal breathing include the improvement of sleep, especially amongst those who suffer with sleep apnoea. Nasal breathing has also shown to decrease the amount of snoring people do which can be found to be linked to an unhealthy lifestyle.
There are ways to improve sleep quality, not just through nasal breathing, such as not looking at your phone before bed or having house plants in your bedroom! As well as this, there are medications that can help improve sleep quality if nothing else works, including Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride tablets and Circadin Tablets
Relief from Dry Mouth & Bad Breath
Don’t you just hate waking up in the morning to a dried-out mouth and throat. Well, we do too! Mouth breathing can lead us to developing bad breath due to the lack of saliva being built up. Saliva helps us keep the mouth lubricated as well as helps to kill of any germs that may be sitting in our mouths from food, the air we breathe in or the drunken kiss from Friday night… The benefits of nasal breathing means you won’t have to buy as many packets of chewing gum or mints on your way to work each morning to hide the bad breath.
Supports Immune System
Our immune systems are vital in keeping us protected from illness and disease. So, looking after it should be our upmost priority, because we can get seriously ill if we don’t. We’ve been through our top benefits of nasal breathing the last benefits of nasal breathing is that it actually helps to support our immune system.
You might not think it, but by humidifying and filtering entering air, nasal breathing strengthens the immune system by blocking out possible viruses. Nasal breathing produces nitric oxide, which has antibacterial qualities that protect against invasive pathogens. Nasal breathing promotes general immune health and aids in the prevention of respiratory infections.
There are other ways of boosting your immune system that you can start doing today. Such as getting good sleep, eating highly nutritious foods, exercising regularly and much more!
Ask a Pharmacist
e-Surgery offers a free to use ‘Ask a Pharmacist’ service which allows you to speak directly with one of our pharmacists to help you with any smaller medical needs that you don’t feel is worth the hassle of getting a GP appointment for. Our friendly team are here to give you piece of mind by identifying what your symptoms could be and offering the best prescription medication to help you resolve the condition if needed.
All you have to do is complete a short consultation online then you’ll be put through to one of our medical professionals in a matter of minutes. It’s really that easy!
We hope this blog inspired you to ditch the mouth breathing if you can. The benefits of nasal breathing can improve your overall health in so many ways that it would seem stupid to not even try it out. Just work on unclogging that blocked nose that never seems to clear, and it should be easy.
