The Benefits Of Nasal Breathing
Breathing is something we take for granted and something that just happens automatically, without us even thinking about it. But have you ever stopped to consider whether you’re actually breathing fully and efficiently? Do you know if you’ve picked up any bad breathing habits over the years?
Chances are that the answer to this is that yes, you have. Many of us breathe poorly without even knowing about it and mouth breathing is the go-to method for a lot of people, especially during sleep.
Ask yourself if you’re waking up regularly with a blocked nose and a dry mouth, having been snoring all night. If so, it’s likely that you’re not breathing through your nose while you sleep - and you may well not be breathing through your nose during your waking hours either.
Mouth breathing can lead to sleep disorders, fatigue, poorer quality of life and decreased productivity, whereas nasal breathing can deliver all sorts of health and wellbeing benefits that you might find of particular interest… especially if you’re into the gym and training.
Nasal breathing helps support nitric oxide production, which is important for lots of natural biological processes like blood flow, immunity, platelet function, blood pressure, neurotransmission and so on.
When air is inhaled through our noses into the lungs, it helps to increase arterial oxygen tension and improves our lungs’ capacity to absorb oxygen, which can help us recover faster during exercise.
Breathing through your nose helps you to breathe in a slower, more regulated way, which means you can increase your tolerance of CO2 as you train, helping you to exercise for longer using less breath. But with mouth breathing, you’ll expel too much CO2, which puts you in a deficiency and this, in turn, decreases the body’s ability to oxygenate cells.
There are different nasal breathing techniques you can try to help you get to grips with the idea but a good place to begin is with some alternate nostril breathing.
Here, you just sit down with your back held straight and tall, but with your shoulders relaxed. Gently press your right thumb against your right nostril and inhale slowly through the left. Hold your breath and move your right index finger to your left nostril, slowly exhaling through the right. Repeat for ten cycles of breath.
Interestingly, left nasal breathing brings with it benefits of its own. There’s a growing body of research that suggests breathing through your left nostril can trigger your parasympathetic nervous system, helping to lower blood pressure, decrease your heart rate, improve digestion and help you sleep, so this could be something to focus on as well.
Are you looking for results with personal training at the moment? Get in touch with Expert PT Andy Griffiths today to see how I can help you get to the next level.