It’s Simple. Breathe through your Nose.
Sometimes the simplest things can make the biggest difference.
A couple years ago, I was having a conversation with a coaching colleague, and she mentioned that she was working on establishing a routine with her breath work.
She went on to say that when she goes through a series of breathing exercises, the impact on the way she feels is profound - and something that is key to resolving some symptoms of her chronic condition.
This caught me a bit off guard. How could something as innocuous as breathing - an anatomical habit that we perform without thinking … need to be thought about - or even practiced?
We know that deep breaths in and out are part of many exercise routines - from yoga to strength training. From the perspective of strength training - it’s a balance of oxygenating our muscles, and all of our organs.
For yoga, while it also is about circulating oxygen, it’s an exercise in calm and establishing equilibrium. Check that same box for meditation too.
But back to the starting line. The first thing to acknowledge, of course, is that breathing is essential to life. Did you know that we take roughly 25,000 breaths a day? Luckily we don’t have to think about it.
But let’s change course and actually think about it. Because there is a right way to breathe and a wrong way to breathe.
As much as you can, practice keeping your mouth closed, and breathe through your nose.
As an experiment, take a slow, deep breath in through your nose.
Notice how it feels. Note your ability to take in a nice, long, deep breath. You can feel the air traveling through your nose, and feel your chest rising and your rib cage expanding as the air travels into your lungs.
Now, take a deep breath through your mouth. It probably feels much shallower. Definitely not as satisfying. In fact it leaves you feeling like you need to take another breath rather quickly. It is harder to employ the same level of “deep” breathing that you can when you breathe in through your nose.
Well, it turns out that nose of ours has some magical properties. When we breathe in through our nose, it heats the air we breathe, as well as pressurizes, conditions and moisturizes it. It’s an air purifier for our body too - filtering out impurities and allergens in the air.
When breathing through our nose, our lungs are able to extract 20% more oxygen than if we breathed through our mouth. This can make a profound difference in our life, our health - and is a clear marker for longevity.
Mouth breathing, on the other hand, is tied to chronic ailments - like asthma, allergies, and anxiety. It increases inflammation in the body. It makes us more susceptible to periodontal disease and sleep apnea.
James Nestor, author of the book, Breath (and a fascinating read), conducted research at Stanford University where he underwent an experiment of plugging up his nose with silicone for 10 days. In his words:
"I went from snoring a couple minutes a night to, within three days, … snoring four hours a night. I developed sleep apnea. My blood pressure went up immediately. My stress levels were off the charts. My nervous system was a mess. ... I felt awful."
This impact of being forced to only breathe through the mouth had an almost immediate impact, not to say detrimental effect, on the way he felt. And on his health.
When we’re stressed out, the tendency is to breathe more rapidly through the mouth, which sends signals to the brain that there is a problem.
Unfortunately in today's world, that can happen all too often. Too much to do, and too little time. The adage of running from a tiger is replaced with our everyday realities … opening up our phones to see distressing news. Arriving at work to an unexpected project hitting our desk … or helping a sick family member. Balancing a day of kids, appointments, sports practice and the minutia of managing a household. So much in our life can produce stress.
When “fight or flight” stress kicks in, cortisol and adrenaline are released. Oxygen flows to our muscles, heart and brain … because that’s where we need it when our body perceives an emergency.
Our other organs are left in a state of oxygen deprivation. This can significantly contribute to inflammation and other chronic ailments down the road.
Be conscious of these moments. Flip it around, and consciously breathe slowly. Through your nose. As you allow more air into your lungs, your body immediately switches to a relaxed state.
You can also be proactive with this breathing. Work a few cycles of breath work into your morning routine. Maybe work in a cycle of breaths in the transition points of your day … right before you get to the office at the beginning of the day … or right before you get home at the end of the day. Maybe before a big meeting … or a doctor’s appointment. Maybe even when you're set off by something a family member has done … and before flying off the handle, walk away, and breathe.
It will calm you and your nerves, and clear your mind.
There’s really no right way to do it. It really depends on what fits for you. Experiment. But here are a couple formulas to get you started and then you can play around with the timing.
4:4:4: Breathe deeply in through your nose to a count of 4, hold for 4 seconds, and then release the breath through your mouth for 4 seconds.
4:6:8: Breathe deeply in through your nose for a count of 4, hold for 6 seconds, and then exhale through your mouth for 8 seconds. If this seems too long, adjust the timing so it feels comfortable for you. Also notice that when you exhale longer than you inhale, that further engages your parasympathetic nervous system, and is even more calming.
Now to the night time. We can practice good breathing during the day … but at night it’s hard to control.
I’m a person that needs to go to bed with a glass of water. I wake up thirsty from time to time and need to take a sip. That most likely means I’m breathing through my mouth.
If you do want to be more aware of how you’re sleeping during the night (before you invest in a monitoring device like Whoop or Oura Ring) - you can try out the free app SnoreLab.
The other thing that some people do with a lot of success is “mouth-taping.” I know, it sounds horrible. But apparently just a little bit of medical tape to aid those lips in staying together during the night have given thousands their best nights of sleep in a good while.
There are other brands like Somnifix that reportedly do the trick as well.
I haven’t tried it … but the idea is growing on me, especially as my sleep becomes more inconsistent. If any of you have any experience with this, let me know. Otherwise I'll report back on my own experience down the road.
But for now - remember the simple benefits that nasal breathing delivers.
It oxygenates our blood …improves lung capacity … strengthens our immune system … decreases stress and anxiety levels …helps to improve sleep quality.
Who knew? Not a bad bag of tricks for a little bit of mindful effort.
And as I try to say most every week … when we have an open mind to first be aware and learn … and then experiment with new ways of doing things … we can discover for ourselves what feels right and what makes us feel more energized … clear headed … and ready to take the next step.
I'm refraining from putting a big picture of a nose here … just remember to use it well!