Stop That Mouth Breathing: The Nose Knows Best

Stop That Mouth Breathing: The Nose Knows Best

Individuals who breathe through their mouth instead of through their noses have gotten a bad wrap. In slang, "Mouth breather" has become an insult. Urbandictionary.com has even gone so far as to suggest that "mouth breather" is synonymous with "scum" and "idiot." Though scientific literature does not treat these definitions, it does indicate that chronic mouth breathing can be unhealthy for multiple reasons.

Despite the fact that breathing through the nose is more work for the body, the process provides multiple services for the respiratory system and body as a whole. A few perks of nose breathing are elaborated upon below.

Warms air

First of all, inhaled air is warmed on its journey through the nasal cavities, sinuses, and trachea. When breathing through the mouth, especially in the winter, cold air is given little chance to adjust to the body's temperature.

The shock of this cold, dry air on the lungs while exercising, for example, can lead to exercise-induced asthma. In fact, during an asthma attack, individuals breathe as if they have just been exercising, through both the mouth and the nose. In the winter, especially, such a manner of breathing can further exacerbate the situation.

Fights dehydration

Since respiratory surfaces provide a major avenue for water loss, another function of the nose is to retain as much moisture as possible. Since warm air holds more moisture than cold air, the nose also delivers as much water as possible to the lower respiratory system. The air is humidified to 75-80 percent on its way to the lungs by the nose's moist mucosa lining.

When one exhales air through the nose, water loss is lessened because the nose cools the air. The cooler air cannot hold as much water, so the condensed water vapor remains within the nose.

Air directly entering the lungs through the mouth is not given the chance to humidify, while air exiting the body through the mouth carries with it any moisture acquired in the airway.

Promotes better health

The nose also serves as an air filter. The nasal passage is lined with tiny hairs and mucous. The hairs, called cilia, are the first to prevent airborne particles like dust from traveling into the lungs. Any foreign particles that travel past the cilia are entrapped in mucous from the sinuses. Sneezes, initiated by a nose irritant such as dust, temperature, or smell, can also clear the nose of foreign matter.

When breathing through the mouth, there is nothing to stop particulate matter from irritating the throat and lungs, which some scientists postulate worsens allergies or asthma. Mouth breathing also permits germs to enter the body unchecked, increasing one's chances of becoming sick.

In older individuals, mouth breathing has been linked to sleep apnea, a potentially fatal sleep disorder in which one's breathing stops while one is asleep. Snoring, a less dangerous sleep problem, also has a higher incidence rate in individuals who mouth breathe while asleep.

A dry mouth, which is sometimes caused by mouth breathing, is a significant contributor to bad breath. Luckily, this problem can easily be solved by popping in a mint or gum, brushing, using mouthwash, and/or flossing.

What to do

It should be noted that breathing through the mouth is not always bad; it is actually necessary to breathe through both the mouth and nose during strenuous exercise.

A chronic mouth breather should remain skeptical of devices sold online by companies who guarantee an end to mouth breathing within the course of a few weeks. However, the Buteyko method, a breathing technique suggested for asthmatics, may provide a starting place for mouth breathers who hope to convert.

The Buteyko method's series of exercises, practiced daily over the course of several weeks or months, teaches one to slow breathing or reduce the volume of each breath, breathe through the nose instead of through the mouth, and relax.

Source: The Retriever Weekly -
http://www.retrieverweekly.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=4195&format=html

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Stop That Mouth Breathing: The Nose Knows Best