One topic that I’d like to discuss that is not only very important not only to my field, but me personally, just because I have felt the significant difference that being able to breathe well through the nose can make in my everyday life, is talking about just the general benefits of being able to breathe well through your nose. 

Now, we generally split this up into thinking about breathing well through our nose during the daytime, say, during, high-intensity activities, but also in the evening times at night when we’re sleeping, where it can be just, or even more, impactful. Some of the really big positives, specifically, to breathing well through our nose at night, and avoiding mouth breathing, includes, consideration of what the nose is really functioning and doing for us. One of the initial things that the nose does for us is filters out the air, with the hair and the mucosal lining. Also warms the air, and moisturizes it, so the lungs have nice, cleaner, easier air to work with, that also improves our long-term lung health. In addition to this, by breathing through our nose, we, in our nasal passages, produce nitrous oxide through the sinuses, and breathing in through our nose brings that in through the nose to our lungs. This is a natural compound that we make that actually dilates our blood vessels, lowers our blood pressure, as a result reduces long-term risks of stress on the heart and lungs.  

In addition, many of you have probably heard about sleep apnea. Sleep apnea, or obstructive sleep apnea is one where tissue or for various reasons when we’re breathing in, the airway collapses and we can’t get the air that we need. As a result, we actually stop breathing, decrease our breathing, and actually kind of arouse ourselves in sleep, waking us up a little bit, or fully waking us up. This leads to long-term stress that we know about such as risk of heart attacks, strokes, or other issues. Unlike the mouth, the nose is more rigid, and is designed to breathe through the nose and does not collapse. While we breathe with our mouth closed, the tongue is placed in a favorable position, and air can flow more easily though the nose down to our airway. As a result of breathing through our nose, we also have better, restful sleep, wake up more energized, less morning headaches and other improvements in our daily living, that just by simply breathing through our nose, we can make a tremendous impact.  

To learn more about these and other benefits, and how you can necessarily improve your daily quality of life, please give us a call at Resolve ENT. We’d be happy to see you and discuss further!