Nose Breathing: A Health Benefit

Apart from the embarrassment of being seen by your friends and family watching a movie with your mouth wide open, mouth breathing is bad for your health. Nose breathing, on the other hand, can be beneficial.

When air is inhaled through the nose, it passes through mucus membranes located in your nose passages and sinuses. This mucus in your nose cavities is an immune system defense mechanism that blocks allergens, viruses and bacteria from entering the body though the respiratory system.

Mucus limits the volume of inhaled air and regulates your nose’s temperature instantly to adjust to your body’s temperature. For these reasons, mouth breathers are more likely to develop recurring bronchial infections, colds & flu, coughs, post nasal drips and allergies than nose breathers.

In terms of dental health, breathing through your mouth can dry up your oral cavity and lead to bad breath, gum disease and tooth decay. When breathing from our mouths, we inhale air four times more than the amount inhaled through your nose. This causes over breathing and contrary to what many people believe, it reduces the lungs’ capacity to utilize oxygen efficiently and distribute it well throughout our body.

In mouth breathing, there is no filter; the inhaled air reaches the lungs directly and deposits whatever contaminants are in the air, such as: airborne viruses, bacteria and more.

Mouth breathing is a habit that can be changed, it just takes practice. Many times, this habit is acquired due to a long term stress that changes our breathing patterns. Stress is depleting the Oxygen absorption in our body much faster throughout the day, and the body needs to supplement Oxygen faster and in larger volumes; mouth breathing becomes the preferred choice.

When we talk, naturally our breathing becomes mouth breathing. However, what isn’t healthy is breathing through your mouth during those breaks from talking. In order to slowly change this behavior, simply try and catch yourself breathing through your mouth and change your behavior.

At night it is recommended that you use a special tape designed to keep the mouth from opening. We can change our breathing habit in a behavioral matter, but we can address the stress in a completely different process using IPEC Therapy. Restoring your habit of nose breathing will improve your overall breathing health, and will help you stay healthy.

If you suffer from symptoms in your respiratory system, we can help.
For more information please call:
818.501.8029