Welcome to my first blog post for the new Breathing Remedies website. The website has a stronger focus on people with ME/CFS. I still see clients with asthma and allergies, anxiety and panic, snoring and sleep apnoea etc. and indeed many people with ME/CFS also struggle with some of these symptoms; ME/CFS is MUCH more than being tired all the time. And the better breathing tips are going to apply to everyone really.
I am going to kick off by talking about nasal breathing. Indeed in 2012 there was an “International Breathe through your nose week”! Many people thought it was a joke! But learning to breathe through your nose rather than
your mouth could be the most important thing that you ever do for your health and your good looks! Click on the image to see examples of people nasal breathing even when exercising. Read on to discover why!
The nose is specialised for breathing, even though it is treated as more of an optional appendage!
The benefits of breathing through your nose are many; I will just mention a few of them here.
1) Air inhaled through the nose is warmed and moistened, so it does not irritate the sensitive airways.
2) Air exhaled through the nose reabsorbs moisture efficiently, reducing dehydration.
3) Air inhaled through the nose is filtered, (spun as it rushes round specially designed structures the concha or turbinates, so any particles – allergens, microbes – stick to the mucus lining of the airways where they are destroyed by enzymes and gases with anti- microbial properties).
4) Nasal breathing promotes good oral health. Mouth breathing causes a drying out of the gums, increases the acidity in the mouth encouraging both cavities and gum disease.
5) Breathing through the nose encourages good facial development and straight teeth. A closed mouth, with the tongue where is should be, in the roof of the mouth for most of the time, can help the jaw grow enough to accommodate all the teeth.
6) Nasal breathing helps reduces snoring and sleep apnoea and ensure a good night’s sleep.
7) Breathing through the nose helps regulate the volume of air breathed, so that it can effectively match the body’s oxygen needs.
Many modern people have developed the problem of over breathing or hyperventilation, often mouth breathing most of the time, and breathing predominantly from the upper chest rather than the diaphragm. Air inhaled through the mouth cools, dries and irritates the airways, causing coughing and worsening of asthma and hayfever and is bad for oral health.
Over breathing results in lower than normal CO2 levels which can result in narrowed airways and blood vessels, and less oxygen getting into the tissues (Bohr effect). Mouth breathing and over breathing can lead to snoring and sleep apnoea which are associated with many health problems, some devastating in the long term (diabetes and heart disease and cancer may be linked to sleep apnoea). Asthma is the condition most people will associate with natural improvement with Buteyko breathing, and the Buteyko method has been in the doctors’ asthma guidelines in the UK since 2008. Other breathing conditions are also helped, sinusitis and allergies such as hayfever, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease such as emphysema) as well as anxiety and panic and sleep problems. Some people have used breathing exercises to help their recovery from ME/CFS – myself included.
Often people say they have to breathe through their mouth as their nose is blocked, but according to Dr Buteyko, the nose blocks as a response to the over breathing; correct the over breathing and the nose keeps clear. So how can nose breathing benefit you? It could be your first step on the road to recovery. (A version of this article was first published here)
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Hey very nice blog!
Fantastic ,I’ve often wondered about mouth versus nose breathing . Thanks heaps . Robbie Gee
My daughter Hannah is 18yrs & has mild asthma but I think her increasing use of her inhalers is due to allergens which makes her breathing worse. She had horrendous eczema up till 2 yrs old and then nothing till 7yrs when she started to be wheezy & started to get regular chest infections during the winter months. She breathes heavily at times through her mouth – she says she can’t get sufficient air through her nose.
Do you think you could help her be not so dependant on the inhalers?
Yes Lorraine, all your daughter’s symptoms are likely to be helped by breathing retraining. Young people usually improve very quickly if they are motivated to do the exercises. They can expect to have clearer noses, less asthma and wheezing, better sleep, less sensitivity to allergens and less chance of chest infection. Reliever use soon decreases. (Prolonged over use of reliever inhalers can sometimes make the asthma progressively worse). Clinical trials have shown the Buteyko method to be effective against asthma symptoms and to reduce need for relievers see http://www.breathingremedies.co.uk/asthma-allergies-sinusitis/
Very descriptive article, I liked that a lot. Will theree be
a part 2?
Thank you. Yes, 3 more reasons for nasal breathing is now published on my blog.
Hi I was just wondering if you had any info for the last 3 weeks i have been unable to breath through my nose and it’s becoming worse I’m now becoming out of breath light headed I haven’t got a cold or anything like that but did suffer a broken nose a few years ago many thanks Jade x
The more you breathe through your mouth, the more your nose can block. I do breathing assessments to see if breathing retraining is likely to help you. If you are not breathing correctly, you may have a whole range of symptoms as every cell in the body can be deprived of oxygen.
Thank you for your informative articles, CFS makes one quite desperate.
I’ve got a completely stuffed nose from day 2 if a cold. I cannot breath it’s horrid and my throat is dry… I start to panic every so often have asthma so that concerns me. I’m very healthy and live and breath the outdoors work and surf. But I would love a solution to the first days of a cold. No taste and completely blocked. Hate it. Tried all sorts of drugs etc. Sitting up in bed gets tiring too.
Glad you are so healthy in general. You can try the Buteyko way of unblocking your nose here: http://www.buteykoworks.com/blog-unblock-your-nose/blog/blog-unblock-your-nose
Dear Dr . Winter
I have been somewhat concerned that my partner always breathes through his mouth. He gets a built up of wax in his years which need treatment once a year and his nose is constantly blocked. He does snore and recently he is suffering from a chest infection. When he asked his doctor whether he should see an ear/nose and throat specialist the doctor dismissed it and said that it would not help. He is 67 years of age. Please can you throw some light in the matter. I would be grateful.
Thank you for your enquiry. Snoring and blocked nose are common symptoms of overbreathing and can often be improved with breathing retraining (learnin g to nose breathe and to breath less).
I’m a photographer and I was recently asked to take some photographs of my brothers latest grandchild, I spent some time with them, it was very noticeable that the little girl had her mouth wide open all the time, on every photograph I took over 30 she is like this, it actually upset me, I thought I had better mention it and give advice, I had mentioned it to my brother before and it was comletely dismissed again, he just said don’t be stupid everybody breaths through their nose, and the child’s parents looked at me as if I was weird.
Mouth breathing can be really bad for your health, not just causing crooked teeth. Here is a useful link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjtZ5Ldw-g4
Hi Janet, I had a classic example of how much more relaxed and calm I am after doing conscious nasal breathing for sometime, yesterday a guy came out of a side street with his car without stopping, I had to swerve and put my brakes on to avoid him, I succeeded, I drove on calmly, the woman I was with really lost it asking why was I not upset, she kept going on about it for ages, I had just dismissed it, I know that before doing nasal breathing I would have been just like her.
Thanks for this Barrie, great to know these benefits of calm, nasal breathing.
Thanks for telling to breathe from nose not from mouth and helped to doing my homework
I am glad nose breathing helped you to concentrate, thank you for letting me know! Nasal breathers have more oxygen in their systems than mouth breathers.
I was told with oxogen u had to inhale in ur nose and exhale through ur mouth which is not a normal feeling does it make a difference
For Buteyko breathing, in and out though the nose. One advantage is less dehydration as moisture can be reabsorbed when you breathe out htrough the nose.
I have started consciously breathing through my nose during my awake hours and taping my mouth shut at night so I will breath through my nose. I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea a few years ago, and due to my mouth breathing, was given a full face C-Pap mask. I have mot used the mask since I began training myself to nose breath. I sleep deeper and only awake when I have to go to the bathroom. I awake feeling much more energized and stay that way during the day. I feel like a new person with nose breathing!
That is great news Alyce, the power of nasal breathing. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks it was very helpful for me to understand why to breathe from nose rather than from mouth
Dry mouth due to mouth breathing kept me awake at night. My nasal passages were frequently clogged but not always, indicating there was nothing physically wrong with my nose (deviated septum, etc). In desperation I tried nasal breathing and am finding that the more I breathe through my nose the clearer my nasal passages become. I suspect that as I breathe through my nose, my nasal passages are healing, partially due to the increased moisture being exhaled from my lungs keeping the passages from drying.
Nasal breathing with partially clogged passages was difficult at first but I kept at it due to my desperate need for a good nights rest. My sleep has drastically improved as I am now able to sleep with my mouth closed preventing dry mouth.
I am also happy to report a calmer mood and a feeling of more energy.
Thank you for sharing your success story Felipe.
Thank you so very much on explaining nose breathing verse mouth! I have sever breathing issue do to asthma and congestive heart failure and all of its related symptoms. i have searched many sites for answers and just could not get proper answers or they all wanted money for there service. I commend your for your for your blog!! thank you your information was excellent and very informative.
Dear George, thank you for taking the time to read, comment on my website. I am pleased to hear that the information was useful too you. Changing to nose breathing sounds simple but is not always straightforward. It can make enormous improvements in your health. Some people can improve their health with free information, or books, others require the help of an experienced breathing educator. Very best of luck.