It’s estimated that about 30-50% of adults regularly breathe through their mouth. Unfortunately, mouth-breathing is linked to long-term health concerns such as tooth decay, gum inflammation, ingestion of unfiltered air (including allergen particles), sleep apnea, and much more. What if there was a simple breathing exercise that could significantly improve your mental and physical health?
Well the solution isn’t just right under your nose… it is, in fact, your nose!
Since your nose is specifically designed to help you breath, there’s many advantages to nasal breathing when compared to mouth-breathing, such as:
- Optimized Oxygen & Carbon Dioxide Levels
When breathing through your nose, a gas called Nitric Oxide is released, which helps regulate your body’s oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. The release of Nitric Oxide is also responsible for improved blood circulation, lowered blood pressure, improved exercise performance, and many other health benefits associated with blood flow.
- Better Night Sleep
When breathing through your nose, your o2-CO2 exchange is balanced which helps maintain a proper homeostasis. While shallow mouth-breathing is linked to sleeping disorders, nose breathing will subsequently lower your risk of snoring and sleep apnea.
- Reduction of Stress & Anxiety
Breathing through your nose is connected to your parasympathetic nervous system, which helps improve your lung volume and slow down your breathing. Whereas mouth breathing impacts your sympathetic nervous system, which controls your fight or flight response. Practicing slow and deep inhales/exhales from your nose throughout the day is the best way to control your stress levels.
Alternate Nose Breathing
If you’re having a tough time integrating nasal breathing into your everyday life, there’s some exercises you can consciously practice to help make this more of a natural habit. Alternate Nostril Breathing, or Nadishodhana, is commonly used in yoga and is a great beginners exercise to promote regular nasal breathing. Just follow these simple steps:
- Sit up tall and relax your shoulders.
- Lay your left hand on your left knee.
- Place your right thumb on your right nostril. Inhale through your left nostril.
- Place your right ring finger on your left nostril. Exhale through your right nostril.
- Inhale through your right nostril.
- Return your right thumb to your right nostril. Exhale through your left nostril. This completes one set.
- Repeat for 5 minutes.
O2 Nose Filters
While our nasal passageways do a solid job at filtering airborne particles, it’s not perfect. That’s why O2 Nose Filters is such an effective solution when it comes to improving our mental and physical health. By combining 3M’s innovative filtration science with O2’s elegant design, we’ve created the most discreet solution to protect you from breathing in airborne pollution, allergens, and more.
Redefine the way you breathe with O2 Nose Filters!
Click here for a FREE (+S&H) sample pack to see which size works best for you!
