The answer is yes. Mouth breathing is for eating, talking and anaerobic exercise.
Imagine yourself exercising: running, hiking, dancing, lifting weights — whatever you like to do. Picture yourself pushing to a maximum intensity. Now, ask yourself: Are you breathing out of your nose or mouth?
If you are like most exercisers, you breathe through your mouth, especially as the intensity of the exercise mounts. But experts are learning that breathing through the mouth may not be as efficient or effective as breathing through the nose.
The nose is built with a specific purpose: to support our respiratory system (the primary purpose of the mouth, on the other hand, is to start the digestive process). The nostrils, hair and nasal passageways are designed to assist in filtering allergens and foreign bodies from entering the lungs. The nose also adds moisture and warmth to inhaled air for smoother entry to the lungs.
Nasal breathing, as opposed to mouth breathing, has another important advantage, especially for effective and efficient exercise: It can allow for more oxygen to get to active tissues. That is because breathing through the nose releases nitric oxide, which is necessary to increase carbon dioxide (CO2) in the blood, which, in turn, is what releases oxygen. Mouth breathing does not effectively release nitric oxide, which means the cells are not getting as much oxygen as through nasal breathing, which could lead to fatigue and stress.
Their maximum rate of oxygen consumption did not change from nasal to mouth breathing. But the study found that the runners’ respiratory rate, breaths per minute, and ratio of oxygen intake to carbon dioxide output decreased during nasal breathing. The researchers said this is probably because of the lower breath rate used during nasal breathing, which allows more time for oxygen to get to the bloodstream.
Comments