It may be not easy to believe, but how we breathe has a significant impact on our health, longevity, and even human potential.
Yet, most people are unaware of how their bodies generate energy. According to James Nestor, a scientist and author of "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art", we acquire most of our energy from our breath, not from food or drink.
Nestor took part in a breathing experiment while investigating the science and culture of breathing for his new book.
He was instructed to breathe entirely from his mouth for ten days and then only through his nose for another ten days.
Shockingly, his stress-related hormone (cortisol) and blood pressure went up due to breathing via his mouth. He also noted that he had acquired sleep apnea and that his snoring had grown from a few minutes per night to four hours per night in just three days.
However, all problems he was experiencing before vanished once he switched back to nose breathing. His blood pressure lowered, his heart rate returned to normal, he managed to stop snoring and experiencing sleep apnea episodes, his sinus issue subsided, his sports performance strengthened, and he felt much better overall.
When I first heard one of his podcasts, I thought I never mouth breath, but just monitoring myself for half day had me surprised on how often we mouth breath.
Breathing just through the mouth has a variety of negative health effects. Experts believe optimal breathing has health advantages attained through slower nasal breathing. The appropriate method to breathe is to take fewer inhales and exhale each minute and keep your mouth closed, which means inhaling totally via your nose.
What does science say?
Mouth breathing, it turns out, is highly harmful to our bodies. It impacts how we think, how our bodies work, our metabolism, and how we appear.
According to a scientific paper titled ' Mouth breathing: Adverse effects on facial growth, health, academics, and behaviour', children with inadequately treated mouth breathing could have narrow mouths, long, narrow features, dental malocclusion, and gummy grins.
In addition, according to this study, because of their clogged airways, many children do not get enough sleep at night, harming their growth and educational performance. Many of these youngsters were even misdiagnosed with Hyperactivity and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).
Another study, titled ‘The influence of snoring, mouth breathing, and apnea on facial morphology in late childhood,’ was undertaken in 2015. Again, a large cohort of 15-year-old youngsters investigated and discovered an affirming and significant link between the incidences of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) or mouth breathing and face shape morphology and other issues like an oral cavity.
Actionable tip of the day
Whenever you discover yourself doing a lot of mouth breathing, think about whether you need it because your nose is stuffy or if it's just a habit. Nestor suggests pausing to listen to oneself and see how breathing affects them.
Additionally, try what I do, spend 4-5 minutes every morning consciously taking in deep breaths from the nose. See if you can inhale for 6-8 seconds and exhale for 6-8 seconds with just your nose. Repeat as many rounds as you can in 5 minutes. Trust me, it is much much harder than you might think it is.
Trust this helps,