Breathing through your nose or mouth, what's the difference?

Humans breathe by inhaling oxygen and expelling carbon dioxide through the nose. However, when your nose is blocked or runny due to a cold, you are "forced" to have to breathe through your mouth. You also tend to breathe through your mouth without realizing it due to fatigue after exercising, for example. So, what effect on the body will be different if we breathe through the nose or with the mouth?

What happens when humans breathe through their nose

Breathing through the nose is considered healthier, not without reason. The nose is the main organ of human smell and acts as the entrance for air into the body.

Therefore, this organ is the body's first bastion to filter foreign objects from entering into the body, including germs, pollution, and toxins from the inhaled air.

Inside the nose, there are fine hairs that are tasked with cleaning the air from foreign particles. After going through the filtering process, the air will move through the nasal passages and turn warmer and humid before reaching the lungs.

At the same time, the nasal organ called the konka will moisturize and warm the air before it is channeled into the pharynx.

This temperature heating aims to keep the airways and lungs clean and not to dry out due to air flow. The warmer airflow maintains the elasticity of the lungs to better absorb and store oxygen

Nasal breathing creates more air pressure, so your breathing slows down. This actually frees up more time so that the lungs can store a greater amount of oxygen.

Benefits of breathing with the nose

All these sequences of nasal respiratory system mechanisms reduce the risk of allergies, aspiration (lung ingestion of foreign bodies), asthma attacks, fever, swollen tonsils, and other chronic respiratory problems.

Described in the scientific review The Health Benefits of Nose Breathing, breathing with the nose stimulates the production of nitric oxide, which increases the lung's ability to absorb oxygen and circulate it to all tissues and organs of the body.

Nitric oxide also helps the immune system fight infections and diseases caused by fungi, viruses, parasites, and bacteria.

That is why breathing through the nose is more recommended than breathing through the mouth. However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't breathe through your mouth at all. Especially if there are health problems that interfere with the process of breathing with the nose.

What happens when humans breathe through the mouth

Oral breathing is not really recommended. This method is only recommended if the nose is blocked, or if you want it or not after doing strenuous exercise to get more air in.

Breathing through the mouth does help the lungs get more oxygen faster than through the nose. That way, air can be channeled directly to the muscles of the body.

However, if done continuously this method has the potential to cause health problems.

As described in a study in the journal The Layngoscope, breathing with the mouth can be bad for health because there are no organs or special parts in the mouth that are responsible for warming, filtering, and humidifying the incoming air.

As a result, the air that enters the mouth directly flows into the airway without being filtered and moisturized. This condition is prone to causing various respiratory problems and general body health due to bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic infections.

In addition, breathing through the mouth too often will dry out the inside of the mouth. Dry mouth (xerostomia) can accelerate bacterial growth. That's why people who often breathe through their mouths tend to have bad breath problems and are prone to other oral and dental problems.

Other negative effects if you are accustomed to breathing through the mouth rather than through the nose in the other long term are hoarseness, feeling tired after waking up, and dark circles under the eyes appear.

Tips for getting used to breathing through your nose

For those of you who often breathe using your mouth, it may be time to reduce this habit. This can be started by breathing more with your nose during the day so that you become more accustomed to it.

Here are some strategies that may help you to use your nose as your means of breathing.

• Make it a habit to always keep your mouth shut, except when talking, eating, or exercising.
• Do meditation or some yoga poses that can help you practice nose breathing.

How about closing your mouth while sleeping?

Usually, sleep is one of those moments where you unconsciously breathe using your mouth. This is because when you sleep, the mouth will automatically open and take more of the role of a breathing apparatus than the nose.

A well-known singer, Andien, once tried the trick of using a mouth tape while sleeping to make him more accustomed to using his nose to breathe. By using the tape, the mouth will be locked so that the body is "forced" to breathe using the nose.

Although it can make you breathe with your nose, There are no studies that actually show sleeping with mouth patches to be more beneficial.

If you are tempted to do this, try consulting your doctor first. The reason is, not everyone is allowed and suitable to do this, especially those with certain medical conditions.

Consult a doctor if you often breathe through your mouth

As already mentioned, the signs of people who are accustomed to breathing through their mouth even though they don't have a cold are snoring sleep, dry mouth, bad breath, hoarseness, and fatigue.

If you experience these symptoms, go to a doctor immediately for proper medical treatment.

Not many people know that the tendency to breathe through the mouth can indicate a blockage in the airway through the nose. These include allergies, colds, sinusitis, nasal polyps, asthma, to mental problems (stress, panic disorder, or chronic anxiety disorder).

Getting used to breathing with your nose is good for your body because it can produce better quality oxygen. However, sometimes you also need to breathe through your mouth when your nasal passages are in trouble.