During periods of physical exertion, your muscles need all the oxygen they can get. When lifting heavy weight or strength training, your blood oxygen level ranges from 95 to 99 percent. But what many people don’t understand is that if your carbon dioxide levels aren’t where they need to be, the oxygen can’t be delivered efficiently. By nose breathing rather than mouth breathing, you can improve the quality of your workout (and your health). Here are three of the ways that mouth nose breathing can boost your fitness and performance.

1. Increase Oxygenation 

If you can learn to breathe slowly, oxygen will flow through your body with ease. It seems like somewhat of a contradiction to breathe slower for improved oxygen supply, but it works. By breathing slowly, carbon dioxide levels within the body increase before the CO2 is exhaled. Since CO2 is necessary for oxygenation, this improves the body’s ability to deliver and absorb the oxygen it receives into the bloodstream. Lung elasticity also increases, meaning your body can take in, hold, and deliver larger volumes of oxygen at a time simply by inhaling through the nose. Nasal breathing naturally allows for slower breathing compared to mouth breathing, allowing you to reap the benefits of slow breathing. 

2. Faster Recovery

Since nasal breathing helps the body operate like a fine-tuned machine, recovery becomes more efficient. When you breathe slowly, your heart rate will eventually sync up to the rhythm of your breath. This sends the message to the body that you’re ready to slow down and take the body back down into rest mode. The parasympathetic nervous system activates, lowering blood pressure, stress levels, and taking you out of fight or flight mode. This helps reduce stress and improve sleep quality, leading to quicker recovery times after you’ve physically exerted yourself. 

3. Boost Performance

When you first try nasal breathing during your workout, high-intensity moves will be extremely difficult to do while breathing through the nose. Many of us actually hyperventilate during exercise, so switching to nasal breathing can be tough for the body to adapt to. However, once your body does, your performance and endurance will skyrocket since the body will receive appropriate oxygen levels delivered with nitric oxide produced by breathing through the nostrils. Breathing through the diaphragm can help lower exercise-induced stress due to oxygen levels. When breathing through the diaphragm, the lower stomach should move in and out with each breath, but the chest should remain completely still. Time your breathing to your lifts and focus on breathing through the diaphragm to take your performance to the next level. 

Consider Mouth Taping During Your Workout...and During Rest!

If you’re having trouble consistently nose breathing while working out or your mind slips away from your breathing, mouth tape strips help you continue to nasal breathe without the added stress. Simply pop on the strips before you begin your workout to reap the benefits of nasal breathing during exercise. 

However, it’s just as important that how you breathe during rest and sleep is just as impactful on your performance during physical activity. By nose breathing at night and during rest, your CO2 tolerance increases, which improves oxygenation and, in turn, cardiovascular performance. 

We can consciously control whether we mouth or nose breathe during the day, but what about at night? Thankfully, SomniFix Strips are the ultimate solution. Try SomniFix Strips tonight and take your fitness to new heights!