The winter months are harsh and cold in more ways than one. Winter is the time of year when most of us get sick with a respiratory illness, the flu, or feel generally under the weather due to being stuck inside for so long.
Thankfully, your nose is there to get you through the flu season. By breathing through your nose rather than your mouth, you can rest assured that your body is in tip-top shape to make it through the cold weather.
Here are four reasons why nose breathing is absolutely essential through the winter months.
Nasal breathing is superior to mouth breathing when it comes to germ protection. The nose, unlike the mouth, is filled with tiny hairs that filter out foreign particles, dust, and germs.
Furthermore, nasal breathing produces nitric oxide (NO), a miracle molecule that fights germs and bacteria while optimizing the immune system.
As a result, your chances of being exposed to germs are lowered, as well as your body’s ability to fight them off!
While the nose filters out bacteria and produces NO, it’s also working hard to warm the air before it’s delivered to the lungs.
It’s not uncommon to have an irritated throat and lungs during the winter months. This is caused by the harsh and dry cold air, which makes it easier for harmful particles to enter the bloodstream through the mouth.
Nasal breathing not only reduces these particles via filtration as we mentioned above, but it also warms and humidifies the breath to prevent a dry, scratchy throat. Let’s take a closer look at how this works.
The smaller passageways of the nostrils slow down the breathing and offer more time for the air to warm up than the mouth does. Warm air translates to more dilated bronchial tubes and more moisture in the throat and lungs. That means you can say goodbye to an itchy winter throat!
Most of us get the winter blues with shorter days, cold temperatures, and harsh weather. Some people suffer more severely than others and may even develop Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as SAD.
SAD causes fatigue, anxiety, depression, moodiness, social withdrawal, sleep issues, and more. The lack of sunlight caused by shorter days throws off your internal clock, potentially leading to SAD.
Believe it or not, breathing through your nose can help you deal with being stuck inside with the winter blues.
Nasal breathing slows down your breath rate, helping to put your body back into a parasympathetic state of relaxation compared to a fight or flight state of anxiety. As a result, stress and hypertension are reduced by de-activating the natural stress response that mouth breathing causes.
Since the lungs have more time to absorb oxygen from your last breath before your next one, you’ll feel relaxed and calm.
An additional benefit? Besides feeling calmer, you’ll be able to breathe easier due to reduced congestion.
Other than being sick, mouth breathing is the number one cause of congestion. Since mouth breathing is technically over-breathing, the body releases more mucus to attempt to slow down your breath rate.
However, this just leads to more mouth breathing in the end, which means even more mucus and a severely stuffed up nose. Decongest with a Buteyko breathing exercise and then try to breathe through your nose as much as possible to ensure that it stays clear.
Add an external tool, like mouth tape, to your nightly routine to make sure that you continue to nasal breathe even while you sleep.
Breathing through the mouth at night increases your chances of illness, leaves your lungs exposed to cold air, worsens seasonal depression, and causes morning congestion.
Breathing through the mouth makes the frigid winter months harder on your body than they should be. Keep your lips sealed and nasal breathe instead. Mouth tape helps us accomplish this during sleep.
You wouldn’t go outside during the winter without a coat. You shouldn’t go to sleep without mouth tape, either. At night, use SomniFix Strips to keep your nose open and your health boosted all winter long.
If you don't LOVE your sleep in 7 nights, we'll give your money back guaranteed! 🌟
