A Stuffy Nose Clear in 1 Min (Easy Breathing Exercise)

Effects of stuffy nose and overbreathing on brain O2 This simple breathing exercise (how to clear a stuffy nose or get rid of nasal congestion) was developed by Russian doctors practicing the Buteyko breathing method. Around 200 physicians taught this exercise to hundreds of their patients with blocked noses. Most people can make their stuffy nose clear in less than 1 minute.

Breath-work: how to clear a stuffy nose

Woman with stuffy or blocked nose Sit down and after your usual exhalation, pinch your nose to hold your breath, while nodding your head up and down. Hold your breath as long as possible but remember to breathe only through your nose when you later release your nose. When you get a strong desire to breathe, release the nose and take a small gentle inhalation and then relax your body muscles to exhale.

Then again, take a small inhale and relax for the exhale. Your goal is to breathe less than before this breathing exercise, but with total relaxation of all body muscles. Hence, you are going to have air hunger or the desire to breathe more for about 1-2 minutes.

Reduced breathing to clear a stuffy or blocked nose

This YouTube video "How to Get Rid of a Stuffy Nose" (clear your nose in 40 seconds) explains this breathing exercise.

In less than 1 or 2 minutes you will notice that your stuffy nose gets clear. Your next goal is to continue this reduced breathing, to keep the nose clear all the time.

Most likely, the nose will get blocked later (e.g., during night sleep). If so, you need to learn the technique that is called "mouth taping". Find the manual that is called "How to maintain nasal breathing 24/7".

How to keep a stuffy nose clear and unblocked 24/7

How does it work? When you hold your breath and do some physical movements (nodding your head or walking, but with the nose pinched), your airways, lungs, blood-and-body cells, including the stuffy nose, accumulate more carbon dioxide. CO2 is the most powerful known vasodilator and dilator of all tubular layers of smooth muscles, including those in the sinuses, bronchi and bronchioles. As a result, airways dilate and this leads to quick relief of nasal congestion. Additional effects are due to dilation of arteries and arterioles when arterial CO2 is increased. CO2-induced vasodilation improves blood-and-oxygen supply to your stuffy nose (see CO2-related links for clinical studies).

Both of these mechanisms, vasodilation and dilation of airways, have physiological similarities since the expansion mechanism is based on relaxation of all smooth muscles of the human body due to the higher CO2 content in the arterial blood.

Why stuffy nose problem is so common?

Numerous medical studies have shown that modern people or "normal subjects" breathe about 2 times more air than what is considered the norm. Hence, overbreathing and a lack of CO2 constricts blood vessels and airways. In addition, hypocapnia (CO2 deficiency) creates tissue hypoxia (low body-oxygen content) and suppresses the immune system. As a result, your sinuses become the breeding ground for bacteria, viruses, fungi and other pathogens. It has been shown in Buteyko's research that the reason that one's nose gets blocked or stuffy is due to a CO2 deficiency that in turn is caused by breathing too much.

Permanent solution to have a blocked nose clear

The solution to all these constriction problems is to increase your body CO2-and-oxygen content 24/7 by reducing your breathing. There is a simple body-oxygen test that provides the criterion for a clear nose. If your score is higher than 20 seconds on this body-oxygen test, your nose will be clear all the time. If your body oxygen level drops below 20 s (e.g., after meals, due to mouth breathing, supine sleep, allergies, during night sleep, etc.), you will start to mouth breathe (causing advance of pathogens, constriction of airways, and other effects of the overbreathing) and will again need to clear the stuffy nose of its extra mucus.

In order to achieve a good body-oxygen level, you have to change your automatic breathing pattern. You need to make it slower and lighter (have easier breathing, in contrast to the heavy breathing that you likely have now). This goal can be achieved if you practice breathing exercises and follow a natural lifestyle for higher body-oxygen content.

Resources

YouTube Video: Stuffy Nose Natural Remedy - The same breathing exercise is explained on YouTube
Web page: How to Unblock a Nose in 2-3 Minutes Using Breathing Exercise (Steps Exercise - walking with breath holding, or another version of breath holding exercise).
Mouth vs. Nose Breathing (Medical review of main physiological effects)
How to Tape Mouth at Night or mouth-taping technique to prevent mouth breathing during sleep.
Best Sleeping Position Medical Research Summary.

References

Bartley James, Nasal congestion and hyperventilation syndrome, American Journal of Rhinology, 2005 Nov-Dec; vol 19(6): p. 607-11.
Waitemata District Health Board, Auckland, New Zealand.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: This article evaluates the prevalence of hyperventilation syndrome (HVS) in patients who continue to complain of ongoing nasal congestion, despite an apparently adequate surgical result and appropriate medical management.
METHODS: Prospective case series of 14 patients from June 2002 to October 2003 was performed. Patients, who presented complaining of nasal congestion after previous nasal surgery and who appeared to have an adequate nasal airway with no evidence of nasal valve collapse, were evaluated for HVS. When appropriate, nasal steroids and oral antihistamines also had been tested without success. Three patients had end-tidal P(CO2) levels measured and five patients underwent breathing reeducation.
RESULTS: All patients had an elevated respiratory rate (>18 breaths/minute) with an upper thoracic breathing pattern. Twelve of the 14 patients complaining of nasal obstruction had an elevated Nijmegen score indicative of HVS. An average number of 2.5 procedures had been performed on each patient. End-tidal P(CO2) levels were < or = 35 mmHg in the three patients who had expired P(CO2) levels measured. Breathing retraining was successful in correcting the nasal congestion in two of five patients.
CONCLUSION: HVS should be included in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with nasal congestion, particularly after failed nasal surgery. One possible explanation is increased nasal resistance secondary to low arterial P(CO2) levels. Another possible explanation is reduced alae nasae muscle activity secondary to the reduced activity of serotonin-containing raphe neurons. Additional surgery may not necessarily be the answer in HVS patients complaining of nasal congestion.

Reference pages: Breathing norms and medical facts:
- Breathing norms: Parameters, graph, and description of the normal breathing pattern
- 6 breathing myths: Myths and superstitions about breathing and body oxygenation (prevalence: over 90%)
- Hyperventilation: Definitions of hyperventilation: their advantages and weak points
- Hyperventilation syndrome: Western scientific evidence about prevalence of chronic hyperventilation in patients with chronic conditions (37 medical studies)
- Normal minute ventilation: Small and slow breathing at rest is enjoyed by healthy subjects (14 studies)
- Hyperventilation prevalence: Present in over 90% of normal people (24 medical studies)
- HV and hypoxia: How and why deep breathing reduces oxygenation of cells and tissues of all vital organs
- Body-oxygen test (CP test) : How to measure your own breathing and body oxygenation (two in one) using a simple DIY test
- Body oxygen in healthy: Results for the body-oxygen test for healthy people (27 medical studies)
- Body oxygen in sick : Results for the body-oxygen test for sick people (14 medical studies)
- Buteyko Table of Health Zones: Clinical description and ranges for breathing zones: from the critically ill (severely sick) up to super healthy people with maximum possible body oxygenation
- Morning hyperventilation: Why people feel worse and critically ill people are most likely to die during early morning hours

References: pages about CO2 effect:
- Vasodilation: CO2 expands arteries and arterioles facilitating perfusion (or blood supply) to all vital organs
- The Bohr effect: How and why oxygen is released by red blood cells in tissues
- Cell oxygen levels: How alveolar CO2 influences oxygen transport
- Oxygen transport: O2 transport is controlled by vasoconstriction-vasodilation and the Bohr effects, both of which rely on CO2
- Free radical generation: Reactive oxygen species are produced within cells due to anaerobic cell respiration caused by cell hypoxia
- Inflammatory response: Chronic inflammation in fueled by the hypoxia-inducible factor 1, while normal breathing reduces and eliminates inflammation
- Nerve stabilization: People remain calm due to calmative or sedative effects of carbon dioxide in neurons or nerve cells
- Muscle relaxation: Relaxation of muscle cells is normal at high CO2, while hypocapnia causes muscular tension, poor posture and, sometimes, aggression and violence
- Bronchodilation: Dilation of airways (bronchi and bronchioles) is caused by carbon dioxide, and their constriction by hypocapnia (low CO2)
- Blood pH: Regulation of blood pH due to breathing and regulation of other bodily fluids
- CO2: lung damage: Elevated carbon dioxide prevents lung injury and promotes healing of lung tissues
- CO2: Topical carbon dioxide can heal skin and tissues
- Synthesis of glutamine in the brain, CO2 fixation, and other chemical reactions
- Deep breathing myth: Ignorant and naive people promote the idea that deep breathing and breathing more air at rest is beneficial for health
- Breathing control: How is our breathing regulated? Why hypocapnia makes breathing uneven, irregular and erratic.