A Stuffy Nose Clear in 1-2 Min (Very Easy Breath-Work)

5 young MDs smiling This simple breathing exercise how to clear a stuffy nose clear 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. The success rate is over 90%.

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 your 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 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

In about 1-2 minutes you will notice that your stuffy nose gets clear and your next goal is to continue this reduced breathing to keep the nose clear all the time. (Most likely it will get blocked during the night sleep again and then 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 with the nose pinched), your airways, lungs, blood and body cells, including the stuffy nose, accumulates more carbon dioxide. CO2 is the most powerful known vasodilator and dilator of all tubular layers of smooth muscles, including sinuses, bronchi and bronchioles. As a result, airways dilate and this leads to quick relief. 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.

Both 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 the 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 your 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 you body CO2 and oxygen content 24/7 by reducing your breathing. There is a simple body oxygen test that provide a criteria 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 and will again need to clear the stuffy nose from it's extra mucus, advance of pathogens, constriction of airways, and other effects of the overbreathing.

In order to achieve good body oxygen level, you have to change your automatic breathing pattern: to make it slower and lighter (easier breathing, in contrast to heavy breathing that you have now). This goal can be achieved if you practice breathing exercises and follow natural lifestyle factors 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 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 Web Pages: Breathing norms, Medical Graphs and Tables about Breathing Rates (Minute Ventilation) and Body Oxygen in Healthy, Normal and Sick People
Breathing norms Parameters, graph, and description of the normal breathing pattern
6 breathing myths 6 myths about breathing and body oxygenation (prevalence: over 90%)
Hyperventilation Definitions of hyperventilation: their advantages and weak points
Hyperventilation Syndrome in the Sick. Table 1. Western scientific evidence about prevalence of CHV (chronic hyperventilation) in patients with various chronic conditions (34 medical studies)
Normal Minute Ventilation in Healthy Subjects: Easy and Light Breathing (14 Studies)
Hyperventilation Prevalence Present in Over 90% of Normal People (24 medical publications)
HV and hypoxia How and why deep breathing reduces oxygenation of cells and tissues of all vital organs
Body oxygen test How to measure your own breathing and body oxygenation (a simple DIY test)
Body oxygen in healthy Table 4. CP (body oxygen level) in healthy people (27 medical studies)
Body oxygen in sick Table 5. CP (body oxygen level) in sick people (14 medical studies)
Buteyko Table of Health Zones with clinical description of most common zones
Morning HV Morning hyperventilation effect or how and why critically ill people are most likely to die during early morning hours

References: CO2 Effects Web Pages
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 and oxygen transport are controlled by alveolar CO2 and breathing
Oxygen Transport depends on breathing and these two effects (Vasoconstriction-Vasodilation and the Bohr effect) are parts of two diagrams that summarize influences of hypocapnia (low CO2 content in the blood and cells) on circulation and O2 delivery
Free Radical Generation takes place due to anaerobic cell respiration caused by cell hypoxia. Hence, antioxidant defenses of the human body are also regulated by CO2 and breathing
Inflammatory Response is controlled by breathing since hypoxia leads to or intensifies chronic inflammation through over-expression of the hypoxia-inducible factor 1, while normal breathing reduces these processes
Nerve stabilization takes place due to calmative or sedative effects of carbon dioxide in neurons or nerve cells
Muscle relaxation or relaxation of muscle cells is normal at high CO2, while hypocapnia causes muscular tension, poor posture and, sometimes, aggression and violence
Brochodilation - dilation of airways (bronchi and bronchioles) by carbon dioxide, and their constriction due to hypocapnia
CO2: Best Natural Cough Suppressant and "home remedy" since it calms urge-to-cough nerve receptors located in the tracheobronchial tree and larynx
Blood pH regulation and regulation of other bodily fluids
CO2: Lung Damage Healer: Elevated carbon dioxide prevents injury and promotes healing of lung tissues
CO2: Skin and Tissue Healer
Synthesis of Glutamine in the Brain, CO2 fixation, and other chemical reactions
CO2 myth "CO2 is a toxic waste gas" myth
Breathing control How is our breathing regulated? Why hypocapnia makes breathing uneven and erratic?

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