Mouth Breathing vs. Nose Breathing (for Mouth Breather)
If
you are a mouth breather, you need to know these medical facts. Published
western clinical evidence clearly proved that
mouth breathing, apart from factors discussed here, is one of 2 immediate
leading causes of mortality in the severely sick due to
chronic diseases. Early morning hours (from about 4 to 7 am) have highest death
rates due to coronary artery spasms, anginas, strokes, asthma attacks,
seizures and many other exacerbations. The relevant medical research is
considered on web page "Sleep Heavy
Breathing Effect". Why and how mouth breathing contributes to
deaths and how does it undermine health of any mouth breather? What are
the biochemical effects of mouth breathing on health of a mouth breather?
Mouth Breathing
Content of this Mouth Breathing web page
Mouth
breathers were not welcomed in the past
CO2-related
biochemical effects of mouth breathing (including less oxygen
in
body cells)
Nose
breathing delivers nitric oxide to lungs, blood and cells
Cleaning,
humidification and warming of air flow for nose breathing
Mouth
breathing effects on the autoimmunization effect
Which
medical therapy provides techniques and methods and demands nose
breathing 24/7?
Permanent
solution for mouth breathing problems
Resources
and
techniques for mouth breathers
Medical
references and quotes for nose vs. mouth breathing effects
Mouth breathers were not welcomed in the past
When seeing modern people on Western streets and in public places, one may easily notice that up to 30-40% of them can breathe through their mouths when walking or even while standing or sitting. Most people these days are mouth breathers. The same can be easily observed during night sleep. Some decades ago mouth breathing was socially abnormal and unacceptable. For example, one dictionary suggests that a "mouth-breather = n. a stupid person; a moron, dolt, imbecile".
However,
it is very common these days. In adults, mouth breathing
causes advance of many chronic diseases, including sleep apnea, snoring
at night, morning fatigue, dry mouth syndrome, headache, morning
fatigue (or morning headache fatigue) and other symptoms.
Children mouth breathing (especially during sleep),
as well
as in infants, toddlers and older children, are new health problems
that promote chronic diseases, including frequent infections, asthma,
rashes, diathesis, bed wetting, etc. However, for a healthy person,
nose breathing should be the norm 24-7. What are the confirmed
mouth
breathing effects?
CO2-related biochemical effects of mouth breathing
CO2 is not a toxic waste gas
(see Myth
#4). Research articles on respiration
often mention such
physiological parameter as dead space. It is about 150-250 ml in an
average adult person: inside the nose, throat, and bronchi. This space
helps to preserve additional CO2 for the human body. Indeed, during
inhalations we take this CO2
enriched air from our dead space back into
the alveoli of the lungs. When the mouth is used for respiration, the
dead space becomes smaller, shorter and wider. Nasal passages are no
longer a part of the breathing route. Air exchange is stronger as if
air gets directly to lungs alveoli from outside. This reduces alveolar
O2 and arterial blood CO2 concentrations. This does not take place with
nose breathing. Furthermore, nasal breathing route provides more
resistance for respiratory muscles as compared to oral breathing (the
route for mouth breathing is shorter and it has a greater cross
sectional area). During nose breathing, in order to maintain the same
CO2 content in alveoli and blood, we can breathe more so that
to lower CO2 content in the body. Then this
will result in more mechanical work for our respiratory muscles. As an
alternative, we can breathe little less while producing less mechanical
work. What is the practical result? Due to an in-built tendency to
minimize losses of energy, the human organism is likely, as for nose
breathing, to breathe
less and. hence, tolerate higher arterial and alveolar CO2, than to
exert more strain on working breathing muscles.
In their study "An assessment of nasal functions in control of breathing" (Tanaka et al, 1988), Japanese researchers discovered that end-tidal CO2 concentrations were higher during nose breathing than during oral breathing. This research study revealed that a group of healthy volunteers had an average CO2 of about 43.7 mm Hg for nose breathing and only around 40.6 mm Hg for oral breathing. In practice, in terms of body oxygenation or the CP, this corresponds to 45 s and 37 s at sea level. Hence, mouth breathing reduces oxygenation of the whole body.
Each
mouth breather needs to know this short summary of immediate
negative biochemical effects
of mouth breathing related to CO2:
- Reduced CO2 content in alveoli of the lungs (hypocapnia)
- Hypocapnic
vasoconstriction
(constrictions of blood vessels due to CO2 deficiency)
- Suppressed Bohr effect
- Reduced oxygenation of
cells and
tissues of all vital organs of the human body
- Anxiety, stress,
addictions,
sleeping problems and negative emotions
- Slouching and
muscular tension
- Biochemical stress due to cold, dry air entering into the lungs
- Biochemical stress due to dirty air (viruses, bacteria, toxic and
harmful chemicals) entering into the lungs
- Possible infections due to absence of the autoimmunization effect
- Pathological effects due to suppressed nitric oxide utilization,
including vasoconstriction, decreased destruction of parasitic
organisms, viruses, and malignant cells (by inactivating their
respiratory chain enzymes) in alveoli of the lungs, inflammation in
blood vessels, disruption of normal neurotransmission, hormonal effects.
Nose breathing delivers nitric oxide to lungs, blood and cells
Normal nose breathing helps
us to use our own nitric oxide
generated in sinuses. The main roles of NO and its effects
have been discovered
quite recently (last 20 years). Three scientists even received a Nobel
Prize for their discovery that a common drug nitroglycerin (used by
heart patients for almost a century) is transformed into nitric oxide.
NO dilates blood vessels of heart patients reducing their blood
pressure and heart rate. Hence, they can survive a heart attack.
This substance or gas is produced in various body tissues, including nasal passages. As a gas, it is routinely measured in exhaled air coming from nasal passages. Therefore, we can't utilize own nitric oxide, an important hormone, when we start mouth breathing.
The
confirmed functions of the nitric oxide are:
1.Destruction of viruses, parasitic organisms, and malignant cells in the airways and lungs by inactivating their respiratory chain enzymes.
2. Regulation of binding - release of O2 to hemoglobin. This effect is similar to the CO2 function (the Bohr effect).
3.Vasodilation of arteries and arterioles (regulation of blood flow or perfusion of tissues).
4. Inhibitory effects of inflammation in blood vessels.
5.Hormonal effects. NO influences secretion of hormones from several glands (adrenaline, pancreatic enzymes, and gonadotropin-releasing hormone)
6.Neurotransmission. Memory, sleeping, learning, feeling pain, and many other processes are possible only with NO present (for transmission of neuronal signals).
Obviously, during mouth breathing it is not possible to utilize one's own nitric oxide which is produced in the sinuses. The mouth, according to Doctor Buteyko, is created by Nature for eating, drinking, and speaking. At other times it should be closed.
Read more research abstracts about nasal nitric oxide.
Cleaning, humidification and warming of air flow for nose breathing
Our nasal passages are created to humidify, clean and warm the incoming flow of air due to the layers of protective mucus. This thin layer of mucus can trap about 98-99 percent of bacteria, viruses, dust particles, and other airborne objects.
When the mouth is used for breathing, this route is wider, shorter and almost straight. Then these airborne objects can get into the lungs alveoli and the blood, creating biochemical stress for the immune system (detection of these intruders, their marking, isolation, and, finally, destruction or deactivation). More stress is also created for organs of elimination (liver, skin, kidneys and GI patches). Some of these pathogens in lungs can multiply causing even more severe problems (infections) for a mouth breather.
If you are an endurance athlete and an
asthmatic, you must
train mostly, or even better, only with nasal breathing. For really
important competitions, you can use mouth for breathing, but only if
you have no current problems with your asthma. Sport training is useful
due to its aerobic training effect. This is achievable while breathing
only through the nose, as one Australian study confirmed (Morton et al,
1995; see the abstract below).
A group of US doctors from the Department of Surgery, University of Chicago even wrote an article with the title "Observations on the ability of the nose to warm and humidify inspired air". The abstract of their study is also provided below.
Mouth breathing effects on the autoimmunization effect
This is another advantage of nasal breathing over mouth breathing. The thin layer of mucus moves as a long carpet from sinuses, bronchi and other internal surfaces towards the stomach. Therefore, these objects, trapped by the mucus, are discharged into the stomach where GI enzymes and hydrochloric acid make bacteria, viruses and fungi either dead or weak. Later, along the digestive conveyor, some of these pathogens (dead or weak) can penetrate from the small intestine into the blood (the intestinal permeability effect). Since these pathogens are either dead or weakened, they could not do much harm (no infections). Moreover, they can provide a lesson for the immune system. This is exactly how natural auto-immunization can work with success. Medical doctors and nurses inject vaccines with dead or weakened bacteria or viruses so that to teach and strengthen our immune response to these pathogens. Therefore, nasal breathing creates conditions for natural autoimmunization.
Practically, when a household member is sick (flu or cold), the still healthy people could breathe either through their nose, teaching the own immune system how to deal with the pathogenic bacteria or viruses, or through their mouth, as for mouth breathing, allowing these pathogens to gain access, settle and reproduce themselves in various parts of the body causing the infection.
Which medical therapy provides techniques and methods to get rid of mouth breathing?
It is the key goal of the
Buteyko breathing method to stop
mouth breathing and ensure nose breathing 24/7 to prevent all these
mouth breathing effects.
For many mouth breathers and sick people quick health improvement (the initial stage of breathing normalization) is accomplished by one change only: learning how to breathe through the nose 24/7. Just this step alone can make a big difference in health of many people so that the main symptoms are reduced and less medication is required.
Dr. Buteyko, while studying respiration during physical activity, observed that breathing through the nose made a big difference in the after-effects of physical exercise. Moreover, physical activity with oral breathing often led to lower CPs and CO2 later, whereas nose breathing during walking and other physical activities was beneficial.
Most medical doctors do not know when and how sick people should exercise. It is known that exercise can be useful, but sick people often die or experience heart attacks, exercise-induced asthma attacks, and other exacerbations or acute states of their diseases during or after physical exercise. However, when physical exercise is done with avoidance of any mouth breathing, physical activity is 100% safe even for severely sick people. (They would not be able to have intensive exercise and will rely on lighter activities, like walking. We are going to learn more about rules and types of beneficial exercise later.)
Since many patients and sick people open their mouth and breathe through the mouth during sleep at night, in the 1960s Dr. Buteyko's patients invented a technique (mouth taping) is described in "Learn here" Section of this website.
Permanent solution for mouth breathing problems
Use your will power to stop mouth breathing. If a mouth
breather suffers
from
stuffy, or blocked, or running nose and sinusitis, they can exist or
appear only in conditions of abnormal breathing. In order for these
problems to exist, you should breathe at least 2 times more air at rest
than the medical norm. As a result, you have 2 times less body oxygen
than the medical norm. Check you body oxygen level (special breath holding
time test) and see the truth.
The norm is 40 seconds. Hence, there is a simple relationship between
the blocked nose and this simple DIY health test:
- If your body oxygen level is less than 20 s, your nose can easily get
blocked due to hyperventilation;
- If your body oxygen is more than 20 s, you can avoid
mouth
breathing.
Conclusion. If you have problems with mouth breathing, your goal is to slow down your automatic or unconscious breathing pattern so that to have over 20 of body oxygen 24/7. "Learn" Section provides numerous breathing techniques and methods to improve body oxygen levels.
Resources and techniques for mouth breathers
|
- Mouth
Breathing Treatment - Methods and techniques to help mouth breathers YouTube video on the right side: Mouth breathing and its effects. |
Related web pages
- More
research articles and abstracts about other benefits of nose breathing
(Web page about mouth breathing and morning fatigue; Sleep apnea and
snoring; Mouth breathing in asthmatics; etc.)
-
Devastating effects
of mouth breathing on health of infants and children (with medical
research articles and abstracts)
Medical references for nose vs mouth breathing effects
Quantitative evaluation of the orofacial morphology:
anthropometric measurements in healthy and mouth-breathing children.
Cattoni DM, Fernandes FD, Di Francesco RC, De Latorre Mdo R.
International Journal Orofacial Myology. 2009 Nov;35:44-54.
Craniocervical posture and hyoid bone position in children with mild
and moderate asthma and mouth breathing.
Chaves TC, de Andrade E Silva TS, Monteiro SA, Watanabe PC, Oliveira
AS, Grossi DB.
International Journal Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2010 Jun 19.
Polysomnographic findings are associated with cephalometric
measurements in mouth-breathing children.
Juliano ML, Machado MA, de Carvalho LB, Zancanella E, Santos GM, do
Prado LB, do Prado GF.
Journal Clin Sleep Med. 2009 Dec 15;5(6):554-61.
The impact of speech therapy on asthma and allergic rhinitis control in
mouth breathing children and adolescents.
Campanha SM, Fontes MJ, Camargos PA, Freire LM.
Journal Pediatr (Rio J). 2010 May-Jun;86(3):202-8.
[Prevalence of mouth breathing in children from an elementary school]
Felcar JM, Bueno IR, Massan AC, Torezan RP, Cardoso JR.
Cien Saude Colet., 2010 Mar;15(2):437-44.
Changes
in vertical dentofacial morphology after adeno-tonsillectomy during
deciduous and mixed dentitions mouth breathing children--1 year
follow-up study.
Souki BQ, Pimenta GB, Franco LP, Becker HM, Pinto JA.
Intern Journal Pediatrics Otorhinolaryngol. 2010 Jun;74(6):626-32.
Mouth breathing: adverse effects on facial growth, health, academics,
and behavior.
Jefferson Y.
General Dentstry 2010 Jan-Feb;58(1):18-25; quiz 26-7, 79-80.
Mouth breathing children have cephalometric patterns similar to those
of adult patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.
Juliano ML, Machado MA, de Carvalho LB, do Prado LB, do Prado GF.
Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2009 Sep;67(3B):860-5.
Orientation and position of head posture, scapula and thoracic spine in
mouth-breathing children.
Neiva PD, Kirkwood RN, Godinho R.
Intern Journal Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2009 Feb;73(2):227-36.
Mouth breathing increases the pentylenetetrazole-induced seizure
threshold in mice: a role for ATP-sensitive potassium channels.
Niaki SE, Shafaroodi H, Ghasemi M, Shakiba B, Fakhimi A, Dehpour AR.
Epilepsy Behav. 2008 Aug;13(2):284-9.
Enforced mouth breathing decreases lung function in mild asthmatics.
Hallani M, Wheatley JR, Amis TC.
Respirology. 2008 Jun;13(4):553-8.
The relationship between excursion of the diaphragm and curvatures of
the spinal column in mouth breathing children.
Yi LC, Jardim JR, Inoue DP, Pignatari SS.
Journal Pediatr (Rio J). 2008 Mar-Apr;84(2):171-7.
[Characteristics of the stomatognathic system of mouth breathing
children: anthroposcopic approach]
Cattoni DM, Fernandes FD, Di Francesco RC, Latorre Mdo R.
Pro Fono. 2007 Oct-Dec;19(4):347-51. Portuguese.
Aust J Sci Med Sport. 1995 Sep;27(3):51-5.
Comparison of maximal oxygen consumption with oral and nasal breathing.
Morton AR, King K, Papalia S, Goodman C, Turley KR, Wilmore JH.
University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
Abstract
The major cause of exercise-induced asthma (EIA) is thought to be the
drying and cooling of the airways during the 'conditioning' of the
inspired air. Nasal breathing increases the respiratory system's
ability to warm and humidity the inspired air compared to oral
breathing and reduces the drying and cooling effects of the increased
ventilation during exercise. This will reduce the severity of EIA
provoked by a given intensity and duration of exercise. The purpose of
the study was to determine the exercise intensity (%VO2 max) at which
healthy subjects, free from respiratory disease, could perform while
breathing through the nose-only and to compare this with mouth-only and
mouth plus nose breathing. Twenty subjects (11 males and 9 females)
ranging from 18-55 years acted as subjects in this study. They were all
non-smokers and non-asthmatic. At the time of the study, all subjects
were involved in regular physical activity and were classified, by a
physician, as free from nasal polyps or other nasal obstruction. The
percentage decrease in maximal ventilation with nose-only breathing
compare to mouth and mouth plus nose breathing was three times the
percentage decrease in maximal oxygen consumption. The pattern of
nose-only breathing at maximal work showed a small reduction in tidal
volume and large reduction in breathing frequency. Nasal breathing
resulted in a reduction in FEO2 and an increase in FECO2. While
breathing through the nose-only, all subjects could attain a work
intensity great enough to produce an aerobic training effect (based on
heart rate and percentage of VO2 max).
Rhinology. 2007 Jun;45(2):102-11.
Observations on the ability of the nose to warm and humidify inspired
air.
Naclerio RM, Pinto J, Assanasen P, Baroody FM.
Department of Surgery, Section of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery,
The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
The major function of the nose is to warm and humidify air before it
reaches to the lungs for gas exchange. Conditioning of inspired air is
achieved through evaporation of water from the epithelial surface. The
continuous need to condition air leads to a hyperosmolar environment on
the surface of the epithelium. As ventilation increases, the
hyperosmolar surface moves more distally, covering a larger surface
area of the airway, and stimulates epithelial cells to release
mediators that lead to inflammation. This inflammation is not identical
to allergic inflammation, but causes both short-term and long-term
changes in the epithelium. In the short-term, it increases paracellular
water transport in an attempt to enhance conditioning, and it
stimulates sensory nerves to initiate neural reflexes. It also disrupts
channels in the cellular membrane, which might permit greater
penetration of foreign proteins, such as allergens, leading to further
inflammatory cascades. The long-term inflammation induced over time by
the hyperosmolar milieu could worsen the ability of the nose to
condition air, requiring more of the conditioning to occur in the lower
airway and leading to adverse consequences for the respiratory system.
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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