
Breathing Through the Nose May Offer Unique Brain Benefits - pseudolus
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/20/well/mind/breathing-through-the-nose-may-offer-unique-brain-benefits.html
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skilled
It's interesting to see these modernization attempts for ancient wellness
'technology' that dates back thousands of years. I am, of course, talking
about yoga, and more specifically -- pranayama. Otherwise known as the
'science of breath'.

You don't have to believe in anything to practice different breathing
techniques, and the results are absolutely there. I have met freedivers who
build up their lung capacity strictly through pranayama exercises.

If you suffer from anxiety or a stress disorder, pranayama can be extremely
helpful in managing both your mental state of mind and the response that your
body has to uncomfortable feelings.

~~~
bitexploder
One breathing technique and why I think the some of the Yoga works is pretty
simple. I am not sure if Yoga would reset the fight/flight response further.
4x4 breathing. It mimics deep sleep and presses the reset button on the
sympathetic nervous system. This helps with anxiety a lot. The technique is
simple. Breath in for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds , breath out for 4
seconds, hold for 4 seconds. I notice I do tend to do this through my nose,
which probably helps.

edit: meant to add this is also taught to Navy SEALS to help them in high
stress situations. A lot of the training is to recognize when you are OBE
(overcome by events) and how to deal with that to make clear decision.

~~~
tgb
Is this technique supposed to be uncomfortable to do? I've come across this
and tried it multiple times now and holding my breath is not particularly
pleasant. I've seen this suggested to help one fall asleep but it's never
helped me and my response is usually mild discomfort. Not sure if this is
intended.

~~~
graeme
When I did it, I had the sensation of being denied breath. Mildly unpleasant,
but I think this is what forced present focus and got me out of stress.

Not _very_ unpleasant mind you. Same level as seeing how long you can hold
your breath, except much less intense.

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jere
The study design seems silly. The subjects did better recalling scents after
one hour when they had that whole hour to continue smelling any lingering
particles of the scent. That's surprising?

~~~
Etheryte
While I'm not a scientist in the given field, my personal experience is that
people get used to smells very quickly. That's also why historically manual
dry rot searchers were notorious for running around buildings fast — once your
body gets used to the scent, it's filtered out. I doubt an hour in a given
environment would give you much advantage over say five minutes.

~~~
toyg
It’s actually one of the clearest showcases for humans’ astonishing talent of
adapting to their surroundings. You can throw humans in shit-filled holes and,
after a few hours, they just won’t care about the smell. It shows, at micro
level, the sort of skill that led our species to planet domination.

~~~
the-pigeon
Is there any reason to assume most mammals don't also have olfactory fatigue?
Seems unlikely to be a human only thing.

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ta1234567890
Completely anecdotal experience: a year ago, after getting started with
meditating regularly, I realized breathing "deeply" (through the nose and
"with the belly") for more than 5 minutes straight, had a big impact on my
energy levels and focus for a few hours. So I decided to do it the whole day
for a full week.

It was incredible, my mind was completely clear all the time, I felt great,
and my wife noticed that I even stopped snoring.

Since then I've done it again a few times, but can never sustain it for more
than a few days.

It's super simple, but building the habit is very hard.

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guiambros
For anyone interested in the topic, I strongly recommend reading "What Doesn't
Kill Us" [1], by Scott Carney. Scott is an investigative journalist who
initially planned to debunk Wim Hof's [2] (aka the Iceman) methods, and ended
becoming one of Wim's biggest followers, and publishing a NYT best-selling
book telling his journey.

It's a fascinating story, and covers a lot of the science behind breathing
techniques, how our autoimmune system works, and step-by-step process to take
advantage yourself.

ps: if you want a TL;DR, here's an interview [3] with Scott that summarizes
the book well.

[1] [https://www.amazon.com/What-Doesnt-Kill-Environmental-
Condit...](https://www.amazon.com/What-Doesnt-Kill-Environmental-
Conditioning/dp/1623366909)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wim_Hof](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wim_Hof)

[3]
[https://www.dragondoor.com/interview_with_scott_carney_autho...](https://www.dragondoor.com/interview_with_scott_carney_author_of_what_doesnt_kill_us/)

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nlh
Not to be too trite, but I’d guess there’s a reason (in the US at least) that
calling someone a “mouth-breather” is an insult, generally implying that
someone is uncouth and of low intellect.

I remember learning in high school biology class the physiological benefits of
breathing through the nose. There’s a whole series of processes that go on in
the nose — air filtration, warming, pheromone scent triggering, etc. that’s
bypassed when we breathe through the mouth.

~~~
Empact
And yet, we’re ill-equipped at diagnosing why children might mouth-breathe.

In my own case, this year I finally discovered a life-long moderate tounge-tie
that prevented me from resting my tongue on the roof of my mouth. This led to
a tongue thurst that resulted in a prominent mouth and a maxilla that was down
and back relative to where it would otherwise rest given tongue pressure - I
presented with a mild version of long face syndrome. That in turn resulted in
a narrow airway (behind the maxilla), which made nose-breathing constricted
and difficult.

I have been able to correct this with effort and attention, but it’s crazy to
me that pediatricians, dentists, orthodontists and even ear-nose-and-throat
doctors missed this underlying cause throughout my life. I have to credit
orthotropics and myofunctional therapy for the ultimate discovery.

Worse still, a variety of factors mean this is becoming more common, eg it is
implicated in sleep apnea which is rising. I speculate that there is willful
ignorance on the part of the medical industry, as the alternative to this
understanding is expensive treatment or surgery. I myself went through 2
rounds of braces, a deviated septum “correction” surgery, and nearly had tubes
in my ears as a child. See here for an example of a description of the problem
and treatment written with ignorance to the cause:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_face_syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_face_syndrome)

~~~
kaitai
If your baby has trouble breast-feeding, definitely ask nurses and
pediatricians repeatedly about tongue-tie. A posterior tongue tie is
particularly easy to miss in a kid (and there are still some docs who say it's
not possible, or something). Not only can you potentially avoid all the
problems the parent poster here mentions, but the kid and mom (if trying to
breastfeed) can be saved a lot of short-term grief if such a thing is found
and treated!

~~~
Empact
As per my mother over Thanksgiving break, I did not have trouble breast-
feeding, just to be clear that that is not alway present, particularly in
mild-moderate cases.

A tendency to mouth-breathe and ear infections are both symptoms in youth.

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jmull
They are establishing a link between the nose and smelling.

I don't find that useful or interesting.

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kaycebasques
I’ve been working on breathing through my nose more over the last few weeks.
One area where I’m noticing improvement is better sleep. When I used to
breathe through my mouth I would dry out my mouth severely multiple times
during the night. This possibly reduced sleep quality because I would roll
over to drink a glass of water whenever the dryness got uncomfortable. Maybe
it was increasing dehydration, too.

I resisted breathing through my nose because my left nostril seems slightly
deviated. Forcing myself to breathe through my nose while I jog or do yoga
seems to help. My hunch is that the nostril is just closed up a bit from lack
of use.

~~~
protomok
Same problem here - deviated septum is such an annoyance. I find I often have
to breathe out of my mouth as breathing out of my nose is sometimes not
possible as one or both nostrils are frequently unusable.

Curious how others work around this ? I understand there is a surgery that can
correct a deviated septum , but surgery is always a last resort in my view.

~~~
yayana
I tried the Buteyko method about 10 years back.. I wouldn't believe any of the
theories of action, but the method worked to nose breathe and have tolerable
sinuses.

One observation from Buteyko materials that sounds right (and would be easy to
verify) is that only one nostril should be active when you aren't exercising,
and there is a ~3? hour cycle where they swap dilation repeatedly through the
day and night. When you are healthy you won't notice this (unless someone asks
you to gently test), if you panic and fight to keep them both open, it will
cause you more trouble.

~~~
kaycebasques
> One observation from Buteyko materials that sounds right (and would be easy
> to verify) is that only one nostril should be active when you aren't
> exercising, and there is a ~3? hour cycle where they swap dilation
> repeatedly through the day and night.

It’s called the nasal cycle.

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zzzeek
lifetime anxiety sufferer here.

mouth breathing is the first step towards hyperventilation, which is a state
of excess oxygen that can cause symptoms of confusion and panic. I would guess
that some of the people in this study simply had reduced cognition due to
prolonged hyperventilation.

Maybe not, but it's always strange how these articles focus on just one theory
and not another one that is widely known to be a thing.

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rapnie
I was not even aware many people breathe through the mouth apparently, until
now. As a young child I did too, and was taught to use my nose. Since then I
presumed that that was the norm, and everyone did that.

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Havoc
You are now breathing manually.

~~~
bitexploder
I meditate a lot and I think you got me for a half a breath. Then I just “let
the breath happen.” It’s pretty weird to be able to do that (I have only been
meditating for a few months).

~~~
aryamaan
> “let the breath happen.”

This is the one part I specifically struggle with one I am meditating and
focusing on my breaths. They are never happening on their own but run in
manual mode.

~~~
bitexploder
I can’t even remember when, but at some point I was just beside my breath and
not controlling it. Guided meditation can help here. Sam Harris (Waking Up) is
good. I found some of the concepts in how to meditate he presents lead to some
noticeable improvement in my practice.

~~~
aryamaan
thanks for the response. I will definitely check it out.

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agumonkey
Two thoughts:

\- breathing is life. It's no surprise it taps in tons of important places.
Also oxygen is sensed everywhere, the theory is better breathing => better
oxygen % => happier system => happier brain. I believe there's a parallel
effect that our mind maps intakes and well being, that's why smoking is
addictive, breathing + nicotin effect could piggyback on the all the breathing
related brain areas.

\- I thought smell wasn't in the nose but at the junction between nose and
mouth..

~~~
posterboy
I agree with the opinion on smoking, to a degree, but initially it's quite the
opposite, because, well, it's just disgusting. Only after becoming
desensibilized can a negative feedback loop kick in, where the sod cools the
vessels (directly or indirectly, I wouldn't know), and the smoke warms it. I
still wonder what positive effect a little smoking can have, like maybe
supercharging the waste removal. After all, humanity was raised by the fire.

Edit: If a lack of sensitivity implies dead nerve cells, that's going a little
too far, though.

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darkmighty
> "Whether nasal, as opposed to mouth, breathing can improve people’s long-
> term memories unrelated to odors — or otherwise enhance cognition — is still
> in doubt"

It seems an odd choice to use scent here (if they intended any
generalization), since there is direct influence in scent from breathing
through mouth or nose. Even having something plugging your nose (even if you
breathed through your mouth normally) I imagine could influence your memory
temporarily.

Psychology experiments are hard.

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rollulus
I've been breathing through my nose since a kid after television taught me
that there are revolving brushes in your nose that cleanse the air [1].
Excellent series anyway.

[1]: [https://youtu.be/_SVcUKjl5mk?t=241](https://youtu.be/_SVcUKjl5mk?t=241)

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pasbesoin
An injury and the result of subsequent surgery left me with severe, chronic
congestion. Actually, the injury just made the airflow uncomfortably
asymmetric. It was the surgery that really stuffed things up.

I lost my ability to achieve "hyper-focus". I remember more than fondly how my
body would gradually settle down and into it. I'd feel a "oneness" in my body
and purpose, including and especially the air flowing in and out, through my
nose.

It turns out, surgery of the nose and area is known for this. (And I sought
out one of the top surgeons in my area.) Don't use it unless you really need
to. And then, make sure you achieve truly _informed_ consent, with your
surgeon.

I would _never_ choose elective surgery, i.e. a "nose job".

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jokoon
No idea why I'm often unable to breath through my nose, it's clogged. I have a
history of chronic rhinitis. Even when I blow my nose and remove what's in it,
it seems the inside of my sinus is completely swollen. I already have done
allergy tests, without results. No idea if it's a result of hygiene, or some
chemical that it's a soap or food, acarians, some fungi, or else.

I've read that a deviated septum is a common problem.

The worst thing is that breathing through the mouth can also make dental
problem worse.

Not to mention I'm completely unable to breath in only using my nose when
running. Not sure if it's normal.

What is certain is that I grew up in the center of a large city as a kid, and
it might have done some damage to my respiratory system.

~~~
awaaz
Have you been to an ENT specialist?

I grew up with chronic nose issues. When I was about 12 years old I was told I
had enlarged adenoids which should be operated on. However, mostly due to my
own laziness and the fact that you can get by without the surgery, I didn't
get the procedure done. Every single year, I suffered from what seemed like
perpetual flu for 6-8 months. I never remember being able to breath from both
my nostrils. When I slept at night, my watch with a sleep monitor would report
just 2-3 hours of sleep since I had to keep switching sides every half an hour
or so (if your right nostril is blocked and you sleep on your left, then it
will slowly unblock itself _but_ then the left one might block itself).
Basically, life sucked.

So just last month (after a really bad flight where I ended up with blood in
my eardrums because my insides were incapable of equalising pressure), I bit
the bullet and got a CT scan done and went to an ENT. The doc took one look at
my scan and basically said "I can't believe you can actually breath at all". I
had a really bad DNS (deviated nasal septum) and chronic sinusitis. On his
recommendation, I got a FESS + septoplasty procedure done. The surgery itself
was fairly short (~1 hour) but the post-op follow ups were somewhat
unpleasant..

However, I would _highly_ recommend the procedure to anyone who suffers from
similar problems. Even though it has been little more than a month since the
surgery and I can't give final judgement, I can breath from both my nostrils
for the first time in my life. I am sleeping much better and I think my
stamina has gone up a little as well. Probably the most important thing is
that having flu like symptoms made me extremely cranky and short tempered in
the past, and that is gone now. Life just seems better!

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hliyan
n=24 in this study. I'm not disputing the benefits (there appears to be
historical evidence), but is that enough to make a claim like this?

~~~
coldtea
If a person was ressurected after being crashed with a truck on his head, then
n=1 would be enough to claim it's possible.

Given the kind of claim, surprisingly small N can be adequate.

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hyperfekt
'unique' indeed. this is a curiosity at best, recognizing odors is not what i
would call an essential skill anymore.

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jonsen
Quick, someone grab the domain cosanostril.

