It’s again timely that I write about side effects of illnesses such as cold, influenza (flu) and sinus infection which cause the body not to be able to take in oxygen properly.
How many of you become “mouth breathers” due to the fact that your nasal passages are blocked? Many don’t always realize there are problems because of the way we adapt to this.
If we can’t breathe in normally through the nose, we compensate by breathing in and out through the mouth. Yes, oxygen is still being delivered but not in the proper way.
Each nostril has five cranial nerves delivering signals from different parts of the brain, which the mouth does not. They are responsible for warming, filtering, moisturizing, dehumidifying, air and also for smelling.
The nostrils are also smaller, obviously, than the mouth. The lungs take in oxygen both in the inhale and exhale. When we breathe in and out through our noses, it allows the air coming in and out to slow down and allows the lungs to capture the oxygen and properly deliver it to the blood, which in turn properly delivers oxygen to the organs and other tissues.
Breathing in and out through the nose also maintains proper balance between carbon dioxide and oxygen. When mouth breathing, carbon dioxide is lost to quickly, resulting in poor oxygen absorption.
Over time, mouth breathing can result in chronic halitosis (bad breath), not to mention more serious health risks such as asthma, snoring and sleep apnea, which can then lead to hypertension (high blood pressure).
There are those who suffer from chronic sinus conditions or deviated septum, which forces them to always breathe through their mouths. For others, chronic illness affecting the nasal passages changes their breathing habits and they become accustomed to mouth breathing.
Many don’t realize that even when awake, they aren’t properly taking in oxygen, let alone when they sleep. Most people, unless told by their sleeping partner, aren’t even aware that they snore or stop breathing during sleep (sleep apnea).
For many short term illnesses, there are of course, medications to help alleviate the problem but all medications have potentially serious side effects, even over the counter medications. This is especially true if one is already taking medications heart conditions such as hypertension.
If you have been told that you snore or have mild sleep apnea, I highly encourage you to try my Stop Snoring program. The all natural breathing exercises are effective – especially for those who have developed bad breathing habits due to recurring sinus infections, etc.
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