Question

Breathing through the nose is healthier than breathing by mouth. Why?

Answer 1

Hint: Breathing is the process in which air is brought into the lungs and taken out of the lungs to aid the exchange of gases with the external environment. Oxygen is breathed in and carbon dioxide is taken out of the lungs.

Complete answer:
These days due to the introduction of yoga breathing is a process which is being studied and taken seriously. Breathing slowly is a sign of peaceful mental health. Breathing is mostly done through our nose, we have a well-built respiratory system for this starting from our nasal chamber. Mouth is meant for other purposes and not for breathing. Our bodies are designed for breathing through the nose. The continuous mechanism of exhaling and inhaling through the nose is full of several health benefits.

Benefits of breathing through nose –
-Breathing through the nose helps to prevent infection as the air is warm, rich in moisture and mixed with nitric oxide. Nitric oxide provides two benefits – it kills pathogens and acts as a vasodilator.
-Vasodilation by nitric oxide increases the surface area of the alveoli helping efficient absorption of oxygen in the end of bronchi tubules.
-Blood circulation is also affected by the nasal breathing as the levels of oxygen in blood increase along with improved lung volumes.
-Nasal breathing helps to maintain the body temperature by recovering the lost heat and moisture.
-Proper nasal breathing helps better and improves the functioning of the brain as more oxygen reaches the brain that reduces stress and hypertension.

Drawbacks of breathing through mouth –
-Causes snoring and sleep apnea.
-Causes accumulation of bacteria in the mouth which lead to bad breath.
-Breathing through the mouth leads to drying of the mouth and acidic conditions develop that might be harmful for the teeth.
-In children breathing through the mouth is related to impaired respiratory system, abnormal head posture and facial structure.
-When air is breathed through the mouth it rarely reaches the lungs.

Note: When the body is working hard, is in stress it tends to breathe through the mouth as it feels you are inhaling more air but this is not true as the air that reaches the lungs is not enough so during such situations slow deep breaths through mouth are to be taken which allows proper distribution of air into the respiratory system from where it is distributed to other organs.