Nasal Breathing Exercise Benefits

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Nasal breathing is the best means of warming and humidifying inhaled air in preparation for the lungs.

Available information on the function and evolution of the human nose is consistent with a primal purpose of conserving moisture and heat. In a temperate climate, the estimated energy expenditure to condition inhaled air can be equivalent to about one sixth of a person's daily energy output; however, about 30 to 40 percent of this energy is recovered by exhaling through the nose. Higher efficiencies of heat and moisture recovery occur in cold and/or dry environments.

The nose also filters incoming air, has irritant receptors that trigger protective reflexes, and, of course, provides the sense of smell. The resistance to air flow in nasal breathing may be an efficient passive means of slowing air flow to provide adequate gas exchange at low ventilation rates. Nasal Breathing Exercise is the normal and preferred mode of quiet respiration.

The intriguing hypothesis that nasal respiration plays an important role in controlling brain temperature may have important implications for brain functioning and psychological states. However, the basic mechanisms and effects of brain cooling have not yet been resolved.