Take a moment to inhale.
Here Dooley goes again, telling you to shut your mouth.
For most people, you will have breathed in from your mouth. Yes, you have an oral cavity that is connected to your oropharynx (mouth part of throat) to your laryngopharynx (throat that connects to trachea and esophagus). However, more efficient breathing actual comes from the nose. This is probably why our nose is always open, but we have to physically open our mouths to breathe from it.
But why is your nose is always stuffy, preventing you from breathing from it?
I would tell you the same thing I would tell everyone else: you still need to breathe from your nose. Clear the airway and start breathing from it.
Some tips:
– Xylitol nasal spray: Xylitol is an all-natural sugar alcohol that makes your nasal mucosa slippery. Thus, fewer debris can attach to your nasal cavity.
– Neti pot: This saline nasal wash can help to wash the sinuses of debris and excessive mucus.
– Aromatic oils: Peppermint, eucalyptus, camphor, and menthol are just a few essential oils you can use as inhalants to help keep nasal passages clear.
– Breathing drills: Breathe in and out from nose as a 5-minute habit, every morning and evening to start. Then, you can progress to breathing as often as possible through your nose – during training, driving, after speaking, you name it.
– Acupressure: To encourage the opening of nasal passages, an acupuncture point at the edge of the nostrils can be massaged. This point, LI20, is found on the little dip on the outside of the nostrils. It may even be sore to the touch in those with stuffy sinuses or sinusitis.
Give this tips a try to help with nasal breathing, and you may just feel better and increase your athletic and work performances.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley