You're Probably Breathing Wrong: Here's How To Tell & How To Stop

There are many ancient and modern breathing practices that can improve our health and happiness by helping to foster healthier respiration patterns.

There is the kind of Tummo breathing that is utilized in the Wim Hof Method, there is pranayama (yogic breathing), Buteyko, box breathing, resonant breathing, basic breath holds, Sudarshan Kriya, Holotropic Breathwork, and Andrew Weil's technique.

All are practiced across the world by hundreds of thousands of people to powerful effect, helping people control anxiety, improve blood chemistry, and tune up the immune system. These are all wonderful techniques to practice, and we're sure at least one of them could change your life. 

But here's the straight talk: We've tried just about every technique out there and have our favorites, but from what we've seen, tried, and learned, you can improve your breathing patterns and get to 80% of where you want to be by doing only one thing: breathing through your nose. 

This requires you to keep your mouth closed, of course. Consider this your small contribution to turning down the volume in a very, very noisy world. In fact, we want you to do it right now. See? So easy.

This gives the air time to heat up and become moisturized. It also gives the millions of cilia (tiny hairs) in our nasal passages time to collect all the nasty germs and particulate that might be in the air we're breathing. This is what our lungs function optimally with—highly conditioned and clean air.

Breathing through your nose also creates negative pressure in and positive pressure out, which helps tone the soft tissue in our nasal passages and throat, pulling it back and opening the airway up even further. This guards against the muscle and soft tissue atrophy that can lead straight to obstructive sleep apnea.

On the other hand, when you open your mouth and inhale, there is no filter between what comes in and your lungs, and no negative/positive pressure being created. It's straight‑up throat and trachea, and those are short tubes compared to the sophisticated labyrinth of your nasal cavity.

The second reason to breathe through your nose is because it increases your CO₂ tolerance, which increases your oxygen absorption and your physiological resilience. We all know that oxygen is important, but the real invisible hero of functional breathing is carbon dioxide. And we all need more of it for optimal breathing.

Blood chemistry is all about balance. It's not as simple as oxygen = good and CO₂ = bad. Oxygen is what our cells use for fuel, but in order to make the best use of that fuel, we need the right amount of carbon dioxide in our bloodstream to make that oxygen bioavailable to our cells.

For most people, the solution isn't breathing more to get more oxygen; it's breathing less and more slowly to build up CO₂ in the bloodstream so you can make better use of the oxygen you've got. If your mouth is an oxygen superhighway, your nose is a two-lane scenic route.

The third reason breathing through your nose gives you the most bang for your buck is nitric oxide. This wonder molecule is a biological messenger that is created in the sinus tissues when you breathe through your nose—but not your mouth.

Nitric oxide increases vasodilation (circulation), helping to keep smooth muscles like your heart and arteries healthy, and it aids in the delivery and absorption of oxygen to your cells. It's a little like adding the world's best immune booster to your air smoothie.

So now you're reading along, and you're breathing through your nose. Check in with yourself. How does it feel? Is it hard because you're stuffed up? Does it feel strange because you're used to breathing primarily through your mouth? Or is it easy? This is good information to have, and it's the first place to start.

Check in with your breath throughout the day, and notice how hard and fast you're breathing when at rest as opposed to when walking up the stairs. Because we're all about baby steps, challenge yourself to finish this article without breathing through your mouth even once.