Your mouth breathes stress, your nose breathes calm: the key is how you breathe

Did you know that the way you breathe can change how your body feels? When you breathe through your mouth, your body thinks you are in a stressful situation. But when you breathe through your nose, your body relaxes and feels safe.

Breathing through the mouth activates alarm mode

When we breathe through our mouth, the body goes into “alarm mode”. This means that the sympathetic system, the stress system, is activated. This system controls certain organs during situations that require rapid activation: it prepares the body to run, fight or flee. So if you’re breathing through your mouth all the time, you may feel more nervous, tired or anxious… even if everything is fine.

Breathing through the nose activates calmness

In contrast, when you breathe through your nose, your body feels calm and safe. The nose is designed for breathing: it has hairs that filter the air, warms it, cleans it and also activates a gas called nitric oxide. This gas helps the air reach the lungs better, opens the blood vessels and relaxes the body and mind. This activates the parasympathetic system, the calming system.

See the difference? Breathing through the mouth means stress, while breathing through the nose means calm. It’s like having two buttons: one for alertness and one for calmness. You can choose which one to press by simply changing the way you breathe.

Benefits of nasal and diaphragmatic breathing

When you breathe through your nose and use your diaphragm, a muscle under your lungs, your breathing slows down and deepens. This calms your heart, improves your concentration and helps you sleep better. In this way, the body can rest, repair itself and feel safe.

Numerous studies in children and adults show that breathing through the nose reduces anxiety, improves posture and even the shape of the face. In contrast, mouth breathing, especially at night, can lead to snoring and sleep apnea, a serious disorder in which breathing stops and starts repeatedly.

How to improve your nasal breathing

There are simple exercises to train your nasal breathing:

• Nostril exercise: close one nostril with your finger and breathe deeply through the other nostril. Then switch sides.

• Diaphragmatic breathing: lying down or sitting, place one hand on your chest and one on your abdomen. Breathe making sure that the abdomen rises higher than the chest.

• Technique 4-7-8: inhale through the nose for four seconds, hold the breath for seven seconds and exhale slowly through the mouth for eight seconds.

It is also important to keep your mucous membranes hydrated to facilitate breathing: drink enough water, use humidifiers and clean your nostrils with saline solutions regularly.

Remember, the mouth breathes stress… but your nose breathes calm.