Breathing through your nose, rather than your mouth, is a powerful practice that improves oxygen uptake, reduces stress by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, and purifies the air, benefiting both athletic performance and daily well-being.
- The nose is designed for breathing: it humidifies, warms, and filters the air, unlike the mouth.
- Nasal breathing stimulates the production of nitric oxide, a molecule that improves circulation and oxygen absorption in the lungs.
- Breathing through the nose is slower and deeper, activating the parasympathetic nervous system—the “rest and recover” system—which helps manage stress.
- You can train yourself to breathe through your nose with a gradual approach: first while still, then while walking, and finally during very low-intensity runs.
- The goal isn’t to eliminate mouth breathing during maximal efforts, but to make nasal breathing your “default” to improve overall efficiency.
You’re Only Using Half of Your Respiratory Potential: The Nose Isn’t Just for Smelling
Breathing. It’s the first and last act of our lives, an action so automatic that we rarely stop to think about it. And yet, hidden within this act is a potential for well-being and performance that most of us completely ignore. We are so used to thinking of the mouth as the main airway, especially during exertion, that we’ve forgotten the function of the most sophisticated breathing tool we possess: the nose.
Think of your nose not as an accessory, but as an incredibly advanced piece of biological engineering. The mouth, by comparison, is little more than an “emergency hole,” a quick way to get large volumes of air in when the system is in alarm mode. But training, and living, constantly in emergency mode isn’t efficient. And in the long run, it’s not even healthy.
Learning to use your nose as your primary airway is like discovering a secret function of your body. It’s a free, always-available “biohack” that can radically change how you train and manage daily stress.
The 3 Benefits of Nasal Breathing (That the Mouth Doesn’t Offer)
When you choose to breathe through your nose, you aren’t just changing the entry point for air. You’re activating a series of physiological processes that mouth breathing cannot replicate.
1. More Oxygen to Your Muscles (and Brain)
It sounds like a contradiction: less air comes in through the nose, so how can more oxygen get through? The secret is called nitric oxide. This molecule is produced in the nasal cavities and inhaled along with the air. Once in the lungs, it acts as a potent vasodilator: basically, it “opens up” the blood vessels, allowing the blood to absorb up to 18% more oxygen for the same amount of air breathed. It’s like adding a special additive to your fuel to make it more efficient. More oxygen to the muscles means more endurance and better performance.
2. Less Stress, More Calm
Mouth breathing is shallow, rapid, and linked to the sympathetic nervous system—the “fight or flight” response. It’s the breath of anxiety. Nasal breathing, on the other hand, is naturally slower, deeper, and more diaphragmatic. This type of breathing stimulates the vagus nerve and activates the parasympathetic nervous system, our natural “handbrake,” the system of “rest and recover.” Learning to breathe through your nose during low-intensity effort teaches your body to remain calm under stress, a skill that translates to better fatigue management in a race and better anxiety management in life. It’s no coincidence that it’s the foundation of practices like box breathing.
3. A Natural Filter Against Pollution and Dry Air
The nose is a perfect air conditioning and purification system. The nasal hairs (vibrissae) and mucus filter out dust, pollen, and pollutants. The turbinates, complex internal structures, warm and humidify the air before it reaches the lungs, protecting the airways from irritation and thermal shock, especially during winter runs. The mouth does none of this: it’s a wide-open window that lets everything in, unfiltered.
How to Start Breathing Through Your Nose: A 3-Step Guide
Training nasal breathing requires patience. At first, you’ll feel short of breath because your respiratory muscles and your brain aren’t used to it. The secret is a gradual (and very cautious) approach.
Step 1: At Rest (Exercises to Do While Seated)
Start here, for 5-10 minutes a day.
- Sit comfortably with a straight back. Close your mouth.
- Inhale slowly through your nose for 4 seconds.
- Hold your breath for 4 seconds.
- Exhale slowly through your nose for 6-8 seconds.
- Repeat. The goal is simply to get your body used to the more restricted airflow and to deeper, more controlled breathing.
Step 2: While Walking
Take the practice into motion.
- During a walk, try to breathe only through your nose.
- Walk at a normal pace and notice the sensations. When you start to feel a slight “air hunger,” slow down or stop for a moment, take a few breaths through your mouth, and then resume. You are learning your current limits.
Step 3: While Running (at a Very Low Intensity)
This is the most challenging phase. You’ll have to set your ego aside.
- During your warm-up or cool-down, try running for 2-3 minutes breathing only through your nose. The pace will have to be absurdly slow.
- When you feel you can’t continue, switch back to normal breathing for a few minutes, then try again.
- Gradually, try to extend these intervals. It will take weeks, maybe months, but slowly your body will adapt.
The Goal Is Not to Replace, but to Integrate
Let’s be clear: no one is asking you to run your intervals or the final sprint of a race breathing only through your nose. Your mouth will always be your “release valve” for maximal efforts.
The goal is different: to make nasal breathing your default mode for all low- to medium-intensity efforts and for everyday life. By doing so, you train your body to be more efficient, calmer, and more resilient. You transform a simple, automatic act into a powerful tool for well-being. And you discover that sometimes, to go faster, the solution isn’t to push harder, but simply to breathe better.