The surprising power of breathing through your nose
Serenity Strull/ BBCIt felt like every part of my life improved after a recent nasal surgery, from my allergies to my mental health. That may not be a coincidence. Nose breathing is a superpower hidden on the front of your face.
For as long as I can remember, each breath felt like preparing for a swim underwater, a hard suck of air that never quite filled my lungs. Often I'd walk around with a faint whistle in my nose, praying that no one could hear it. The worst problem was a minor disability that most people refused to believe was real: something about the cruel architecture of my face made it physically impossible to blow my nose. The world was a constant sniffle.
Life cursed me with a deviated septum. My right nostril was blocked on the best of days, and I'd wind up breathing through my mouth at the slightest hint of allergies. The nasal troubles even contributed to my sleep apnoea, a breathing condition that makes you wake up multiple times at night, which apparently leaves you more likely to die of any cause. But after decades of unpleasantness, my doctor suggested surgery. The plan was to straighten my septum and reduce my turbinates – bony structures covered in a mucous membrane that condition the air as you breathe – nasal tissues that I didn't even know I had. I was ready to try anything, so on 3 January 2025, I went under the knife.
One month of healing later, I was the proud owner of a newly functional nose. I was able to breathe clear and deep out of both nostrils for the very first time. I learned that blowing your nose is an ecstatic pleasure, one I now enjoy as often as possible. And though my sleep apnoea wasn't cured, it did improve. The procedure probably led to a variety of other blessings, too. It turns out there are some surprising benefits to breathing out of your nose, and you don't necessarily need surgery to enjoy them. In fact, nose breathing might even improve your mental health.
Your personal air filter
The most obvious benefit to nasal breathing comes from those turbinates, according to Jacquelyn Callander, an ear, nose and throat doctor at the University of California, San Francisco. "They're kind of our primary mediator for warming and humidifying air, and that's incredibly important. But they also act as a filtration system," Callander says.
Serenity Strull/ BBCTogether with your nose hairs, your hard working turbinates sift through dust, bacteria, viruses and more, an advantage you won't get from breathing through your mouth. "They can be the first line of defence for your immune system," she says.
It's not just the merits of nose breathing to consider, however. Breathing through your mouth has consequences. "There's a lot of research that associates mouth breathing with oral health problems," says Ann Kearney, a speech-language pathologist at Stanford University Medical Center who studies sleep and swallowing issues.
Mouth breathing has been shown to increase acidity and dryness in the mouth, linking it to cavities, demineralisation of the teeth and gum disease. A growing body of research also suggests mouth breathing as a child can affect the development of your teeth and jaw, leading to crooked teeth and even changing the shape of your face.
"It's simple. Your nose is for breathing and your mouth is for eating," Kearney says. For some people with seriously deviated septums or other nasal obstruction, nose breathing isn't an option. But she says a lot of mouth breathers can choose the nasal route in many circumstances. "It may not be comfortable at first. The shift from mouth to nasal breathing can be an adjustment," But, Kearney says, the perks kick in with each breath.
The nose at night
Most healthy people breathe through their noses when they sleep, but some open their mouths in a nocturnal quest for air. That's bad news, Kearney says. "It's about the position of the tongue."
Kearney says you can get a feel for this yourself. When your mouth is closed you're more likely to keep the tip of your tongue pressed to the roof of your mouth and the back of your tongue relaxed, opening up your airway. But stop reading for a second, let your mouth hang open and slacken the muscles in your face. You'll probably notice your tongue rolls towards your throat, especially if you lean your head back.
"That can restrict the airflow and cause some obstruction," Kearney says. You might even hear something that sounds like snoring if you breathe as you try this.
People with obstructed noses tend to breathe through their mouths when they sleep, a phenomenon that often contributes to sleep apnoea. The condition affects an estimated one billion people, as much as 50% of the population in some countries. At best, sleep apnoea worsens your quality of life. At worst, its effects may be as dramatic as an early death.
Even if you don't have sleep apnoea, nighttime mouth breathing can cause snoring and all the drawbacks described above. But across the internet, health and wellness influencers are raving about a controversial remedy for this problem: mouth tape. It's exactly what it sounds like. You use a piece of tape to keep your mouth shut or even completely sealed. In theory, this forces you to breathe through your nose while you sleep. However, some experts warn there are serious risks to consider.
Kearney swears by mouth tape but says it may make breathing more difficult for some people. The only way to know if you're one of them is to see a doctor – do not try this at home without seeking advice from a medical professional first. "If you snore, have difficulty breathing through your nose or have any reason to think you might have sleep apnoea, you need to see an ENT [ear, nose and throat doctor]," she says.
The risks of mouth tape
Some people breath through their mouths when they're asleep, which can be an indication of a serious medical condition such as obstructive sleep apnoea. Tape that forces you to breathe through your nose could help certain people – but so far, there hasn't been enough research, and it could make problems worse in some cases.
"If people have moderate or severe sleep apnoea, those episodes where you open your mouth to breath at night are probably important for returning their oxygen levels back to normal, and I usually advise them not to try mouth tape," says Jacquelyn Callander, an ear, nose and throat doctor at the University of California, San Francisco.
"There are a lot of patients who have no idea that they have a problem," she says, so it's important to see a doctor before you try tape.
The practice of mouth taping is still in its infancy. Many ear, nose and throat doctors say there hasn't been enough research into its efficacy or safety. A few early studies suggest it might be helpful, though none are definitive. For example, one study of 20 people in Taiwan found mouth tape significantly improved sleep apnoea and snoring, but the researchers said the small sample size and lack of a control group limited their conclusions.
"So far we don't have great objective evidence that mouth tape helps decrease sleep apnoea or improves breathing at night," Callander says. "But it's low-cost and may be beneficial." She believes that mouth taping shows real promise, but agrees it calls for medical advice. If you're thinking of trying it, step one is to talk to a sleep specialist or an ENT.
What you can try, however, is nose strips that hold your nostrils open from the outside, Callander says. "Some people have what's called 'nasal valve collapse', where inhaling causes negative pressure in your nasal cavity. For those people, nasal strips can help." Some people even wear them while they exercise. However, if you have a deviated septum or enlarged turbinates, like I did, nose strips probably won't help, she says.
A wind chime for the mind
Over time, we've gained an increasing understanding of nose breathing's physical benefits, but the connection between the nose and the brain is often overlooked. In my case, the simple act of breathing through my nose brought a variety of bodily relief, but the way we breathe, particularly through the nose, can have a surprising impact on our psychological wellbeing.
Serenity Strull/ BBCYou can think of the nose like a wind chime for the mind; when air moves through your nose, it seems to have a significant influence on your cognitive processes. Nasal breathing has positive effects on the limbic system – the parts of the brain that regulate emotion and behaviour – in ways that mouth breathing doesn't.
A 2023 study, for example, found that nose breathing lowers blood pressure and the variability and frequency of the heart rate, indicating relaxation. "It's not going to treat hypertension [high blood pressure]," says Joe Watso, an applied physiologist at Florida State University, who led the study. "But breathing in and out through your nose seems to have a calming effect on your nervous system." Studies have even shown that breathing through your nose improves performance on spatial tasks, enhances memory function and betters your reaction time.
Experts don't know exactly why that is. What we do know is breathing through your nose triggers the olfactory nerve – the nerves responsible for detecting odours – apparently even when there's nothing to smell. A leading theory is that this synchonises electrical activity across different areas of the brain including the amygdala and the hippocampus. Whatever the cause, nose breathing appears to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps the body to conserve energy and slows down bodily functions when you're relaxed.
Science is telling us what meditators and yoga practitioners have said for thousands of years: nose breathing can help with mental wellbeing. Some research indicates that rhythmic, drawn-out nasal breathing slows down brain waves across your entire cerebral cortex, indicating a calmer state of mind. Watso and others suggests nasal stimulation could even offer a physiological explanation for the benefits of meditating.
Almost every part of my life has improved in the months since I got my nose fixed. That includes my mental health. My anxiety has lessened, I'm more able to focus and my mood is better overall. It may be no coincidence. Callander says nose breathing could actually be making me a calmer guy.
"It's possible," Callander says. "If you're getting better sleep, that's intrinsically tied to your quality of life and wellbeing. But I do think you might be activating your parasympathetic nervous system more often than you previously were."
In my experience the classic advice is spot on: when you're feeling anxious or upset, take a deep breath. But next time, you may want to take it through your nose.
* All content within this column is provided for general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other health care professional. The BBC is not responsible or liable for any diagnosis made by a user based on the content of this site. The BBC is not liable for the contents of any external internet sites listed, nor does it endorse any commercial product or service mentioned or advised on any of the sites. Always consult your own GP if you're in any way concerned about your health.
Thomas Germain is a senior technology journalist for the BBC. He's covered AI, privacy and the furthest reaches of internet culture for the better part of a decade. You can find him on X and TikTok @thomasgermain.
--
If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.
For more science, technology, environment and health stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.