Anybody who is interested in barefoot running or has read the book Born to Run is probably familiar with the lore surrounding the running exploits of Native Americans.
In the book, Indian Running, author Peter Nabokov describes a Native American running exercise that taught runners how to strengthen their breathing. Taking in a mouthful of water (without swallowing), runners would sprint for set distances while holding the water in their mouths.
There are plenty of anecdotes like this of ancient runners traversing the land while breathing through their nose, and images of the Tarahumara Indians running across the Copper Canyons with their mouths closed and a peaceful look on their face.
Stories like these cause many of us to wonder, should I be breathing through my nose while running or exercising? Am I doing something wrong when I gasp for air through my open mouth?
This particular question is never more prominent in my mind than when I’m breathing hard at the end of a hard run or really intense workout. Sometimes I try to soldier through my training while breathing through my nose, but I always end up switching to orinasal, or breathing with both the nose and mouth. That painful feeling of not getting enough air is just too strong, and my instincts take over.
I’ve thought that perhaps I’m just weak mentally, or maybe my seasonal allergies have made my nose useless. The truth is actually more a mix of simple human physiology, neolithic anatomical maladaptiveness, and my own personal training preferences.
The Human Nose
Anybody wishing to learn more about the evolution of humans and the anatomical changes that made us who we are should follow the research of Dr. Dan Lieberman. Specifically, his book The Evolution of the Human Head is a wealth of information regarding the physiological changes that occurred to the human body throughout its million year evolution.
The chapter pertaining to the structure of the nose, and how it differs from the noses of other mammals and even other primates is particularly enlightening.
… the evolution of a turbulence-generating external nose in Homo suggests that the benefits of increasing turbulence must have outweighed the costs. A reasonable hypothesis is that selection acted on nasal shape to favor efficient function of the respiratory epithelium to humify inspired air and to dehumidify expired air during aerobic exercise.
Big, external noses may have helped our ancestors travel long distances in the hot midday sun – but only up to a point, because at some threshold the costs of high resistance would outweight the benefits of turbulent airflow. Because airway resistance is much lower in laminar than in turblent flow, increased resistance can become a problem duirng vigorous exercise, which increases the need for air.
So here we have one piece of the puzzle. The nose is engineered to keep us from drying out, an adaption that proved helpful in allowing humans to spread out from the jungles and across the savanna. It’s one of the many features that allow us to run for long periods even in extreme ambient heat, but with a catch. Intense anaerobic activity requires more oxygen than can be pulled through the nose, due to increased turbulence and resistance.
Dietary Effects on Facial Structure
I’ve always recognized that my face and its features were a little on the narrow side. When I was a young boy and travelling with family on trips to the Florida Keys to explore coral reefs, I always had trouble fitting a snorkeling mask to my face. Its narrow shape always left pockets on the side where water got in.
Later in life, it seemed that allergies would become a perennial problem, with my nose becoming useless for several months out of the year. More outwardly apparent though, the poor structure of my teeth resulting from a palate too narrow for all of them to fit, was the final clue which lead me to understand my issues.
Around 70 years ago Weston A. Price had already figured out what my problem was. While studying indigenous populations of people all over the planet, and discovering how modern diets had affected them, he determined that non-traditional foods caused the children of these people to develop narrow facial structures. This phenotype consisted of crowded teeth, poorly developed jaws, and much diminished nasal cavities and nostrils compared to their traditionally-eating counterparts.
Based on this evidence, and the many photos of the people Price studied, we can hypothesize that the same Native Americans who we read about breathing exclusively through their noses, must have had more robust and effective nasal structures in general. Further, the dietary issues that many of us grew up with and our now resolving with paleo-style diets, left us with poorly developed noses during the most crucial growing periods of the human life-cycle – childhood.
Anaerobic Oxygen Deficit
Anaerobic exercise is exercise intense enough to trigger anaerobic metabolism, where insufficent oxygen is available for oxidation, and the body switches over to the creatine pathway or glycolysis. As long as enough oxygen is available one can stay aerobic, the domain of more moderate or lower-intensity activities. If one is well trained though, they might be able to run at a good pace while staying in that oxygenated aerobic zone.
High intensity activities of more than a few seconds will drive up the demand for oxygen tremendously however, and if activity like this continues for several minutes (like with a CrossFit WOD or sports) then the body will dip into an oxygen deficit. In recovery, oxygen is used in the processes that restore the body to a resting state and adapt it to the exercise just performed. Scientifically speaking, the process is called “excess post-exercise oxygen consumption”, but in layman’s terms it is simply referred to as “sucking wind”.
Your body needs oxygen badly, and in general the least resistant and highest volume throughput entryway for oxygen into your body is your mouth. I always thought I was mentally weak for not holding my mouth shut through a workout, but it seems that my preference for high intensity training put me in a position where nose-breathing was inadequate for my oxygen needs.
If you recall Lieberman’s comments above, the turbulence and resistance created by our nose is incredibly useful, but this benefit diminishes when there is a corresponding need for higher-intensity work output. Ultimately, you’ll have to decide what is more important to you.
The Compromise
There are definitely advantages to breathing through one’s nose. It humidifies the air better, maintains a more constant air temperature, conserves moisture upon expiration, produces nitric oxide for use by the body, and helps protect against foreign pathogens.
For people who suffer from exercise-induced asthma, nose breathing can be a remarkable cure. The underlying cause of this type of asthma appears to be the large volume of cool, dry air inhaled during strenuous exercise. For many, it seems to improve when the air inhaled is more fully humidified and closer to body temperature, something accomplished by the nose.
Unfortunately, it seems that many people may have been inadvertently steered towards predominant orinasal breathing due to poorly developed facial and nasal structures. Even if staying inside the aerobic zone, the volume of air that could be pushed through our narrow noses might never be sufficient for our muscular needs. Further, my preference for high intensity training makes it even less likely that my nose will do me much good.
While aerobic training might be popular for many runners, high intensity interval training systems like Crossfit, and high impact sports like football aren’t going anywhere. People will need to accept that there isn’t one exalted breathing technique that is appropriate for all occasions. If you can sustain your activity level with your mouth kept shut, that’s great, and will probably provide some respiratory health benefits. But if you find you can’t keep pace, or tire quickly from a feeling of labored breathing, relying solely on your nose just to satisfy a romantic ideal of prehistoric runners is folly.
No matter how stoic you might be, the suffocating feeling you get is actually your body telling you that you’re suffocating. Do yourself a favor and take a deep breath – with your mouth open if need be. It doesn’t mean you’re weak, or less of an athlete. It just means you need air.
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19 Responses to Should You Breath Through Your Nose, Mouth, or Both While Running and Exercising?
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I’ve always been forced into being a mouth breather due to a deviated septum and, what was unknown at the time, an allergy to dairy. Like you, to push enough air through the turbo, I still have to breath through the mouth when given myself a beat down! But moving to a paleo diet, and clearing up the background food allergies has really made a difference to be able to nose breath when not exercising.
You should read the book Lore of Running, which is considered by many running experts to be the “bible of running”. In it the author thoroughly debunks the existence of anaerobic metabolism. He does this with sound and reasoned science combined with historical analysis. What is really going on instead of anaerobic metabolism is far more interesting.
It looks like Google Books has a good amount of his chapter on anaerobic metabolism and VO2 max available for preview: (http://books.google.com/books?id=wAa9qq9kbncC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false)
Perhaps we can discuss those theories more. From what I can tell, he is arguing the signalling method where oxygen debt becomes a problem, and the idea that one can even train VO2 max.
It would seem to me that maximizing oxygen consumption is still a priority, even if the process by which sub-optimal oxygen consumption affects performance is in question.
I was always taught as a youth that you should breath in through your nose and out your mouth while running. I believe it was to avoid that side ache you can get from running. This might just be a wives tale though.
I to struggle though to keep breathing through my nose.
After reading this and harking back to some past experiences, I am wondering if just the opposite of what Kyle was taught could have some combined advantages. Breathing in through the mouth would enable significant air intake during intense exercise. Breathing out through the nose — as long as it was sustainable — would help retain moisture and possibly encourage more efficient use of the oxygen taken in?
Well, some of the information I’ve read indicates that nitric oxide is formed inside the naval cavities while inspiring through the nose. This seems to have some respiratory benefits, and doesn’t happen when you breath through the mouth.
So I would say, breathing through the nose is preferred, but if your level of activity cannot be supported by nose breathing alone, then opening your mouth will be necessary to maintain intensity levels.
Nitric Oxide is a vasal dialator. It relaxes the muscles around the airways allowing greater volume of 02 into your lungs.
Nasal breathing (i.e. buteyko) allowed me to cure my asthma. A lot of the mechanics of how your brain decides it is “suffocating”, and how it can be re-programmed to enable even the most elite of athletes to nasal breathe, appear to have been missed. Not saying everyone should do it, but you last sentence advising people to simply take a great big breath when they can no longer nasal breathe, is not based on any real scientific or medical fact.
Thank you for this post, David. I, like you, have unsuccessfully tried many times to only use my nose and felt as if I was failing or benefiting less from not being able to hold on. I also opted for a reasonable compromise and now I have more information to understand the why’s and how’s. Much appreciated, my friend.
I’m glad the info was helpful …all the best!
One of the things I’ve learned from yoga is that most people have really poor lung capacity, and that simply breathing hard (through running or other activities) does nothing to increase it. After more than a year of yoga, my lung capacity has increased to the point where I can now manage to breathe through my nose most of the time when running, hiking or skiing really hard.
My lungs hold enough air that I never really get that suffocating feeling before I take another breath. I imagine everyone could get benefit out of similar deep breathing exercises designed to control and enhance lung capacity.
The other thing we learn in yoga about breathing is that breathing through the mouth is one way to trigger the fight-or-flight response, and is linked to the resulting adrenalin surge.
When I train in a high intensity manner though, I’m actively trying to stimulate that fight or flight response – not avoid it.
That’s the difference between running, hiking, skiing, yoga – and something like CrossFit, and the reason I touched on the topic of anaerobic oxygen deficit in the article. Running can be high intensity, but not always the case.
On a more personal note: I went to college originally for music (trumpet performance) and had a professional breathing coach. I was taught quite well how to breath deeply using my diaphragm, and proper deep breathing was always stressed as critical for a wind player. Let me assure you, lung capacity has never been a problem for me.
However, no matter how much air one can draw, if you try to squeeze it through a tiny opening, resistance will increase by several orders of magnitude. For me personally, I believe anatomical deficiencies in my sinuses make pure nasal breathing incredibly insufficient. I also suspect that this case isn’t limited to just me.
Even right now, my nose makes noise when I breath through it while sitting calmly at my computer. It is almost always partially obstructed. I believe this is a consequence of dietary deficiencies during my formative years, leaving me with a narrow face and palate. Similar to the examples in Price’s observations.
Well, your lung capacity given your music training may be fine, or it may have deteriorated over time. What I do know is that virtually all new yogis, even performance athletes, have trouble with breathing initially. The vast majority of people do not engage the diaphragm in their day to day breathing, and breathe very shallowly.
Regarding the flight or fight response, I agree it’s a tool to use when you need a performance burst. But when you breathe through the mouth the whole time you can’t get the extra burst when you need it. Adrenaline wears off pretty quickly.
Finally, just to address the “tiny opening” comment. It sounds like you have physiological deformities which contribute to a smaller nasal passage, although your music training suggests you can get sufficient nasal air flow when you work at it.
I know I had terrible trouble when I started yoga – getting your nose broken 5 times before you are 20 does not help with the breathing. It made deep nasal breathing difficult initially, but I eventually learned and can now comfortably breathe through my nose during most physical activities. It’s actually a pretty great feeling. I feel like I have my nose back, so to speak, after years of mouth breathing.
The Venturi effect does come into play here. The velocity of airflow increases as it becomes constricted. Indeed, we are taught to actually constrict the throat in breathing to achieve this higher velocity airflow.
It obviously isn’t possible for everyone to breathe through the nose all the time. But I think pretty much everyone can improve their breathing at least somewhat. It needn’t be about stoicism, but about practice and training.
I don’t think you understood my point. The physiological demands of pulling 135 pounds from the ground to over your head as fast as possible is not the same as doing yoga, jogging, or hiking.
I see a lot of people suggest that you can nose breath (exclusively) doing anything but it frequently seems to be within the context of lower intensity aerobic activity.
I never breathed exclusively through my nose when performing, nor was I taught to do that. Rests between passages sometimes provided only a split second to take in as much air as possible before playing again.
You can take in far more air through your mouth than you can through your nose, during similar time periods. It’s just physics – small tube vs. large tube, compounded by resistance due to airflow velocity.
I recognize that nasal breathing is optimal for many situations, and is the preferred manner to breath. I’m not denying that. But it isn’t optimal for everything, especially short term high oxygen needs. In those cases, orinasal is better – using nose and mouth.
It’s instinctual to utilize your mouth when under severe oxygen demands or deficit. When people come up from underwater for a long period of time they gasp with their mouth open. I don’t think it’s because they’re not trained how to breath properly. It’s because their body wants air, now, fast, and in large quantity.
I understand your point completely. In your original post, and certainly in your responses, the strong impression that one’s breathing cannot be changed. That it is exclusively a function of physiology and nasal structure.
My point is that breathing is like any other function of human tissue, and can be modified and improved by training.
Certainly there are activities where nasal breathing will never be enough. And it is undoubtedly true that there are individual limitations on lung capacity and breathing ability due to physical limitations.
But everyone’s breathing can be improved, just as everyone’s endurance, strength and flexibility can be improved. And the efficiency and quality of mouth breathing can be improved significantly with training.
Since you’ve obviously had breathing training, you know that this is true. I’m not sure why you don’t want to talk about this as a performance tool.
“My point is that breathing is like any other function of human tissue, and can be modified and improved by training.”
Curiously, there is research which suggests that there is a genetically predetermined limit to VO2 Max. And further increases in performance past optimal air intake is actually facilitated by muscular efficiencies of some sort. It’s obviously a controversial theory.
“Certainly there are activities where nasal breathing will never be enough. And it is undoubtedly true that there are individual limitations on lung capacity and breathing ability due to physical limitations.”
That is the point of my article. I’m contradicting the suggestion that people should never breath with their mouth.
I’m also not saying people can’t or shouldn’t try to improve their breathing capabilities. I mentioned several times that I think nasal breathing is preferred.
One of my points is that some people might have a predisposed lower limit to nasal inhalation due to congenital defects, and that this could be quite common due to modern nutritional deficiencies.
“I’m not sure why you don’t want to talk about this as a performance tool.”
I am talking about it, by suggesting that it is bad for performance to limit yourself to one manner of breathing arbitrarily, or based on inappropriate context.
I will radically alter my position when I see somebody win the CrossFit games while breathing exclusively through their nose.
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[...] Your Nose, Mouth, or Both While Running and Exercising? August 26, 2011By: David Csonka Source: Naturally Engineered Anybody who is interested in barefoot running or has read the book Born to Run is probably familiar [...]