Nasal breathing is our best protection against any airborne infection. Did you know that the upper airway is directly connected to the lower airway? This wasn’t always recognised but is now and it means that whatever is
happening in your upper airway can happen in your lower airway and vice versa.
The nose is an amazing organ! In the 1990s scientists discovered that nitric oxide is produced in the paranasal sinuses. In fact the discovery was awarded a Nobel Prize. So the more you breathe through your nose, the more you access this amazing molecule!
Nitric oxide sterilises incoming air and this is a big plus in our current COVID environment. Whether you’re indoors or out walking and even when you’re wearing a mask make sure you’re breathing through your nose!
When you breathe through your nose, the nitric oxide diffuses to the lower airway and increases blood flow and subsequent gas exchange in the lungs. It’s produced at 10 parts per million in the sinuses.
So…what else can you do?
Start humming! Never mind about the people you annoy because studies have demonstrated that simple humming increases nitric oxide 15-20 times.
Since the onset of the current pandemic clinical studies have been underway and suggest that therapies designed to increase airway NO levels via gas inhalation and donor molecules may improve oxygenation and produce health benefits in COVID-19 subjects.
Want to know more about nasal breathing and protecting your health? Contact me via my website.