Model Monday's: Diana Moldovan
Breathing Through Your Nose When You Exercise May Make Your Runs Easier
Breathing is subconscious. We don't have to think about it—it just happens. But when we exercise, many of us become more aware of it than we normally are—sometimes thinking about every breath we take.
During low and moderate-intensity exercises (such as walking and cycling), the majority of us breathe in through our nose and out through our mouths. But the more intense the exercise becomes, the more we tend to breathe entirely through our mouths.
Most of us would assume that breathing through the mouth is the best technique to use during intense exercise, as it allows more oxygen to reach our muscles. But evidence shows the contrary—and that breathing through your nose may actually be a better technique to use during intense exercise (such as running).
A series of studies have shown that when exercising at different intensities, less oxygen is used when breathing through the nose compared to breathing through your mouth. While this might not sound like a benefit, this basically means that the body can still perform the same amount of exercise while using less oxygen to perform it.
This could be a real advantage especially for endurance athletes as economy of movement is fundamental to success. Think of oxygen like fuel for car. The fewer miles per gallon of fuel a car uses the better its "fuel economy" is. The same applies to oxygen. The less oxygen used per footfall, the less energy a person uses (and therefore the more economical they are). This means you may be able to run further without becoming exhausted as quickly.
Further to this, breathing through your nose is associated with reduced volumes of air. This makes sense, as the nostrils are much smaller than your mouth is, so you can't draw in as much oxygen at one time. But this study also found that people breathed less frequently through their nose when exercising, which seems less logical.
The key here is understanding that air moves from high pressures to lower pressures to help it go from the air and into the lungs. So although the volume of air is lower in the nasal cavity compared to the mouth, the pressure is higher—meaning the air moves more quickly into the respiratory system. The result is that oxygen can then be delivered more quickly to the working muscles.
More oxygen is also released per breath, which explains why there's no difference in heart rate when breathing orally or nasally during the same exercise. So despite lower volumes of oxygen coming in, this indicates the heart doesn't need to work harder to deliver it to the muscles. This means the heart is under no additional stress when breathing through your nose during exercise.
Researchers also suggest that breathing through your nose increases production of nitric oxide, which not only makes it easier for oxygen to reach the lungs and muscles, it may also prevent airborne pathogens (such as viruses) from causing harm. Nitric oxide does this by lowering blood pressure and helping blood flow more easily, allowing that much-needed oxygen to reach the working muscles.
In all, it looks like breathing through your nose may actually be of benefit when running. It makes you your movements more economical, reduces the amount of airborne particles your breathe, reduces exercising blood pressure and helps oxygen reach the working muscles more effectively.
Evidence is less clear for other types of exercises (such as weight lifting) which require short, sharp bursts of effort. These types of exercise rely on drawing energy from other sources than oxygen—such as stored sugar (glucose) in our muscles. But these metabolic processes, which become depleted during the exercise, still need oxygen to recover. Taking deep breaths through your nose while recovering between sets may help this process to happen more optimally.
But while this all sounds incredibly positive and encouraging, there are some negatives to be aware of.
Breathing only through your nose during exercise is very much a learnt process. It shouldn't be introduced instantly. If you introduce it without training first, it could lead to "air hunger"—a process whereby a small amount of carbon dioxide is retained at the end of each breath. This can cause discomfort and hyperventilation.
As with anything, practice makes perfect. When learning to breathe through your nose, make sure you don't force air in. Try and relax into the process. Ensure you're tongue is at the top of your mouth, as this relaxes the jaw and face muscles making it easier to draw a deep breath through your nose. You also may want to alternate between breathing through your nose and your mouth at first until you get more used to breathing solely through your nose. The more you do this, the more the process will become subconscious.
Breathing through your nose while exercising can be very effective. Just be sure to practice and give your body time to adjust to avoid harm.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Itchy Eyes? Runny Nose? Here Are Some Ways You Can Battle Fall Allergies
It's fall -- which means the air is crisp, the leaves with fall, and autumn allergies may be acting up. Are your eyes itchy? Your nose runny? Ragweed and mold spores may be the culprits.
People with allergies might experience things like a stuffy nose, drippy nose, sneezing, itching, and redness of the eyes. Allergist-immunologist Matthew Rank said allergens floating in the fall air can also trigger asthma symptoms.
Rank said there are ways to gain control. He said to first try saline nasal sprays or rinses, over-the-counter non-sedating antihistamines, and nasal spray medications.
"Each of those medicines works a little bit different as far as how fast they work and how well they work and some of them, particularly the nasal steroid sprays, it's a really good idea to think about two to four weeks ahead of when your allergy season typically is getting started," Rank said.
If your symptoms can't be controlled with any of those methods, it might be time to see an allergy specialist. That specialist can work on other treatment options to help desensitize you to the allergens or find what's causing the problem.
"People that lose their sense of smell this can happen from someone who has severe environmental allergy, but that could be a sign that something else is going on," Rank said.
Rank said the National Allergy Bureau website can also help. The NAB provides pollen and mold levels so people can get an idea of what's in the air currently.
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An FDA Advisory Group Confirmed Some Popular Decongestants Are Ineffective. Now What Do We Do?
Just in time for fall and winter sniffles, an advisory committee to the US Food and Drug Administration has decided that a popular ingredient in oral cold and allergy medications doesn't work.What do we do now?"There's so many options out there," said Dr. David C. Brodner, an otolaryngologist in Boynton Beach, Florida. "You'll still have options if you want to go and try some home remedies or pharmacy remedies on your own before you see a doctor."Phenylephrine is the main ingredient used in many common over-the-counter congestion products. It is safe to use, but an independent advisory committee to the FDA agreed Tuesday that it is ineffective in pill form. Other forms like nasal sprays are still believed to be effective.Read More: Honey may be better at treating coughs and colds than over-the-counter medicinesPill forms of phenylephrine are still available to buy while the FDA seeks public comment and makes a final decision on whether companies will need to pull or reformulate the medication, according to the administration.If a cold or viral upper respiratory infection lasts seven to 10 days without getting better — or if it gets worse — Brodner recommends seeing a doctor.But before then, there are things you can do at home to help relieve your symptoms, he said.Stay up to date with the latest health news: Health Beat on Action 7 NewsWhat to get at the pharmacyEven without phenylephrine, there are many things at the pharmacy that could help when you are feeling congested, Brodner said.He recommends a three-step plan to attack the stuffed-up feeling.First, he suggests trying a product like Mucinex — or something with guaifenesin — that helps thin out the mucus built up in your sinuses.Related Article: New Mexico health officials discuss upcoming flu seasonThen he would try a nose spray with steroids, like Flonase or Nasacort, Brodner said.Lastly, he tells his patients to get some sort of saline irrigation device, like a neti pot, to help wash their sinuses out, he said.Sinus irrigationIf you deal with chronic sinus pressure and headaches, you might have found a friend in the neti pot.By sending water with a salt solution through your sinuses, neti pots and other saline nasal irrigation devices remove mucus and inflammatory products from your nose, explained Dr. Richard J. Harvey, a professor of rhinology at Macquarie University.Rossen Reports: Here are some perks you can get if you get the flu shotBut a word of caution: Tap water may be safe to drink and cook with, but it isn't sterile enough for neti pot use, said Shanna Miko, an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The CDC recommends that people using at-home medical devices like CPAP machines, humidifiers and neti pots use only water that's free from microbes, such as distilled or sterile water, which can be bought in stores. Boiled and cooled water may also be used.Brodner recommends that his patients use irrigation twice a day while they are feeling sick.Warm compresses, hot showers and hydrationNoses like to be hydrated and warm, Brodner said.Hot showers, warm compresses and lots of fluids help make it easier for your nose to stay at the state it needs to keep things healthy.Placing a warm compress on your head or face might help because it is soothing and comforting. But steam from a hot shower or a warm compress placed over your nose can also heat things up nicely."It would just help to warm up the nose and moisten the nose, which would then allow the nose and the sinus to get the mucus flowing," he added.Common advice when someone is sick is to be sure to hydrate, and that is because drinking water helps keep the lining of the nose and the sinuses moist, Brodner said."A dried-up sinus is really hard to drain," he added.Spicy foodBelieve it or not, "spicy foods actually work" when it comes to congestion, Brodner said.The burning sensation from spicy foods comes from a chemical called capsaicin, he said."As you know, if you eat something spicy, your nose runs," he said.That runny nose will help drain mucus from your sinuses — and hopefully flush out whatever is irritating it, Brodner said.Getting good sleepGetting sleep when you are congested is important, but can sometimes be harder to pull off."If you're not getting adequate sleep — which we will call adequate sleep seven hours or more — then your body has reduced ability to fight infection," Brodner said.The problem is that you get better sleep when you breathe through your nose instead of your mouth, because your nose heats and moistens the air coming through, he said.If you have to breathe through your mouth at night, using a humidifier in your room while you sleep can help keep the air warm and moist for you, Brodner added.Sleeping with your head elevated might also be helpful, because you are using gravity to encourage the fluid to drain, he said. But that is only beneficial if you can comfortably sleep that way.Chicken SoupA big bowl of chicken soup may just be worth a try, according to a 2018 study.There could be an anti-inflammatory property to chicken soup that reduces cold symptoms, the research showed, but those results were found in a lab, not in humans, according to study author Dr. Stephen Rennard, Larson Professor of Medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, in a 2018 story.The spices and steam may be helpful to clearing the sinuses, according to another 2018 study.And you can't discount the tender loving care that goes along with someone making it for you, Rennard said."My wife (who prepared the soup for the study) makes the point that when you are feeling ill, if someone is taking care of you, that tender loving care is not a placebo effect," he said. "There are clearly beneficial effects of that. So, if someone is sitting there and making you chicken soup, it may make you feel better … but whether it has to do with contents of the chicken soup may be irrelevant."
Just in time for fall and winter sniffles, an advisory committee to the US Food and Drug Administration has decided that a popular ingredient in oral cold and allergy medications doesn't work.
What do we do now?
"There's so many options out there," said Dr. David C. Brodner, an otolaryngologist in Boynton Beach, Florida. "You'll still have options if you want to go and try some home remedies or pharmacy remedies on your own before you see a doctor."
Phenylephrine is the main ingredient used in many common over-the-counter congestion products. It is safe to use, but an independent advisory committee to the FDA agreed Tuesday that it is ineffective in pill form. Other forms like nasal sprays are still believed to be effective.
Read More: Honey may be better at treating coughs and colds than over-the-counter medicines
Pill forms of phenylephrine are still available to buy while the FDA seeks public comment and makes a final decision on whether companies will need to pull or reformulate the medication, according to the administration.
If a cold or viral upper respiratory infection lasts seven to 10 days without getting better — or if it gets worse — Brodner recommends seeing a doctor.
But before then, there are things you can do at home to help relieve your symptoms, he said.
Stay up to date with the latest health news: Health Beat on Action 7 News
What to get at the pharmacyEven without phenylephrine, there are many things at the pharmacy that could help when you are feeling congested, Brodner said.
He recommends a three-step plan to attack the stuffed-up feeling.
First, he suggests trying a product like Mucinex — or something with guaifenesin — that helps thin out the mucus built up in your sinuses.
Related Article: New Mexico health officials discuss upcoming flu season
Then he would try a nose spray with steroids, like Flonase or Nasacort, Brodner said.
Lastly, he tells his patients to get some sort of saline irrigation device, like a neti pot, to help wash their sinuses out, he said.
Sinus irrigationIf you deal with chronic sinus pressure and headaches, you might have found a friend in the neti pot.
By sending water with a salt solution through your sinuses, neti pots and other saline nasal irrigation devices remove mucus and inflammatory products from your nose, explained Dr. Richard J. Harvey, a professor of rhinology at Macquarie University.
Rossen Reports: Here are some perks you can get if you get the flu shot
But a word of caution: Tap water may be safe to drink and cook with, but it isn't sterile enough for neti pot use, said Shanna Miko, an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC recommends that people using at-home medical devices like CPAP machines, humidifiers and neti pots use only water that's free from microbes, such as distilled or sterile water, which can be bought in stores. Boiled and cooled water may also be used.
Brodner recommends that his patients use irrigation twice a day while they are feeling sick.
Warm compresses, hot showers and hydrationNoses like to be hydrated and warm, Brodner said.
Hot showers, warm compresses and lots of fluids help make it easier for your nose to stay at the state it needs to keep things healthy.
Placing a warm compress on your head or face might help because it is soothing and comforting. But steam from a hot shower or a warm compress placed over your nose can also heat things up nicely.
"It would just help to warm up the nose and moisten the nose, which would then allow the nose and the sinus to get the mucus flowing," he added.
Common advice when someone is sick is to be sure to hydrate, and that is because drinking water helps keep the lining of the nose and the sinuses moist, Brodner said.
"A dried-up sinus is really hard to drain," he added.
Spicy foodBelieve it or not, "spicy foods actually work" when it comes to congestion, Brodner said.
The burning sensation from spicy foods comes from a chemical called capsaicin, he said.
"As you know, if you eat something spicy, your nose runs," he said.
That runny nose will help drain mucus from your sinuses — and hopefully flush out whatever is irritating it, Brodner said.
Getting good sleepGetting sleep when you are congested is important, but can sometimes be harder to pull off.
"If you're not getting adequate sleep — which we will call adequate sleep seven hours or more — then your body has reduced ability to fight infection," Brodner said.
The problem is that you get better sleep when you breathe through your nose instead of your mouth, because your nose heats and moistens the air coming through, he said.
If you have to breathe through your mouth at night, using a humidifier in your room while you sleep can help keep the air warm and moist for you, Brodner added.
Sleeping with your head elevated might also be helpful, because you are using gravity to encourage the fluid to drain, he said. But that is only beneficial if you can comfortably sleep that way.
Chicken SoupA big bowl of chicken soup may just be worth a try, according to a 2018 study.
There could be an anti-inflammatory property to chicken soup that reduces cold symptoms, the research showed, but those results were found in a lab, not in humans, according to study author Dr. Stephen Rennard, Larson Professor of Medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, in a 2018 story.
The spices and steam may be helpful to clearing the sinuses, according to another 2018 study.
And you can't discount the tender loving care that goes along with someone making it for you, Rennard said.
"My wife (who prepared the soup for the study) makes the point that when you are feeling ill, if someone is taking care of you, that tender loving care is not a placebo effect," he said. "There are clearly beneficial effects of that. So, if someone is sitting there and making you chicken soup, it may make you feel better … but whether it has to do with contents of the chicken soup may be irrelevant."
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