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How to Breathe

Fortunately, breathing comes natural for us. It's something we rarely think about. Until an emergency.

For the most part, we should breathe through our nose. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, as we breathe through our nose, tiny hairs that line our nostrils can filter out particles that could injure our lungs. In dusty situations we automatically secrete more mucus to trap the particles of dirt. By sneezing or blowing our nose we remove these particles.

Another reason to breathe through the nose is that doing so can help warm and humidify the air to prepare it for our lungs.

Breathing properly helps maintain the correct balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood. It is the amount of carbon dioxide in our blood that helps regulate the pace of our breathing. If we release carbon dioxide too quickly, as we do when we breathe through our mouth, arteries and vessels begin to constrict, reducing the amount of oxygen getting to body and our brain. This can increase anxiety and induce a "fight or flight" response. Bottom line? We don't think as clearly.

Breathe through your nose and take deep breaths rather than shallow ones.