So mouth breathing is a bit creepy, but here are a few more reasons to perhaps focus on breathing through your nose right now.
Nitrous Oxide (NO) is created in high amounts in your nasal passages and sinuses and is increased in levels during nose breathing. An experiment on SARS (another coronavirus) showed that NO inhibited viral replication in vitro (it helped protect cells from infection in petri dishes). Even cooler, humming seems to increase the amount of NO in our noses, and this may be why pranayama during yoga has beneficial effects. Here’s a study where humming helped someone with sinus problems and allowed healing to occur. Humming also seems to affect the vagus nerve and decreases stress, which we could all use right now. This article has some information about vagal tone, and also recommends probiotics as having a beneficial activity on the vagus nerve. So why not give nose breathing a try while we are trying to avoid viral infection right now? Next time you are in a place where there might be more virus than you want (a grocery store, a bank, or other public place) don’t mouth breathe. Breathe calmly through your nose, and perhaps hum a little. And then wash your hands.
