Sunshine Sentinel

Improving your breathing, chronic sinusitis or allergies could make the perfect New Year's resolution for millions of Americans.

"Nasal obstruction, chronic sinusitis or chronic allergies really affects one's quality of life," Dr. Matthew Blair of Gulf Coast Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers told Sunshine Sentinel. "If you have a poor outlook on life, because you're always suffering from allergies or sinus, it's going to affect the rest of your general health. So if you can get your breathing into tiptop shape, you're going to feel better and you want to do more things and you're going to overall improve your quality of health."

According to the latest research from U.S. News and World Report, nasal  breathing is more effective during workout sessions, compared to breathing through the mouth.

The International Journal of Kinesiology and Sport Science recently published a study in which researchers studied the effects of nasal-only breathing in 10 runners, both male and female, for six months while exercising. It was observed that the maximum rate of oxygen consumption remained unchanged, irrespective of nasal or mouth breathing.

However, there is another important observation of this study: The respiratory rate of the runners decreased when they performed nasal breathing. This means there was a decrease in the breaths per minute, and therefore the ratio of oxygen intake to carbon dioxide output. In simpler terms, their bodies acquired the oxygen they needed without having to put forth as much effort.

One of the key aspects of any endurance sport is efficiency. It is not possible to work out consistently for hours, holding your absolute lactic threshold the whole time. The athlete has to be able to find a comfortable rhythm, and that takes a lot of time building that aerobic base. The more time the athlete can train in heart-rate zones while nasal breathing, the more likely it is that he or she will be a faster, more powerful athlete with a reduced effort.

Training to get to the point of "air hunger," or breathlessness, as suggested by researchers, is a good way to push the body and get used to breathing through the nose. But keep in mind that it will take time.

Nose breathing during exercise has other benefits, too, like promoting good posture and good athletic form, two things that can help prevent injury.

Take Gulf Coast Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers' Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz to evaluate your sinus or allergy symptoms and see if you could benefit from seeing a doctor.