Your Nose Is More Than an Air Pipe

Your nose is designed to prepare the air before it reaches the lungs.

As air passes through the nose, it is:

• filtered
• warmed
• humidified
• guided through a controlled airway

Nasal breathing also participates in normal oral posture: lips can rest together and the tongue can occupy its natural resting space.

When the nose is difficult to use

The body finds another route — the mouth. That may solve the immediate need for air, but it can change the way the tongue, lips and jaw behave.

Become AirwayAware

Notice whether one or both nostrils frequently feel blocked, whether you wake congested, and whether exercise or sleep makes you switch to mouth breathing.

Get checked: Persistent blockage, marked one-sided obstruction or chronic difficulty with nasal breathing should be professionally assessed.