By continuing you agree to eChinacities's Privacy Policy .
Sign up with Google
Sign up with Facebook
Q: Are mouthbreathers smart?
In through the nose, out through the mouth. That's how I was taught is best to breathe. I do it even if I'm walking the stairsa and out of breath. It's because your nose hairs are the first line of defense, mechanically filtering out contaminants in the air so your lungs don't have to deal with them. If you breathe through your mouth, it goes straight to your lungs.
China and its pollution has made me pay extra attention to my respiratory discipline. But there are also risks to nosebreathing.
Arteries that pass through the lining of your nose go straight into your brain (via the eyesockets?), I've been told. I'm no anatomy expert, but the person who told me this claimed to be. So, if your nasal arteries are compromised, bacterial infections and toxic substances may travel to the brain and cause serious prblems. Meningitis is a frequent result. If you have hayfever like me, any other allergy, or even clean out your nose a bit too rough, there's a high chance a small artery might become partially exposed, allowing infections to transmit into it easily.
In conclusion, definitely don't pick your nose with a sharp nail. And in heavily polluted areas, balance the risks before deciding which is the best way to breathe. I'm still going with nosebreathing for the time being.
8 years 50 weeks ago in Health & Safety - China
I was under the impression that "mouth-breather" was synonymous with moron.
Okay, we have "mouth-breathers", now what about "knuckle-walkers?" Mr. Burns wanted me to add, "Slack-jawed troglodytes" to the list as well.
Something's not quite right with your anatomy. Sure, the main artery that sends blood to the nose may be the same (there are a couple) as the ones that send blood to (some parts of) the brain, but once the blood has diverted off into the arterioles (small arteries) that go to the nose, there's no connection to the stuff that goes to the brain. Once the blood has gone through the arterioles and capillaries into the nose, it then comes back out through the capillaries, venules, and veins to go back to the lungs. There, it dumps the CO2, and picks up the O2 (yeah, ok, I'm seriously simplifying this...).
A greater problem would come from the lack of filtration from mouth breathing and what ends up in the lungs.
Theoretically, I can't see any logical reason which necessitates 'mouth-breathers' being any dumber than nose-breathers. (what happens if Richard Dawkins or Hawkings, or Einstein got a sinus infection, and couldn't breathe through the nose properly - would their IQ just suddenly plummet?)
I was under the impression that "mouth-breather" was synonymous with moron.
I was under the impression that "mouth-breather" was synonymous with moron.
"So, if your nasal arteries are compromised, bacterial infections and toxic substances may travel to the brain and cause serious prblems." not necessarily, due to the blood brain barrier (BBB). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood%E2%80%93brain_barrier
IMHO, 3 important things for living healthy are (no particular order): good nutrition, regular exercise, and having a meaningful social life. THe mind, body, spirit zen sort of thing. cheers
*huff* *puff* Yes, we are the sma*huff*rt. The smart. *inhales deeply* so smart.
If you're this concerned about the air you breathe I'd honestly focus more on escaping China than the intricacies of how you take each breath. Not that concern isn't warranted but as long as there is pm 2.5 and pm 10 in the air we are all getting screwed.
Don't pick your nose with a sharp nail. Good to know! Thanks!
