Breath Nose vs. Mouth? Most Runners Pick The WRONG One

[00:00:00] You’ve been lied to about breathing. Most runners breathe through their mouth. Some swear by nose breathing. Both think they’re right. Here’s the truth. They’re both wrong about the technique. What matters is when you use each one. Here’s what 10 plus years of nose breathing taught me. In this episode, you’re gonna learn why mouth breathing might be killing your easy runs.

[00:00:19] The one time when nose breathing is actually dangerous, all backed by science. Mike Trees, a 50 year pro triathlon and run coach, and almost 500,000 Instagram followers gets right. A simple test to figure out which method your body actually wants, and a free cheat sheet and base training plan to implement these breathing methods into your own running and training.

[00:00:39] I’m Daren D Lake certified run coach, and almost 30 year runner. I’ve breathed through my nose on almost every easy run for the last 10 years, and over those 10 years, I ran a sub three hour marathon. And a sub 17 minute 5K, not because nose breathing made me faster, but because it forced me to actually run easy when I was supposed to, which built up my aerobic base and allowed me to run faster.

[00:01:01] So how do you know if you’re in the right zone and what happens when you push past it? Mic trees running and pro triathlon coach puts it bluntly. Your nostrils, they’re just not big enough. His argument, the nostrils just. Aren’t big enough to get enough air through your nose and it at a, at a very low, easy, slow pace.

[00:01:19] Yes, you can get. Enough oxygen in. And so breathing through your nose might be a useful tool to make sure you don’t go too fast. But if you are training hard, you are not gonna get enough air in the lungs. Breathing through your nose, Mike’s right about one thing. When you’re racing or doing hard workouts, your nostrils can’t keep up.

[00:01:36] That’s physics, not opinion, but here’s what some people might be missing from what he’s saying. Most runners aren’t racing every day. The biggest mistake runners make isn’t going too slow on hard days. It’s going too hard on easy days. That’s where nose breathing, it changes everything. Not ’cause it’s better the mouth breathing, but ’cause it forces you to actually run easy when you’re supposed to.

[00:01:55] Let me show you the science behind why this matters. Alright? So the data actually shows that nose breathing isn’t about getting more air. It’s about getting better air quality, not quantity. Three things happen when you breathe through your nose that don’t happen through your mouth. Number one, filtration.

[00:02:10] Your nose has tiny hairs, mucus, and built-in filters that catch dust, pollen, and pollution before they hit your lungs. Mouth breathing. Straight to the lungs. Unfiltered runners in dusty or polluted areas. So desert and obviously high smog areas. Figure this out really fast. Breathing through your mouth in these conditions is like inhaling sandpaper.

[00:02:30] No bueno. Feels horrendous. Number two. Humidification your nasal passages warm up and add moisture to the air before it reaches your lungs. Mouth breathing, especially in cold or dry weather, gives you that scratchy dry mouth feeling that makes every breath feel harder. And number three, nitric oxide production.

[00:02:47] Here’s a quick science nerd. Break your nasal passages. Make nitric oxide a molecule that widens blood vessels and helps your lungs move. Oxygen more efficiently. A 2008 review in nature review’s drug discovery explained how nasal nitric oxide can improve how well your lungs work, especially at easier paces.

[00:03:05] It’s not magic. You won’t suddenly run 30 seconds per mile a kilometer faster, but over weeks and months of base training, it all adds up. 1% better studies comparing nose versus mouth breathing. Show that at easy to medium paces, there’s no difference in how much oxygen you use, but when the pace got hard or fast nasal breathing couldn’t keep up, runners hit a wall because the nostrils didn’t deliver air fast enough.

[00:03:29] That’s why your body forces your mouth. Open during hard efforts. It’s not weakness, it’s just again, basic biological physics. So nose breathing doesn’t give you more oxygen per breath, but it helps your body use oxygen more efficiently, especially at lower intensities, and that’s where most runners, they mess it all up.

[00:03:45] Here’s a quick self test to find out if you’re a mouth breather out in the actual real world. Right now, close your mouth and breathe only through your nose for 30 seconds. Can you do it comfortably while reading this? If not, your nasal passages might be blocked. Deviated septum, chronic congestion.

[00:03:59] Allergies, I actually have a couple of those. If nose breathing feels impossible even at rest, see an ENT specialist, your nose, throat doctor before trying to nose breathe while running. But if you can nose, breathe comfortably right now while sitting, you can do it while running easy. You’re just going too fast.

[00:04:16] So I have a lot of those issues and I actually can nose breathe quite well. Everyone is different. I’m not saying everyone can do this, but try it and then go see a doctor and go figure it out on your own Self remix this stuff for yourself. Nothing is exact or absolute. So we’ve established that nose breathing keeps you slower on easy days.

[00:04:34] Mouth breathing is instant oxygen. So when should you actually use each the nose or mouth thing? Well, I’ve created something to make your life way easier and help you use either nose or mouth breathing and more. It’s a free breathing cheat sheet that shows you my top five ways to breathe. Try one or all of them and let me know.

[00:04:52] What’s helped you while running? It also comes with a free 30 day based training plan so you can practice it on your easy runs and a bunch of other good stuff. And you know what, comment and tell me if you breathe through your nose or mouth and why? Because I wanna know. I wanna know what is going on out there.

[00:05:07] ’cause this is like something every time I put it out there because. People go, I do this. I can’t do that, blah, blah. So let me know. I’ll maybe even do a poll on this in the future. And if you want to help another runner, get 1% better. Watch this all the way through until the end. It tells the algorithm that they need this in their life so they can breathe better when they run.

[00:05:25] Or if you don’t wanna do that, you can like, subscribe and share this out to someone that needs it. Appreciate whatever you can do. Alright. Remember what Mike said about bigger opening and instant oxygen. Empty your lungs and take one big breath in through your nose and see how long it takes to fill your lungs up.

[00:05:39] Ready? Go. That’s pretty fast. Okay, now breathe out it, it is. Few seconds. Now take one big breath through your mouth. The different for me is like, I’ll, I’ll go through my nose like it’s few seconds through my mouth. It’s instantaneous. Oh, I get what you’re saying. I get what you’re saying. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:06:03] So I’m getting that oxygen so much quicker. So I can actually do so much more breathing. So, so long as my heart and lungs are efficient enough to process the oxygen in the lungs, I can get that oxygen around the muscles much more efficiently than I can through the nose. Got you. He’s not wrong. The difference matters when you’re doing hard workouts, racing or pushing your limits, your heart and lungs, they can process oxygen fast, so why slow it down at the nose?

[00:06:30] For hard efforts. Mouth breathing wins, no debate, but for your easy runs, that instant air mic’s talking about is exactly what’s killing your aerobic base. We need it. Alright, here’s how to start nose breathing today. So tomorrow’s easy run or later today if you haven’t ran yet. Start nose breathing from step one when you feel the urge to open your mouth.

[00:06:49] Slow down until you can breathe through your nose comfortably again. That’s your true easy pace. Most runners find out they’ve been running their easy days. Again, 30 to 60 seconds per mile. A kilometer too fast. Do this for two to three weeks. You need to make it a habit. 1% better, 1% better. So just 1% better each day, each week, et cetera, and your aerobic base.

[00:07:07] Well, thank you. So if the science backs nose breathing for easy runs and mouth breathing for hard efforts, why do most runners still get it backwards? Knowing when to nose or mouth breath is about training smarter with patience, the discipline to run easy. When it’s supposed to be easy, even when your ego wants you to go faster, that’s one of the core ideas and sections in my upcoming book.

[00:07:27] The 1% Better Runner. Nose Breathing is one of the simplest tools to build that patience and trust the process, because getting 1% better isn’t about one amazing heroic effort. It’s about showing up consistently, breathing right, and letting those gains. Boop, boop, boop. Stack up. If you want to read some early chapters and gimme feedback.

[00:07:45] I’m giving a huge discount on the book to anyone who signs up. Just click the link above or scan the QR code or check the episode description below our show notes to get that copy, and you’ll also get signed up. To my email newsletter. Appreciate all you readers and audiobook listeners out there. Again, if you haven’t already, go and get that free breathing cheat sheet to get 1% better each week.

[00:08:08] Training plan. Grab it at the QR code here or the link below. You also get signed up to my weekly newsletter, five minutes or less in your email inbox. Zero fluff all value. Nose versus mouth breathing is just one of the five ways that runners can breathe better and smarter. Go and get the other four ways that you can improve your breathing while running at the video below.

[00:08:27] If you’re on YouTube or if you’re on Spotify or you’re listening to this on another podcast player, you can get it in the episode description or show notes. Happy runnings, happy breathing piece.