The human respiratory system is designed to allow oxygen-rich fresh air to be drawn into your lungs through either your nose or mouth. While this design provides you with a back-up system for breathing in the event that you fracture your nose or if your nasal passageways become blocked by inflammation or infection, a close look at the anatomic structures of your nasal cavity provides evidence that the correct way to breathe during exercise such as jogging is through your nose.
Normal Respiration
During a normal respiratory cycle, air is drawn into and subsequently forced out of your lungs by the pressure changes caused by contraction of your respiratory muscles. As the pressure in your chest cavity declines, air is drawn in through your respiratory passageways, descending through your trachea and into your lungs. When air is drawn in through your nasal passages, it is filtered, humidified and warmed before reaching your sensitive lung tissue. When drawn in through your mouth, it is not.
Nasal Passageway Anatomy
The airflow passing into your lungs through the nasal passageways is broken up by several small bones known as nasal conchae, or turbinates. These bones, which project into the incoming airflow, are covered with a moist, warm and sticky nasal mucosa. Small particles of pollen, bacteria or pollutants in the airflow are filtered out as the air passes over this mucosa. When jogging in cold weather, the airflow is warmed as it passes over the mucosa before entering your lungs; and in the hot dry summer, the air is moistened.
Respiration During Jogging
As an aerobic activity, jogging requires you to increase the amount of oxygen delivered to your working muscles and to eliminate greater amounts of the waste carbon dioxide. This is accomplished by increasing both the rate and depth of your breathing while you are jogging. Because of the increased volumes of air breathed into your lungs while jogging, it is all the more important that this air be filtered, warmed and moistened before descending into your sensitive lung tissue.
Exhaling
While it is important to try to breathe in through your mouth, it is not critically important how you breathe out. In fact, because less resistance to the flow of air occurs as you breathe out through your mouth, you may actually be able to maintain a higher rate of respiration while jogging if you breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
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