# Any tips for breathing while exercising in cold weather. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 1, 2010, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-for-breathing-while-exercising-in-cold-weather/555717 "2010-10-01T13:42:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mrs\_Johnson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Mrs\_Johnson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs_Johnson)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-for-breathing-while-exercising-in-cold-weather/555717/1 "2010-10-01T13:42:01Z")
The title mostly describes what I’m needing – tips for breathing while exercising in cooler weather. I inline speed skate recreationally (I used to compete) so sometimes it’s indoor and sometimes outdoor. When the air is cooler I seem to have a lot of trouble breathing. After I run hard for a few minutes it feels like I have a grain of sand deep in my throat and I start coughing. Throughout the next day or two I can’t inhale deeply without discomfort deep in my throat/windpipe. I don’t have any trouble if the air is warm. What do you do when running, jogging, biking, skating in cooler weather? Do you have any breathing techniques? Suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-for-breathing-while-exercising-in-cold-weather/555717/2 "2010-10-01T13:43:34Z")
> [@Mrs\_Johnson](#): > > The title mostly describes what I’m needing – tips for breathing while exercising in cooler weather. > > I inline speed skate recreationally (I used to compete) so sometimes it’s indoor and sometimes outdoor. When the air is cooler I seem to have a lot of trouble breathing. After I run hard for a few minutes it feels like I have a grain of sand deep in my throat and I start coughing. Throughout the next day or two I can’t inhale deeply without discomfort deep in my throat/windpipe. > > I don’t have any trouble if the air is warm. > > What do you do when running, jogging, biking, skating in cooler weather? Do you have any breathing techniques? Suggestions? Wear a paper surgical mask. It will warm the air before you inhale. ---
**Author:** ![mo50](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@mo50](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mo50)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-for-breathing-while-exercising-in-cold-weather/555717/3 "2010-10-01T13:52:06Z")
I’ve seen neoprene balakavas (sp?) advertised, which cover the mouth for cold weather activities & supposedly warm the air as you breathe it in. Might be worth looking into. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-for-breathing-while-exercising-in-cold-weather/555717/4 "2010-10-01T15:16:06Z")
Pretty much in through the nose out through the mouth, using deep slow breaths if you can. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-for-breathing-while-exercising-in-cold-weather/555717/5 "2010-10-01T15:47:51Z")
1. Wear a thick scarf over your mouth (wrap it the wrong way, that is, the broad side over the mouth, cross at the back of the head and then do the knot in front) so you can breath through the cloth. (This also catches the snot my nose produces in good amounts in cold weather - Cecil tried to answer this one years ago and the scientific consensus IIRC was “Don’t know why, just happens”) 2. Exercise slower, so you don’t have to breath so hard, and can breathe mostly through your nose, which is much better. Also you don’t want to sweat too hard. Important tip from the Eskimos: if you are sweating in cold weather, don’t open your coat all the way - cools you off too quickly and suddenly, can lead to cold - take your gloves off. That will lead to less drastic cooling. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-for-breathing-while-exercising-in-cold-weather/555717/6 "2010-10-01T16:15:59Z")
You can find all sorts of balaclavas in a variety of materials. I have a pretty thin one made of…some sort of wicking fabric that I wear while bicycling in the winter, and it’s a wonderful thing. You can also buy…I don’t know what they’re called, but they’re like balaclavas without the hood part, so just kind of a tube of fabric you pull over your neck/lower face, which give you a bit more flexibility in terms of temperature control. Knowing how to breath is important. Try to breathe through your nose as much as possible, but obviously that doesn’t always work, so the trick is trying to control your breath - don’t gasp, because when it’s 10 degrees out you don’t want to be sucking in great big mouthfuls of air as fast as you can. I find it also helps to warm up outside - stepping out the door from your nice warm house and starting to run right away is kind of rough. Oh, and to build on what **constanze** said: good wicking fabrics as base layers are _more_ important in cold weather than hot. Doesn’t have anything to do with breathing, but a sweat-soaked t-shirt next to your skin when it’s below freezing is just going to make you really uncomfortable. If you’re getting too warm - take the gloves off, and if you’re wearing something over your face and/or head, take that off, too. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-for-breathing-while-exercising-in-cold-weather/555717/7 "2010-10-01T16:24:04Z")
I exercise outside in extreme cold, and I always breathe in through my nose. A lightweight scarf over your mouth and nose works too, though. I tend not to use a scarf because I have to choose between breathing and seeing then, but I always have one handy to ward off frostbite. And it’s not snot - it’s just nose juice. 🙂 (Nitpick: The northern aboriginals are usually called Inuit. “Eskimo” is a pejorative.) ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-for-breathing-while-exercising-in-cold-weather/555717/8 "2010-10-01T16:37:49Z")
I play hockey and used to have trouble breathing after strenuous exertion. I went to the doctor and he diagnosed me with [exercise induced asthma](http://asthma.about.com/od/adultasthma/a/asthma_hub_EIB.htm). Something about the cold air triggered the breathing trouble with me. My doctor prescribed me an [albuterol inhaler](http://asthma.about.com/od/treatmentoptions/a/tx_medguide_albuterol.htm) to use prior to playing hockey. It worked. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-for-breathing-while-exercising-in-cold-weather/555717/9 "2010-10-01T16:45:23Z")
Sounds like exercise-induced bronchospasm - basically mild asthma (since it doesn’t bother you at other times). In addition to the suggestions for warming the air you breathe, it might be a good idea to check with the doctor to see if an inhaler would be appropriate. Don’t go to the store and buy a Primatene inhaler (if those are even still OTC) - they’re dangerous. eta: I’m not **Trom** and didn’t read his posting before making my own, honest! :). ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-for-breathing-while-exercising-in-cold-weather/555717/10 "2010-10-01T17:01:26Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > (Nitpick: The northern aboriginals are usually called Inuit. “Eskimo” is a pejorative.) Um, that’s what I learned first, too. But then I think Cecil did a column, and [wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskimo)also says this: There are three groups of people, US, Canada, Greenland, which have slightly different languages and origins, and for one group, Inuit is preferred over Eskimo, but for the other two groups, Inuit is incorrect, so Eskimo is the better umbrella term for all. > [@from the wiki article](#): > > In Canada and Greenland[1][9][12][15] the term Eskimo is widely held to be pejorative[15][16] and has fallen out of favour, largely supplanted by the term Inuit. However, while Inuit describes all of the Eskimo peoples in Canada and Greenland, that is not true in Alaska and Siberia. In Alaska the term Eskimo is commonly used, because it includes both Yupik and Inupiat, while Inuit is not accepted as a collective term or even specifically used for Inupiat (who technically are Inuit). No universal replacement term for Eskimo, inclusive of all Inuit and Yupik people, is accepted across the geographical area inhabited by the Inuit and Yupik peoples.[1] ---
**Author:** ![Mrs\_Johnson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Mrs\_Johnson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs_Johnson)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-tips-for-breathing-while-exercising-in-cold-weather/555717/11 "2010-10-01T19:50:01Z")
Thanks. I’m not up for wearing a face mask for indoor skating but if it helps I might use it outdoors. I did a bit of Googling and read about cold weather asthma. Asthma runs in my family so I could have it too. Maybe only triggered by the cold air and my improper breathing. The indoor rink I was at recently had the air conditioner on and the weather outside was pretty cool. I found this interesting article too about cold weather athletes and asthma: [http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/why-do-so-many-winter-olympians-have-asthma/](http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/why-do-so-many-winter-olympians-have-asthma/) Anyway, thanks for your input. I’ll definitely try warming up and focusing on my breathing.