NASAL CYCLE - Alternate Nostril Breathing

Factual Questions
1

Whats the scientific take on “Nasal Cycle” ? - (the fact that we use alternate nostrils for breathing).

Lot of us might not even have noticed this, but it is a fact. (we tend to notice something similar only when we have a stuffed nose)

Here’s a list of research papers indexed in pubmed, just to show that this ‘nasal cycle’ phenomenon is a recognized entity.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Search&db=PubMed&term="nasal+cycle"&tool=QuerySuggestion

Heres a quote from the GPnotebook

Medical Science has of couse figured out ‘what’ is happening but the crucial ‘why’ part is pretty uncertain

Pranayama and the whole related stuff have this “alternate nasal breathing” as the starting/central point for the supposed benificial effects of such breathing exercises. (the claim is that alternate nostril breathing alternatively stimulates our left and right brain hemispheres, and therefore a ‘balanced breathing leads to a balanced mind’)

surprisingly this also seems to have been ‘prooved’ scientificaly! (i understand well that the old right/left - male/female brain view has been debunked, but we can and do measure EEG activities of the hemispheres and say which side is more ‘active’ at a given time)

here’s a few results from pubmed about researches into the relation between nasal cycle and the brain’s ultradian rhythm.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Search&db=PubMed&term="nasal+cycle+ultradian"&tool=QuerySuggestion]

So, both being facts - that nasal cycle exists AND that this cycle is related to our hemispherical activity - my question is why has mainsteam science/medicine paid very little or no attention to this ?

In fact, it almost looks like modern medicine did not even noticed this phenomenon for thousands of years ! standard physiology text-books rarely mention this phenomena, if at all. And such a simple, readily observable phenomena too… you dont need research to proove this - just put your finger tip to ur nose and test. The airflow is never 50-50… its always like 80-20 or something close.

So… why? why has modern medicine ignored or failed to noticed this phenomena? (breathing being such a vital part of our physiology and all) and relatedly, why do we, the general mass have very little knowledge regarding this… ?

2

I hardly think it it unknown. It may be unnoticed by many, but is more unremarked because there is no clear clinical use for it. I’ve noticed that it is noted in various schools of traditional medicine (that I am familiar with) to exactly the degree that it corresponds to some local health practice.

I certainly knew of it ca 1980 (read about it in a article in Nature) and was certainly told about it in medical school – for all of about one sentence (why repeat it if there is no practical use and nothing much to add?) I can see how others might have forgotten that sentence over time, been distracted, etc. (So much physiology, so little time.)

I’m not dismissing it. When I was in medical school, one of the high muckety mucks of internal medicine told me that he’d seen some remarkable results from the ayurvedic practice of inhaling saline (or, in my case, plain water, for convenience) and expelling it through the mouth to clean the sinuses. He found that it could all but cure a certain percentage of intractable allergies. My experiences, though not quite as strong (I don’t work in an urban center) have also been good. It can hurt a bit until you get used to it, especially with plain water (add a pinch of salt to a cup/pint to make a less irritating saline solution), but I’ve never seen it do anything but good.

In our grandparent’s day, I’m told you could buy “nose horns” to help you put water into your nostrils (lying with your head hanging on the edge of a bed) I know of one local health store that still sells them. Personally, I find that any random syringe offers better control and convenience. 10-15 cc of water (1/2 oz) is plenty for me. At those times in my life when I’ve flushed my nostrils regularly (I find that 1-2x a year removes appreciable gunk, any more is gilding the lily, but I’ll do it daily or weekly if needed) nasal alternation seems more pronounced and effective, but that may simply be because I’m paying attention to it.

I still make an effort to sleep on my non-preferred side if I want to stimulate the opposite hemisphere for a project. I don’t know if it helps particularly, but it’s trivial to do

3

The current practice is to use a “Netti Pot” or “sinus Cleanse” nasal douche to flush warm saline solution of 1/4 tsp fine sea salt to 4 oz warm water in one nostril and out the other, and again in the opposite direction.
Great for allergies, removes dusts, pollens, pet dander, etc.

Have happy sinuses. :slight_smile:

4

That’s the best idea I’ve heard. Why didn’t I think of using a syringe damn it. I was using a measuring cup, but now I’m going to have to find a syringe. I don’t do it very often, but I have found it helps, especially when I can’t breath too well for a couple of days.

5

My first thought when I saw the title was, "Where do I get another pair of nostrils to breathe through? :smack: "

Seriously, my breathing has been vastly better since I started using a Neti pot every morning. My nose formerly would get stuffy on one side, then the other later on. Sometimes it got both sides stopped up at the same time. I don’t notice that anymore.

6

If you find it helps you, try teaching yourself to cup water in both hands and inhale it. That’s what I do (as I noted, plain water stings a bit, but you get used to it)

You can probably teach yourself this yoga practice in a few minutes. If I had to use a syringe, I’d rarely get around to doing it, but for inhaling, any sink will do.

7

Can’t that lead to water in the lungs, aka drowning? :dubious:

8

Well, you’d have a tough time drowning in half an ounce of water. You might cough, if it went down the windpipe, but I’ve never had a problem (but I know those who have). Water going past the palate into the throat is a well-solved problem for land animals (unless you have Ted Stryker’s famous “drinking problem”)

It worked for me the first time, and ever since. Others master it after a couple of attempts My sister “nearly killed herself” on her one trial of a nosehorn with a tablespoon of water: she had lain backwards over the seat of a dining room chair to tip her head back, and a coughing spasm made her roll off the chair, smash into two legs of the dining room table, dislodging one, and dumping the table top, and pumelling her with an avalanche of heavy shopping bags, cutlery and dishware. (She’d just piled her bags on an uncleared dinner table in her eagerness to demonstrate her exotic new find)

Then again, this was not the first time something like that happened to her. There are MANY tales I am specifically forbidden to recount. I suggest lying on bed.

I suppose you are right: I should issue a disclaimer. “This is not medical advice. Your reflexes may vary”

9

I should also clarify: for me at least, the water comes out the nasopharynx, and seems to roll naturally into my mouth, for easy spitting, though inhaling it into your throat is clearly a possibility. Your epiglottis and cough reflex should keep any appreciable amount from going into your lungs. I only hold a few ounces in my cupped hands, anyway.