hi ,
I am a regular 5 km. runner.....but i have always wondered whether i should run with my mouth open . any suggestions?

hi ,
I am a regular 5 km. runner.....but i have always wondered whether i should run with my mouth open . any suggestions?

To the best of my knowledge you're supposed to breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. The only forseeable problem with keeping your mouth open is a mouthful of bugs.

hi ,
I am a regular 5 km. runner.....but i have always wondered whether i should run with my mouth open . any suggestions?


lmao :lol: now thats what i call a random question lol, no you should, in through your nose out through your mouth, aslo if you focus on breathing out, because as a natural reflex you take more air in if you focus on breathing out( nothing strenous though ).

Of course you should breathe through your mouth, since the flow of air and oxygen is easier that way. The exception would be temperatures below freezing point, when you should inhale through your nose to warm the air somewhat and avoid flu.

Of course you should breathe through your mouth, since the flow of air and oxygen is easier that way. The exception would be temperatures below freezing point, when you should inhale through your nose to warm the air somewhat and avoid flu.

Disagree. First of all, influenza is a virus and has nothing to do with exposure to cold air. Secondly, you are supposed to inhale through your nose so the air can be filtered by the cilia ( small hairs which cover the inside of the nostrils) in your shnoz. :D Sort of a purifying system.

i never breathe through my nose.
always in/out through my mouth.

i've been trying it while reading this thread and it feels wierd.
i'll keep trying though :)

Disagree. First of all, influenza is a virus and has nothing to do with exposure to cold air. Secondly, you are supposed to inhale through your nose so the air can be filtered by the cilia ( small hairs which cover the inside of the nostrils) in your shnoz. :D Sort of a purifying system.

nicely put

I always run breathing through my mouth. I think it would be very difficult to supply your body with enough oxygen at a high intensity only breathing through your nose. I can't do it anyway and see no advantage to that method training-wise. As for filtering- I trim my nose hair anyway (doesn't everyone?) If you are comfortable with it and enjoy it, more power to you. I just wouldn't say it's something you NEED to do. I ran competitively for years (at the high school level) and not a single coach ever advised this method to me either- we had some good coaches too. :gl:

I always run breathing through my mouth. I think it would be very difficult to supply your body with enough oxygen at a high intensity only breathing through your nose. I can't do it anyway and see no advantage to that method training-wise. As for filtering- I trim my nose hair anyway (doesn't everyone?) If you are comfortable with it and enjoy it, more power to you. I just wouldn't say it's something you NEED to do. I ran competitively for years (at the high school level) and not a single coach ever advised this method to me either- we had some good coaches too. :gl:

Dude, I NEVER said you NEED to breath through your nose. Hell, if you could breath through your ass i'd say go for it. :lol: The nose hairs I was referring to aren't the ones that stick out of your nose and look like a party favor when you sneeze either. I'm talking about the teenie hairs that cover your entire nasal passage. I'm certainly not an authority on breathing nor do I claim to be "in the know(se)" :D (get it?) about nasal hair. I'm just tellin' ya what I heard.

I wasn't trying say YOU said anything in particular doordude. I was just answering the original posters question. :D :D

Also, I've heard that too about the filtering air thing. It's valid. It brings to mind images of dusty cavemen sleeping in caves with dirt and bugs being stopped by bushy nose har and bearded mustaches that have never been trimmed. Yeah I'd say it was very vaild in those days. I think now its just some fact we learn in health class. Those hairs do come in pretty handy doing very dirty work like tearing down a barn or an old wall, when you blow your nose and it's all black. I'm like "sweeeeet... nose hairs," however I've never done any jogging in such conditions. ;)

I visited a site some time ago on running, the name of which escapes me now. There was an article by a doctor/marathon runner. He debunked the "breathe through your nose myth" and said it was perfectly o.k., if not preferable, to breathe through your mouth. He lamented the fact that inhaling through your nose restricts your airflow.

I visited a site some time ago on running, the name of which escapes me now. There was an article by a doctor/marathon runner. He debunked the "breathe through your nose myth" and said it was perfectly o.k., if not preferable, to breathe through your mouth. He lamented the fact that inhaling through your nose restricts your airflow.

That's fine but .......... if it does restrict your airflow how come boxers between rounds are instructed to breath through their nose? Hey, like I said earlier, if you could breath through your ass and preffered it that would be fine with me. I'm just repeating what i've been told. :tu:

Boxers breathe throught their nose because they're wearing a mouthpiece/jaw protector. But watch any match where a boxer starts to get really fatigued. Jaw drops open to suck in more air. At that point he's "at risk" from getting his teeth knocked out or jaw broken. Which is why they temporarily stop the match when one loses his mouthpiece to put it back in . And naturally the corner guys tell him to keep his mouth shut. Lately players in the N.H.L have been taping their noses flatter to allow more air in. They need all the volume they can get when they are skating flat out. But think about it....it takes more energy to just breathe through your nose only so if your in a race of any distance you are going to fatigue quicker. Do a test inhale with your mouth open...you will notice that air is passing through your mouth AND nose simultaneously with less effort than just nose alone.

Boxers breathe throught their nose because they're wearing a mouthpiece/jaw protector. But watch any match where a boxer starts to get really fatigued. Jaw drops open to suck in more air. At that point he's "at risk" from getting his teeth knocked out or jaw broken. Which is why they temporarily stop the match when one loses his mouthpiece to put it back in . And naturally the corner guys tell him to keep his mouth shut. Lately players in the N.H.L have been taping their noses flatter to allow more air in. They need all the volume they can get when they are skating flat out. But think about it....it takes more energy to just breathe through your nose only so if your in a race of any distance you are going to fatigue quicker. Do a test inhale with your mouth open...you will notice that air is passing through your mouth AND nose simultaneously with less effort than just nose alone.

Point 1: USUALLY, they take the mouthpiece OUT in between rounds. :whistle:
Point2: ALL I SAID was breathing through your nose cleanses the air you breath. THAT IS ALL. Like anything else, do what works for you.

Just for the record, it makes perfect sense that you get more oxygen inhaling through your mouth. I never said you didn't. :tu:

I think breathing through the nose is commonly recommended to runners because it resticts the movement of your diaphragm and can help (I don't know how, but it does) alleviate cramps. Generally, if you're sucking in air through your mouth, a cramp will get much worse.

I just looked up Runner's Cramp on the net. says:- Cause:- due to loss of fluid (salt and potassium) while running in hot climate or over-exertion. Didn't say athing about breathing through your mouth.

I've heard in through nose and out mouth and for me I can't possibly get enough air that way and it also is extra effort/fatigue for me. I'd be sucking wind badly. Although I've spent two months on the runnersworld forums this is in fact the first time i've seen this question. I would say do whatever feels fine to you. If you're worrying about minimal filtering abilities of the nose (no offense to evolution, but it's a pretty bad setup) or drying out your mouth chances are you're pretty high-end and you'll already know the answer :D

I just looked up Runner's Cramp on the net. says:- Cause:- due to loss of fluid (salt and potassium) while running in hot climate or over-exertion. Didn't say athing about breathing through your mouth.

If i'm not mistaken, Chicanerous wasn't referring to the CAUSE of the cramp. He was merely stating that breathing through your mouth may aggravate an already present cramp. Of course I have no idea whether this is true or not. :D I just figured i'd throw a little wood on the fire. :whistle:

Could you pass me the marshmallows, bud....

Could you pass me the marshmallows, bud....

Can't do that partner. Waaaay to much sugar!!! :cool:

Generally, "alleviate" supposes a preexisting problem -- in this case, a cramp. ;) So, 100% yes, doordude.

From my experience, sucking wind through the mouth will invariably worsen a cramp. Breathing in deeply through the nose and exhaling through the mouth, especially if done in cadence with one's foot falls, will lessen and, usually, get rid of a cramp. This is from competitive highschool XC experience.

Never worked for me.

Disagree. First of all, influenza is a virus and has nothing to do with exposure to cold air. Secondly, you are supposed to inhale through your nose so the air can be filtered by the cilia ( small hairs which cover the inside of the nostrils) in your shnoz. :D Sort of a purifying system.
No doubt flu is a viral disease (I usually catch it for my summer vacations :p), but getting cold disables your immune system enough for it to catch on more easily. Unless you're doing cardio in a sawmill or cement factory, it makes no sense to inhale through the nose.

No doubt flu is a viral disease (I usually catch it for my summer vacations :p), but getting cold disables your immune system enough for it to catch on more easily. Unless you're doing cardio in a sawmill or cement factory, it makes no sense to inhale through the nose.

Again we disagree. :D

1) Short exposure to cold WILL NOT lower your immune system.We're not talking about running a nude marathon in the antartic.
2) It makes perfect sense to breath out of your nose for "cleansing" reasons if nothing else. How effecient it is is another story.

I have read elsewhere that "sidecramp' below ribs is actually muscle spasm, be it diaphragm or other. Whether the air is coming in through your nose and/or mouth isn't going to have much bearing on the case. Also, think of your body as a car engine if you will...the more filtration and restricted intake , the harder it is for that engine to perform at max. All racing engine builders take this important fact into consideration. For years Iwas taught to time my running footsteps to my nasal inhale. And I always felt it was impeding me. Especially when I was sprinting flat out.

When I would breathe through my mouth I'd get dehydrated very quickly. I now prefer to breathe in and out through my nose. But when the run gets intense I breathe through my mouth (though I try to minimize that).

Breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth helps to retain more moisture in the mouth. In one breath cycle (in and out), air will pass through the mouth only once when breathed in through the nose, as opposed to twice when breathing occurs solely through the mouth. Unless if you have huge monkey nostrils, though, you're not going to be able to get the same amount of air through your nose when you over-exert yourself whlie running. ^(°(O O)°)^