It feels somewhat odd to send to write a post breathing right now. There are certainly bigger problems to worry about. But, I hope this can, at the very least, serve as a distraction. Stay healthy and stay safe!
It makes sense that our brains have regions that “light up” when we smell something. But, what about the airflow itself? If there was no odor, would we still see effects on the brain?
That was the question this week’s paper answered.
Activity Patterns Elicited by Airflow in the Olfactory Bulb and Their Possible Functions
(Click Here to Read Full Summary)
It took me two days to enter all of my notes on this one. I felt almost neglectful distilling everything into one page for the summary.
Using fMRI, the authors examined how nasal airflow stimulated the olfactory bulb of mice and compared it to that of odor stimulation. The main difference: Nasal airflow lights up broad regions of the olfactory bulb, whereas odor stimulation is more localized.
Interestingly, the intensity of the nasal breathing signal only changed with total airflow. For example, if they increased the breathing frequency, but reduced the volume, intensities remained relatively constant. But, if they increased frequency and volume, things “lit up” even more.
Why is all of this important for you? The olfactory bulb influences the limbic system, which influences emotions and the autonomic nervous system. Therefore, if nasal breathing is imprinted on your brain in the olfactory bulb, this helps explain how it can easily influence your emotional and physiological state.
If you have done any breathing practices, you have likely experienced this. Here, we see one reason why.
So, we can conclude: Breathe through your nose to change your brain, change your emotions, and change your physiological state. Simple, yet profound.
In good breath,
Nick