Comparing Nose & Mouth Breathing During Exercise

Florida State University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Healthy

Treatments: Behavioral: Mouth-only breathing; Behavioral: Nose-only breathing

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05702047

STUDY00003661

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to compare physiological responses in cardiovascular variables between nose and mouth breathing at rest and during exercise.

Full description

Breathing patterns can affect the cardiovascular system. Little is known about how nose versus mouth breathing affects cardiovascular variables (blood pressure, heart rate, etc.) at rest and during exercise. It has been suggested that breathing through the nose can cause calmness and lower blood pressure. However, research is needed to examine the extent to which breathing through the nose affects cardiovascular variables at rest and during exercise. Therefore, we will compare cardiovascular variables between nose-only and mouth-only breathing. The rate of breathing will be fixed (using an audible metronome) for both breathing conditions (nose-only vs mouth-only) based on an individual's free breathing (i.e., no breathing cues) breathing rate.

Enrollment: 20 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 30 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Body mass index: ≤30 kg/m2
• Resting Blood pressure: ≤140/90 mmHg

Exclusion criteria

• Overt cardiovascular (e.g., diagnosed hypertension), respiratory, neurological, renal, liver, and/or metabolic health condition
• Current or recent (regular use within the past 6 months) use of tobacco or nicotine products (e.g., cigarettes)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

---

20 participants in 2 patient groups

Nose-only breathing

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants will be instructed to breathe only through their nose (mouth closed) during rest and submaximal exercise.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Nose-only breathing

Mouth-only breathing

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants will be instructed to breathe only through their mouth (nose clips prevent nose breathing) during rest and submaximal exercise.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Mouth-only breathing