Sing strongly with nasal breathing

Exercising your voice, resting it at the appropriate times and not overusing it, avoiding acid reflux, and treating your allergies are all good ways to keep your voice healthy and strong. Just as important as all of that, though, is knowing proper breathing techniques. Breathing through your nose has many benefits, especially if you’re preparing for a major singing engagement.

How nasal breathing works

The science behind breathing through your nose is complicated, but it boils down to allowing the body to maintain more carbon dioxide (CO2).

What are the benefits of breathing through your nose?

Nasal breathing has a number of benefits for singers. First the nose filters out allergens and other particles that could irritate the throat. Air exhaled through the nose also reabsorbs moisture more efficiently than mouth breathing. This reduces the chance of dehydration. Mouth breathing, meanwhile, can dry out the mouth and throat, which can irritate the throat when singing.

Shallow mouth breathing can also activate the fight-or-flight response, which can raise your stress levels. On the other hand, it forces you to slow down and relaxes you.

Breathing through your nose also helps improve your concentration and memory, so you’ll have an easier time recalling all those complicated pieces you’ll be singing.

Nasal breathing also better regulates the amount of air you breathe and improves your lung volume, which will only be beneficial on those days you have long pieces to sing.

And when you’re done with all your hard work singing, nasal breathing will help you recover faster.

This practice has become more well known in recent years in many aspects of life including meditation, yoga, exercise and most aspects of your day and night. Even sleep must be nasal in order to allow for a more restful, healthy, and beneficial sleep.

This blog is for informational purposes only. For specific medical questions, please consult your physician.