Montgomery News

Breathing is an autonomic body function that everyone does without thinking about.

There’s evidence to support the idea that better breathing leads to better health, but when you are suffering from a cold, chronic sinusitis or nasal inflammation, breathing may be all you can think about.

The medical journal Frontiers in Neuroscience published documentation supporting the idea that the act of breathing with intent interacts with our bodies' natural functions in a big way. The data from the studies shows that slow breathing techniques have a major impact on stress, anxiety and depression.

Another interesting finding has been in the area of sleep, according to WebMD. Certain breathing exercises may help you fall asleep and sleep more deeply. Known as the 4-7-8 technique, this idea is based on the centuries-old breathing technique, pranayama, in which you take a series of deep breaths with your tongue pressed to your teeth.

According to Healthline, taking a more intuitive role in your breathing can be beneficial to your health and help increase endurance. But what should you do when sinus inflammation gets in the way of normal breathing? You don't have to just live with it. It's time to see a ear, nose and throat specialist when nasal inflammation, sinus infections or allergies impact your daily life and your ability to breathe.

“When patients are experiencing any sinus (issues), the pain aspect of things and probably more so the fatigue, just feeling that energy levels are low," Dr. Manish Khanna of Capitol Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers told Montgomery News. "I think that's definitely the fuel to add to that depression cycle, where your energy levels are down. You just don't feel like doing anything, you just get into this malaise because fatigue is a very common symptom of chronic and acute sinusitis. It definitely affects your energy levels, which certainly can exacerbate in people who have depression or can lead down that road, to a milder depression if this is untreated."

We encourage our readers to learn more about their sinuses by taking this online Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz