Health

Clear A Stuffy Nose Without Medicine

Health

Clear A Stuffy Nose Without Medicine

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Jamelia Todd
August 10, 2019

Causes Of Nasal Congestion

We’ve all been there.

Lying in bed turning from side to side, coaxing air through our nose while weighing the pros and cons of rising to search the medicine cabinets for relief, or remaining in bed to contemplate the inner workings of our nose.

There’s a surprisingly long list of causes for those nights of z’s lost to nasal congestion. Everything from dry air and allergies and sinusitis, and even alcohol can be the culprit. Some common causes are listed below.

Sinus Infection
Allergies
Pregnancy
Stress
Common Cold
Dry Air
Spicy Dishes (and other foods)
Sleep Apnea

So we get up and take a shower or hold our head over a sink of hot water to use the steam to help drain our sinuses. But the last thing you want to do that late is turn on lights and leave the comfort of the bed. So what can we do without going anywhere?

A Quick Trick

So what’s one to do then when too lazy to to get up for a saline spray or worse, to take a shower? Instead of laboring to breathe on those long nights, sit up, look up and pinch your nose and hold your breath for as long as you can. When you have to breathe, breathe in through your nose. It’s as simple as that. When you take your next breath your nose will be significantly more useful.

Why Does It Work

The full mechanism isn’t agreed on at the moment, but when you do the exercise above — especially when adding a swaying motion side to side — carbon dioxide builds up in your body, and your body goes into an emergency mode to improve your ability to breath.

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