Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a common condition affecting 12% of people in the USA and 10.9% of people in Europe.
Symptoms include blocked or stuffy nose, postnasal drip and reduced sense of smell. The condition causes a significant decline in quality of life and is linked to poor sleep quality, difficulty in concentration, impaired attention and cognitive function. 90% of persons with a stuffy nose (nasal congestion) have difficulty in concentrating.
Following three months practise of breathing exercises as taught by Patrick McKeown, results of a preliminary study showed a 70% reduction of symptoms including nasal stuffiness, poor sense of smell, snoring, trouble breathing through the nose, trouble sleeping, and having to breathe through the mouth. It is important to breathe through the nose both during wakefulness and sleep. The breathing exercises as taught during the study are available free from OxygenAdvantage app.
Arslan F, Tasdemir S, Durmaz A, Tosun F. The effect of nasal polyposis related nasal obstruction on cognitive functions. Cogn Neurodyn. 2018 Aug;12(4):385-390. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6048009/
Adelola O.A., Oosthuiven J.C., Fenton J.E. Role of Buteyko breathing technique in asthmatics with nasal symptoms. Clinical Otolaryngology.2013, April;38(2):190-191. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23577891/
