Running Bloggers Want You to Breathe Through Your Nose, but Here’s What Science Says.
Running is more popular than ever, and with the influx of new runners comes a plethora of influencers offering their advice—some helpful, some decidedly not . If you’ve spent any time watching running videos, you’ve likely encountered a coach, athlete, or “running influencer” insisting you keep your mouth shut while running. The advice to breathe through your nose while running isn’t new, but is it backed by science?
The answer, as with many running-related questions, is quite complex. Here’s what the different perspectives say and how to practically implement proper breathing during your next run.
Should you really breathe through your nose during cardio?
Personally, I noticed that nasal breathing became a very popular topic online in 2020, thanks to James Nestor’s book Breathe . My BookTok and RunTok feeds combined forces, and content creators embraced the idea that modern people have forgotten how to breathe properly and that we should breathe through our noses most of the time.
Whether or not you believe this statement, research shows that breathing through your nose during cardio has its benefits. Deep mouth breathing causes you to exhale carbon dioxide too quickly, which can make you feel short of breath while running. Nasal breathing naturally slows your breathing rate and helps your body better tolerate CO2 over time. In any case, it’s a great way to distribute your workload and stay in the coveted Zone 2 (the low-intensity aerobic range that builds your aerobic base and is very popular right now).
At the same time, mouth breathing is a completely natural and necessary adaptation during intense exercise, and trying to suppress it can negatively impact your performance. A simple principle applies here: the nose has a much smaller airway than the mouth. At a leisurely running pace, comfortable for conversation, nasal breathing is perfectly tolerable. But as soon as your heart rate rises to higher levels—during tempo runs, intervals, or race pace—your muscles require more oxygen than your nose can quickly provide. Forcing yourself to breathe exclusively through your nose during high-intensity running can make intense workouts unnecessarily challenging.
For most of us, a hybrid approach makes sense: breathing through our noses during easy and long runs to improve aerobic efficiency, and opening our mouths naturally when the intensity of our workout demands it.
When to inhale and exhale while running
Some runners don’t adhere strictly to breathing through the nose or mouth, instead focusing more on synchronizing their breathing with their movement. This approach is called ” rhythmic breathing,” in which inhalations and exhalations are synchronized with the moment of foot strike. The idea is that if you always exhale through the same leg—say, every time your right foot lands—you consistently load one side of the body at the moment of maximum exertion, and this asymmetry accumulates over many miles.
One way is to breathe on an odd count. For easy runs, a 3:2 ratio works well—inhale for three steps, exhale for two. For more intense workouts, a 2:1 ratio (inhale for two steps, exhale for one) ensures oxygen flow without disrupting your rhythm. Because you’re working on an odd count, your exhalations naturally alternate between your left and right legs.
How to improve your breathing while running
Here are some ways to practice breath control during your next workout.
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During easy runs, breathe only through your nose. You may find that you’re running too fast on easy days when you realize you can’t hold your breath with your mouth open. If you can’t maintain nasal breathing at an “easy” pace, you’re running too hard.
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Try a 3:2 rhythm during a leisurely run. Inhale through your nose for three foot strikes, exhale through your nose (or mouth) for two. Some runners find this meditative, others find it distracting at first. Either way, I believe the mindfulness it cultivates is invaluable.
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Learn to quickly scan your body. Are your shoulders hunched near your ears? Is your jaw clenched? Are you taking quick, shallow breaths? Drop your shoulders, relax your jaw, and take one long, slow breath to restore balance. Tension is the enemy of proper breathing technique.
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Finish your workout with mindful nasal breathing. The last five minutes of your run are the perfect time to return to mindful nasal breathing.
Remember, you can open your mouth when the intensity of your workout dictates. The goal isn’t to be a strict nasal breather, but to recalibrate your breathing to make runs feel easier. If you’re looking for ways to practice, I recommend trying the guided breathing workouts in the Nike Run Club app , as well as any built-in breathing exercises you can find on your running watch (I use some on my Garmin watch).
Result
This time, the influencer-fueled hype around nasal breathing isn’t just social media hype. There’s real science behind the nasal breathing hype, and the habits it encourages—slowing down, building aerobic endurance, and increasing body awareness—are important for runners of all levels. But for me, nasal breathing isn’t a religion. The best breathing strategy is one you practice regularly and that helps you stick to your running program.