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When you think about anti-aging tips, you may consider night creams, moisturizers, and even hacking your diet.
Have you ever thought of how you’re breathing, though?
How you breathe not only affects your dental health over a lifetime, it also impacts how well you age.
Nose breathing is one of the major ways your body produces a compound called nitric oxide (NO). This is the stuff that provides oxygen to your bloodstream, which you need for…well, just about everything.
One of the many benefits of this is reducing fine lines and wrinkles, but that’s only the beginning of the many health benefits of boosting your body’s nitric oxide production.
Have you ever thought about nose breathing as a useful answer for how to get rid of wrinkles?
Let’s take a look at how nitric oxide impacts the aging of your cells and how you can train yourself to stop mouth breathing and slow down aging.
Spoiler: You’re going to learn all about mouth taping, one of the simplest ways to get more nitric oxide.
What is nitric oxide (NO)?
By chemical definition, nitric oxide is a gas that is formed when oxygen and nitrogen meet at high temperatures. Each cell of your body is capable of producing some nitric oxide.
In the body, nitric oxide is what oxygenates your blood. You need oxygen to reduce your risk of disease and a host of other benefits (shown below).
Nitric oxide is most well-known for its role in heart health. It’s a “potent vasodilator and regulator of blood pressure.”
It has been shown to improve digestion, immunity, memory, and even some behavioral disorders.
Nitric oxide is widely considered to be one of the most important molecules the human body produces, and a lot of it is made in the nose and sinus cavity. (1)
Other ways you get nitric oxide are through your diet, eating foods high in nitrates like vegetables. You can also increase your production with some supplements and by exercising, although people with heart disease don’t experience this benefit. (2, 3)
Nitric oxide makes your blood vessels supple and flexible. This gives the vessels strength to withstand pressure changes, which is one reason it’s thought to be so beneficial to your circulatory system.
When you have more nitric oxide in your bloodstream, your blood vessels stay large and dilated. But when your nitric oxide is low, your blood pressure suffers as the vessels constrict. (4)
This is partly why nitric oxide is a key benefit to slowing the aging process, including the health and appearance of your skin, wrinkling of the skin, etc. It’s one of the anti-aging tips you’ve probably never even heard of.
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