Breathing patterns can affect the cardiovascular system. Little is known about how nose versus mouth breathing affects cardiovascular variables (blood pressure, heart rate, etc.) at rest and during exercise. It has been suggested that breathing through the nose can cause calmness and lower blood pressure. However, research is needed to examine the extent to which breathing through the nose affects cardiovascular variables at rest and during exercise. Therefore, we will compare cardiovascular variables between nose-only and mouth-only breathing. The rate of breathing will be fixed (using an audible metronome) for both breathing conditions (nose-only vs mouth-only) based on an individual's free breathing (i.e., no breathing cues) breathing rate.
The purpose of this study is to compare physiological responses in cardiovascular variables between nose and mouth breathing at rest and during exercise.