Analysis of the evidence for single nostril breathing as a therapeutic technique.
Allied and Complementary Medicine database (AMED), British Nursing Index, Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Health Management Information Consortium (HMIC) and Ovid MEDLINE
A literature search was conducted for articles with titles containing the words ‘nostril’ and ‘breathing’. Experimental designs testing single nostril breathing with human subjects using dependant variables relevant to physiotherapy or occupational therapy were included (18). All others were excluded (6). Papers were analyzed for reliability and clinical validity.
The age ranges of subjects were not specified in 6 papers. Those specified ranged from 15 to 78 years. The combined sample (579 subjects) was 50% male, 47% female and 3% of unspecified gender. Dependent variables researched included electroencephalogram (EEG) amplitudes, respiratory rate, heart rate, blood pressure and blink rate. Three papers confirmed their null hypothesis. The remaining 14 noted statistically significant changes. Clinical significance was only consistently noted for reductions of intra-ocular pressure with right nostril breathing.
Right nostril breathing may be useful for the symptomatic treatment of raised intra-ocular pressure or glaucoma. Confirmatory research is needed to determine whether single nostril breathing can be clinically effective for other autonomic markers.
Nasal obstruction, heart rate, blood pressure, intraocular pressure, mood, cognition
