Breathing While Running: Nose or Mouth? Here’s What Actually Works

Ever gone for a run and suddenly realized you’re gasping, panting, or struggling to find a rhythm? You’re not alone. Runners talk about everything, from shoes and pace to mileage and recovery. But breathing is one of the most important, yet most overlooked parts of running. Yes, the way you breathe can completely change how you feel, how fast you can go, and how long you can keep moving. 

Now, you might be wondering: should you breathe through your nose or your mouth while running?

In fact, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer for this. Your ideal breathing technique depends on your pace, intensity, and how well you use your diaphragm. 

Let’s break it down.

Nose Breathing vs. Mouth Breathing

You’ve probably heard that you should breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth while running.  While this can work at times, it isn’t always the most efficient approach, especially during high-intensity aerobic activity such as running. 

Nose breathing acts as your body’s natural air filter. Your nose warms, humidifies, and cleans the air you breathe before it reaches your lungs. This makes your breathing more controlled and helps you activate your diaphragm instead of your upper chest. When you breathe through your nose, you avoid that panicky “I can’t get enough air feeling.” 

But, when your pace picks up, your muscles demand more oxygen, and nasal breathing alone can’t supply enough.

Although mouth breathing often gets a bad reputation, it’s sometimes necessary while running. Mouth breathing lets you take in more air, more quickly, so your body can fulfill the sudden spike in oxygen demand. It’s completely natural to switch to mouth breathing as your intensity increases. That said, relying only on mouth breathing can lead to shallow, high-chest breathing, and faster fatigue. 

How you breathe while running depends on the type of activity and intensity.

Breathing in Different Running Situations

Breathing During Sprints

During sprinting, it’s natural to breathe fully in and out through your mouth. Research has shown that nasal and mouth breathing affect the body differently during high-intensity, anaerobic physical activity. In this small study, participants performed intense workouts using either nose-only or mouth-only breathing. Mouth breathing resulted in a higher respiratory exchange ratio (RER). RER is the measure of how efficiently the body uses oxygen for energy. Nasal breathing led to a higher heart rate. 

Even with these differences, performance and power output remained the same. Based on this, researchers concluded that during high-intensity efforts, athletes should use whichever breathing style feels most natural and comfortable.

Best approach: Mouth breathing or a mouth–nose combo + fast diaphragmatic breaths.

Breathing During Constant-Pace Running

When you run at a constant pace, breathing through your nose is often enough to meet your body’s oxygen demand. One way to notice this is whether you can still talk in full sentences without feeling out of breath or needing to open your mouth for air. 

As you start to pick up the pace, though, your body’s oxygen demand increases. At that point, nasal breathing alone can feel restrictive. You need to breathe through your mouth to meet your body’s demand. Mouth breathing supplies your working muscles with the oxygen they need. 

When you are running faster, sustained races, try to breathe in through your nose and breathe out through your mouth. If you focus on exhaling fully, you can remove more carbon dioxide. This will also help you take a deeper breath on the next inhale.

Best approach: Start with nasal breathing, switch to mouth-nose combo if intensity increases. Keep your breathing slow, deep, and diaphragmatic. 

Why Diaphragmatic Breathing Matters 

If there’s one breathing skill every runner should master, it’s diaphragmatic breathing (or belly breathing). Many of us breathe from the upper chest without realizing it. This limits oxygen delivery and puts extra stress on the neck and shoulders.

Breathing diaphragmatically can help pull air deeper into your lungs. This allows your body to use oxygen more efficiently. Did you know side stitches affect up to 70 percent of runners? Yes, diaphragmatic breathing can even help reduce those annoying side stitches. 

Sounds interesting, but not sure where to start?

Start by focusing on optimal breathing. Breathing optimally involves your belly (diaphragm in particular), ribs, chest, and shoulders in the form of a wave that is moving in the upward direction. 

Here’s how to breathe optimally by engaging your diaphragm: 

• Start by lying on your back on a flat surface with your knees slightly bent. If it feels more comfortable, place a pillow or rolled towel under your knees. 

• Rest one hand on your stomach and the other hand on your chest so that you can feel how your breath moves.

• Now, inhale through your nose. As you inhale, let your belly rise while your chest stays mostly still. This means your diaphragm is doing the work. 

• Breathe out slowly through your mouth and feel your belly fall back down.

You can practice this for 5 minutes, a few times a day. Once it starts to feel natural lying down, you can practice while sitting or standing.

When doing it while sitting or standing, pay attention to your posture. You have to sit or stand with relaxed shoulders, no slouching or hunching forward. Good posture makes optimal breathing much easier and more natural.

As diaphragmatic breathing becomes more comfortable, you’ll find it easier to apply these breathing patterns during your runs. Over time, it can help you feel more controlled, less tense, and better able to maintain your pace, especially during longer or more demanding runs. 

According to a study involving young endurance athletes, focusing on diaphragmatic breathing over an 8-week period improved coordination and efficiency of respiratory muscles both at rest and during exercise at different intensities.

Syncing Your Breathing and Footstrikes

Did you know that most animals including humans synchronize their breathing to the footstrikes while running? This pattern is known as locomotor-respiratory coupling (LRC). 

Let me explain LRC in simple terms: LRC means that your breathing falls into a rhythmic pattern with your movement when you run or exercise. For example, you might inhale for 2 steps and exhale for 2 steps. Or inhale for 3 steps and exhale for 3 steps. Your body naturally does this without you thinking about it. Research has shown that LRC can reduce oxygen consumption, improve running efficiency, and reduce the feeling of breathlessness. 

Now you might wonder what’s the preferred breathing rhythm. According to research, a 2:1 ratio is most favorable. That means, you breathe once for every 2 strides (steps). 

Breathing Pattern for Easy to Moderate-Paced Runs

For easy to moderate-paced runs, the most effective breathing pattern is 3:2 rhythm. That means, you inhale for 3 footstrikes and exhale for two footstrikes. This creates an alternating pattern where you switch which foot lands during the exhale. That matters because exhaling is when impact stress is highest, and this odd-even pattern helps distribute that stress more evenly across your body.

For example, 

→ inhale (left-right-left), exhale (right-left), 

then

→ inhale (right–left–right), exhale (left–right).

Breathing Pattern for Tempo Runs or Faster Efforts

When you pick up the pace (during tempo runs or faster efforts), switch to a 2:2 pattern. Inhale for 2 foot strikes and exhale for 2. This creates a steadier rhythm that’s easier to maintain at higher intensities and can also help you stay consistent with your pace.

How to Practice Rhythmic Breathing

Now, let’s take a look at how to do it.

• Start by practicing while lying down, mentally counting  “1-2-3, 1-2” to feel the 3:2 rhythm without movement.

• Once you’re comfortable, try the pattern while walking before taking it into an easy run.

• It’s better to avoid music at first. Strong beats can disrupt your breathing rhythm. 

• During runs, focus on rhythmic breathing, for just one minute per mile, then slowly increase the time.

With consistent practice, you’ll find that within 4 to 6 weeks, rhythmic breathing becomes automatic.

How to Breathe During Races

Breathing can feel easy to control during training runs, but race day is a different story. Nerves, excitement, and adrenaline can speed up your breathing before the race even starts, making it harder to find a steady rhythm.

That’s why having a familiar breathing pattern helps. Focusing on your breath during a race can calm your nerves and help you settle into your pace. If you’ve practiced a consistent breathing rhythm in training, returning to it on race day can feel grounding and boost your confidence.

Of course, your breathing will naturally change during tougher moments (like passing another runner, or climbing a hill). That’s completely normal. But when the intensity eases, it’s important to return to your steady breathing rhythm so that you can regain control and maintain your pace.

As you near the finish line, you will likely start breathing faster and deeper, as your tired muscles have high oxygen demand. Even then, research suggests that many runners can still maintain an effective breathing rhythm through the final push.

Now, you might wonder what happens once the race is over. Your breathing gradually slows down over the next 10 to 20 minutes. The mouth-and-nose breathing you used during the race naturally shifts back to nose-only breathing, and your heart rate begins to return to normal. As your fitness improves, this recovery process becomes faster and smoother.

Takeaway

There’s no one-size-fits-all breathing method for runners. The best way to do it is flexible:

• Nose breathing for warm-ups, low-intensity runs, and building endurance

• Mouth-nose combo or mouth for high-intensity efforts or sprints

• Diaphragmatic (optimal) breathing as your base

• Breathing-footstrike syncing to improve rhythm and reduce fatigue

• Adjustments during race and recovery for sustainable performance

When you learn to breathe optimally and control your breath, running becomes easier and more enjoyable. Train your lungs the way you train your legs, and the results will follow.