Alternate nostril breathing: how to do it and what studies show

How to do alternate nostril breathing

Sit up straight with your right hand free. Your right thumb closes your right nostril, and your ring finger (little finger too, if you like) closes your left. That’s how participants practice in studies as well.¹ You don’t need your index and middle fingers: fold them in or rest them lightly on your forehead. Press only gently, and keep your hand relaxed.

1. Close your right nostril with your thumb and breathe in through the left.
2. Gently close both nostrils and hold briefly. You can also skip the pause.
3. Release your thumb and breathe out through the right. Your ring finger keeps the left closed.
4. Breathe in through the right.
5. Both closed again, a brief hold.
6. Release your ring finger and breathe out through the left. That’s one round.

Watch again

So you always breathe in through the nostril you just breathed out through. The pause is optional: many studies practice with no hold at all.³ In nowa, each pause lasts 4 seconds. If that feels uncomfortable, leave it out.

Follow along

Three rounds at the app’s pace, both sides each time, take about a minute and a half. The orb tells you which side you’re on.

Three rounds of alternate nostril breathing

Right hand: thumb on the right, ring finger on the left

Breathe along

Where it comes from

Alternate nostril breathing comes from hatha yoga. The Haṭhayogapradīpikā, written in the early 15th century, describes it like this: breathe in through the left, hold, breathe out through the right, then the other way around.^{4, 5} That text tells you to hold your breath “as long as you can,” though. I don’t recommend that: here, holding means short and gentle.

Classes and studies call the same exercise nadi shodhana, nadi shuddhi or anulom vilom.⁶ Nadi shodhana roughly means “cleansing the channels.” That refers to energy channels in yoga teaching, not your nose, and those channels can’t be measured.

What the research shows

There are lots of studies on alternate nostril breathing, but most are small, test a single session, and often look at young men in India who already practice yoga. A review called the methods of studies on yogic breathing in general not rigorous enough.⁶ Here’s what still stands out:

• While you practice: in a study of 32 adults at the University of Giessen in Germany, people breathed about five breaths per minute more slowly during alternate nostril breathing, and their heart rate variability rose. After two weeks of practice, though, their resting values hadn’t changed.⁷
• The pace does the work: 20 healthy adults new to the technique did 30 minutes of alternate nostril breathing and 30 minutes of slow breathing without switching nostrils, both at five breaths per minute. Heart rate variability rose the same way in both.⁸ An EEG study of 19 healthy adults also found no difference in heart rate, heart rate variability or a memory task between left, right and alternating.⁹
• After one session: 30 medical students either did 15 minutes of alternate nostril breathing or sat in a quiet room, then gave a speech to a camera. Their nerves didn’t differ significantly.¹ In 50 men with yoga experience, sitting quietly actually calmed them more than alternate nostril breathing did.^{10, 11}
• It takes practice: a review of 58 studies found that where alternate nostril breathing worked for beginners, they had practiced it with guidance for at least four sessions.¹²

These studies tested the technique, not the nowa app. My take: alternate nostril breathing is a nice way to breathe slowly, and switching sides gives your mind a small job to do. The studies don’t show that switching nostrils does anything special in itself. If you like the exercise, that’s reason enough. If you don’t: slow breathing without switching nostrils showed the same measurements in these studies, for example coherent breathing.

What people say about alternate nostril breathing

• “It balances the left and right brain.” The idea comes from small studies in the 1980s, one with just five people.¹³ More recent EEG studies found no balancing between the two sides of the brain during alternate nostril breathing.^{2, 9}
• “It gets you more oxygen.” No. In 47 experienced men, the body actually used about 10 percent more oxygen during alternate nostril breathing than before.¹⁴ Why more air doesn’t mean more oxygen is explained in Does deep breathing give you more oxygen?
• “It clears your nose.” That hasn’t been studied in healthy people. If anything, the exercise needs two open nostrils.

By the way, it’s normal for one side to feel narrower. That’s the nasal cycle: the tissue inside your nose swells on one side and then the other, and while you’re awake, the more open side switches about every two hours on average.¹⁵ Just keep breathing gently, without forcing it.

Frequently asked questions

Which nostril do I start with?

Traditionally, the left.⁴ The only study that compared both found no difference between starting left or right.² What matters is that after each exhale, you breathe back in on the same side.

Do I have to hold my breath?

No. Many studies practice with no pause at all.³ If you hold, keep it short and easy, never as long as you can.

What are the benefits of alternate nostril breathing?

While you practice, your breathing slows and heart rate variability rises.⁷ Breathing just as slowly without switching nostrils does the same.⁸ Beyond that, current studies don’t allow firm conclusions.

Does it help before an exam or a presentation?

Before a mock speech, it didn’t calm people more than sitting quietly.¹ For the moment right before, an exercise that doesn’t need your hand works better. There’s a plan for that in the article on breathing before an exam, a talk, or an interview.

Does it balance the left and right brain?

There’s no good evidence for that. More recent EEG studies found no such balancing.^{2, 9}

Why does one nostril always feel more blocked?

That’s the nasal cycle. While you’re awake, the more open side switches about every two hours on average.¹⁵ Most people don’t notice it until they close one nostril.

How long should I practice?

Studies usually had people practice for 10 to 30 minutes at a time. In the big review, breathing practices that worked usually lasted at least 5 minutes and were done more than once.¹² That’s a pattern, not a fixed rule. How often breathing exercises make sense in general is covered in How often and for how long.

Is alternate nostril breathing good for falling asleep?

There’s no study on that in healthy adults. nowa uses it more during the day. For the evening, try the exercises in Breathing exercises for sleep.