You may not pay much attention to it, but when you are sick, the intensity of breathing through one nostril is significantly higher than the other. This phenomenon also switches between the two nasal cavities throughout the day, but why is this?

In fact, this process is regulated by the "autonomous nervous system", which also regulates other body functions, such as digestion and heart rate. For the nose, this system regulates the "nasal circulation" so that each nostril is functioning independently, even in the event of a cold.

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, "nasal circulation" occurs several times a day, but it only gets your attention when one of your noses is blocked. To open one nostril and close the other, the body automatically pumps blood around the nose, just like when a man has an erection.

“The increase in blood flow will cause congestion and blockage on one side of the nasal cavity, and then switch to the other side after 3-6 hours.” Jennifer Shu said, “This congestion process will be more severe when lying down. It’s so obvious that if you turn your head to one side, you can clearly feel it.”

This cyclic process has long been thought to aid the sense of smell. Some studies have pointed out that when the airflow passes quickly through the nasal cavity, entrained odors can be better collected.

If one side of your nasal cavity is open and the other side is tightly closed, almost all the odor will be picked up. At the same time, your nasal cavity on the other side will also get a rest in this state.

When you are sick, this cycle becomes unbearable because the nasal passages that should normally be "closed" become significantly more clogged, causing discomfort.

So the next time you feel a tightness in one nostril, understand that this is a mechanism developed by the body to ensure the quality of smell.

Maybe you won't feel so sad in this way