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INTAKE IS AN EXPERIENCE

Use the science of breathing to achieve your best health

There’s a bit of a catch-22 when it comes to nasal versus oral breathing.

Generally speaking, our noses are more efficient breathing machines than our mouths. Breathing through your nose allows you to pull oxygen into the deepest lobes of the lungs, whereas your mouth can only pull oxygen to the uppermost lobes. This act of fully stimulating the lungs has a positive domino effect on the body, ultimately boosting blood flow and helping protect organs and muscles from damage.

Here comes the catch:

During increased heart rates, our noses physically can’t inhale quickly enough to deliver air at the rate our bodies need. So, we rely on breathing through our mouths, which can deliver the requisite amount of oxygen, but can’t create the positive domino effect achieved through nose breathing.

Sounds like a problem, right?

That’s where Intake comes in. The Intake band keeps your nasal passage ways open at their widest capacity, allowing you access to deep breathing like never before. Intake ensures not only that you’re getting the most out of your workout, but that your body has full access to the processes it needs to be at its absolute best.  

There’s a bit of a catch-22 when it comes to nasal versus oral breathing.

Generally speaking, our noses are more efficient breathing machines than our mouths. Breathing through your nose allows you to pull oxygen into the deepest lobes of the lungs, whereas your mouth can only pull oxygen to the uppermost lobes. This act of fully stimulating the lungs has a positive domino effect on the body, ultimately boosting blood flow and helping protect organs and muscles from damage.

Here's the catch

During increased heart rates, our noses physically can’t inhale quickly enough to deliver air at the rate our bodies need. So, we rely on breathing through our mouths, which can deliver the requisite amount of oxygen, but can’t create the positive domino effect achieved through nose breathing.

Sounds like a problem, right?

That’s where Intake comes in. The Intake band keeps your nasal passage ways open at their widest capacity, allowing you access to deep breathing like never before. Intake ensures not only that you’re getting the most out of your workout, but that your body has full access to the processes it needs to be at its absolute best.  

RECHARGE AND RECOVER

Know how your body naturally recuperates so you can give it what it needs to fully restore, both when you're sleeping and when you're awake.

CIRCULATION  

  • Your breathing influences your circulation and heart rate by carrying oxygen to your bloodstream, where your body can deliver it to your muscles and organs. Each breath you take through your nose boosts the levels of nitric oxide in your bloodstream, a potent vasodilator that helps increase circulation and lower heart rate.

HEALING 

  • Our bodies rely on an internal balance of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitric oxide to ensure healthy muscle and organ function. When our body is processing these molecules properly, we are also able to heal more quickly from strain and exertion.

IMMUNITY 

  • Aside from the nervous system, the immune system is the most complex system in the human body. The combination of organs, cells, proteins, and processes that determine our immune response are vital in fighting off infections and neutralizing pathogens, and ensuring that the rest of our body has the energy to function optimally.

Do you have trouble breathing? You're not the only one.  

Sometimes, you can compromise your recovery in ways you aren't even aware of—for instance, the way you breathe. When we inhale through our nose, our breathing rhythm naturally slows, our oxygen absorption goes up, and our circulation increases. When we breathe through our mouths, we tend to hyperventilate, stress our lung and throat tissue, and diminish our body's ability to replenish its stores. Establishing a nose-breathing habit can be crucial to overall health: how we breathe while we're awake affects how we breathe while asleep, the time our body is working hardest to recover. When you can make the most of the time you're recharging, you can focus your days on going farther.
 

reported that they

Can't Nose Breathe

Over two-thirds of people report that they have trouble breathing through their nose, even while at rest.

suffer nightly from

Chronic Snoring

90 million American adults suffer from snoring, with 40% of men and 24% of women being habitual snorers.

are affected by a

Deviated Septum

Septal deviation is common, and in many cases can cause trouble breathing, sinusitis, chronic snoring, and sleep apnea.

How Your Nose Acts As Your Immune System's First Defense

NO is produced in the paranasal sinuses, and has a potent antimicrobial effect. When you breathe through your nose, the air entering your lungs has been “cleaned” by the NO, helping your body stay healthy. (Lundberg, 2008)

Read More

Give Your Organs and Muscles a Protective Boost By Breathing Through Your Nose  

Breathing continuously through your nose generates large amounts of NO, which acts as a vasodilator. The subsequent increase in blood flow helps protect organs and muscles from damage. (Lundberg, 2008)

Read More

Your Heart Rate, Your Circulation, And Your Breath

Nasal breathing (as opposed to mouth breathing) increases circulation, blood oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, slows the breathing rate and improves overall lung volumes. (Swift, Campbell, McKown, 1988)

Read More

How Your Nose Acts As Your Immune System's First Defense

NO is produced in the paranasal sinuses, and has a potent antimicrobial effect. When you breathe through your nose, the air entering your lungs has been “cleaned” by the NO, helping your body stay healthy. (Lundberg, 2008)

READ MORE

Give Your Organs and Muscles a Protective Boost By Breathing Through Your Nose

Breathing continuously through your nose generates large amounts of NO, which acts as a vasodilator. The subsequent increase in blood flow helps protect organs and muscles from damage. (Lundberg, 2008)

READ MORE

Your Heart Rate, Your Circulation, And Your Breath

Nasal breathing (as opposed to mouth breathing) increases circulation, blood oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, slows the breathing rate and improves overall lung volumes. (Swift, Campbell, McKown, 1988)

READ MORE

SHARPEN FOCUS

Your mind and your body are connected. When you take care of your body, you're also taking care of your brain and nervous system.

CALM AND COLLECTED  

  • Keeping a clear mind relies on balanced emotions, appropriate stress response, quick and accurate mental recall. The way we go about our daily life--the way we work, exercise, eat, and rest--both affects and is affected by our mental health. Maintaining a healthy nervous system and healthy cognitive function is imperative to maintaining balance in your physical body.

CLEAR AND FOCUSED

  • Much of our perception is determined by our memory, particularly our sense memory. When you inhale through your nose, you activate two parts of your brain--one that is linked to your sense of smell, and one that is linked to your ability to form and store short term memory. When you focus on stimulating your sense memory, you enrich your perception and sharpen your cognitive function.

The Link Between Nasal Breathing And The Way We Think

Breathing through the nose stimulates the amygdala and hippocampus, whereas breathing through the mouth diminishes stimulation in these areas of the brain. (Zelano, 2016)

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How The Way We Breathe Can Improve Memory Consolidation

Breathing affects both the formation and consolidation of short term memory. Breathing through the nose compared with the mouth enhances recognition memory. (Arshamian, 2018)

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Balancing Your Mood (With The Help Of Your Nose)

When you breathe through your nose, you stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system, which triggers our "rest and digest" response, and your amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for helping us regulate our moods and emotions (Sinha, Deepak, and Gusain, 2013).

Read More

The Link Between Nasal Breathing And The Way We Think

Breathing through the nose stimulates the amygdala and hippocampus, whereas breathing through the mouth diminishes stimulation in these areas of the brain. (Zelano, 2016)

READ MORE

How The Way We Breathe Can Improve Memory Consolidation

Breathing affects both the formation and consolidation of short term memory. Breathing through the nose compared with the mouth enhances recognition memory. (Arshamian, 2018)

READ MORE

Balancing Your Mood (With The Help Of Your Nose)

NO is produced in the paranasal sinuses, and has a potent antimicrobial effect. When you breathe through your nose, the air entering your lungs has been “cleaned” by the NO, helping your body stay healthy. (Lundberg, 2008)

READ MORE

BOOST STAMINA AND ENDURANCE

Your body is a fine-tuned machine: the better the fuel you put in, the better it runs.

EFFICIENCY

  • The air you breathe through your nose undergoes a process that makes the oxygen more accessible. You’ll take fewer breaths, but each of those breaths will give you more runtime by effectively delivering oxygen to where your body needs it most.

SUPPORT

  • Your endurance is also determined by your body’s resiliency--how you’re able to avoid, or bounce back, from stress and injury. Boosting your nitric oxide, in turn boosting your blood and lymph flow, helps keep your organs and muscles protected.
     

Your body has a remarkable ability to keep pushing. Though the way we train in the gym has a big impact on our stamina and endurance, our bodies are able to build strength and staying power through their own physical processes, and we can support these processes simply by making small changes to our behavior. Because our system is so complex, seemingly subtle shifts--like breathing through your nose rather than your mouth--can have a multi-faceted effect on our performance. When you’re already giving it your all, sometimes that extra edge is all you need to move up to the next level.

10-15%
BOOST

A nasal-only breathing pattern boosts blood oxygenation up to 15% more than inhaling or exhaling through the mouth

90%
CONDITIONING

The internal nose provides around 90% of the respiratory system’s air-conditioning requirement, helping to temperature-control and humidify the air you breathe

33%
RECOVERY

The nose recovers around 33% of exhaled heat and moisture, working to keep your body’s hydration and temperature at an equilibrium

Balance Your Hydration Level And Body Temperature by Adjusting The Way You Breathe

The internal nose both provides around 90% of the respiratory system’s air-conditioning requirement, and recovers around 33% of exhaled heat and moisture. This means that your body’s hydration levels and body temperature are stabilized (Elad, Wolf, Keck, 2008)

Read More

Help Prevent Exercise-Induced Asthma With Nose-Only Breathing

Breathing through the nose lowers the body's post-exercise bronchioconstrictive response, while breathing through the mouth exacerbates this response, suggesting that nasal breathing may help prevent excercise-induced asthma (Mangla & Menon, 1981).

Read More

Adjusting The Way You Breathe Improves Hydration Levels

The internal nose both provides around 90% of the respiratory system’s air-conditioning requirement, and recovers around 33% of exhaled heat and moisture. This means that your body’s hydration levels and body temperature are stabilized (Elad, Wolf, Keck, 2008)

READ MORE

Help Prevent Exercise-Induced Asthma With Nose-Only Breathing

Breathing through the nose lowers the body's post-exercise bronchioconstrictive response, while breathing through the mouth exacerbates this response, suggesting that nasal breathing may help prevent excercise-induced asthma (Mangla & Menon, 1981).

READ MORE
sizing
SIZES FOR EVERY NOSE

Our kits come in three sizes [Small, Medium, & Large]. Each kit has two bands, slightly varied in size, like this:

SIZE GUIDE

Band size is best determined by the width of the bottom of your nose. The printable size chart below allows you to measure from the widest part of one nostril to the other.

PRINT

If you do not have a printer (or it always seems to be out of ink like ours) don't worry. You can use the millimeter side of a ruler to determine your size range.

HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR SIZE

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a guide, not the rule. Simply get as close to get started. If after use, you feel a different size would work better for you, let us know and we'll dial you in!

FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS
EXAMPLES OF HOW THE SIZE GUIDE LOOKS IN USE

The square highlighted in blue shows the size that the user should choose based on the sizing guide.

COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS

We receive a lot of questions about sizing, both from people looking to try the band for the first time and those who have already tried a few different sizes. Whether you're about to place your first order, or you've already received your kit, here are answers to the questions we most frequently receive.

WHY DO THE KITS COME WITH TWO DIFFERENTLY SIZED BANDS?

Based on feedback we’ve gotten from our test phase users, we’ve learned a couple things. One is that most people can fit comfortably within a range of sizes, and like to try out at least two before deciding which works best for them. Something else we’ve noticed is that many of our users prefer to have two different sizes for different activities: one for exercise and one for sleeping, or one for their gym routine and another to wear under goggles or a faceplate. Plus, sometimes it’s just nice to have an extra option. Variety is the spice of life, as they say.

I'M WEARING THE BAND WITH OTHER GEAR, LIKE CYCLING GLASSES OR GOGGLES. WILL THIS AFFECT THE SIZE I NEED?

If you’re wearing Intake for high-impact activity, or in a sport that requires goggles or a faceplate, we recommend sizing down. A smaller size band will create less pull on the adhesive tabs, making the band more likely to stay put. Of course, your mileage may vary, so we recommend trying out both sizes in your kit to see which is the best fit for you. For use of Intake with sun glasses, there should be no need to change your size from whichever you feel is most comfortable.

I'LL LIKELY BE USING THE KIT ONLY FOR SLEEP, OR LOW-IMPACT EXERCISE. WHICH SIZE WOULD BE BEST FOR ME?

If you’ll primarily be using Intake for sleep or lower-impact activities (for instance, a moderate gym set), we recommend choosing your normal size or even sizing up—the larger sized bands are less convex, meaning they’ll pull your nostrils open wider and allow greater airflow. However, this also means they’ll pull harder on the adhesive tabs, meaning you’ll potentially get less run time out of the tabs. You will learn quickly if your skin takes well to the adhesive and you are able to use a larger size, or if your skin prefers the use of a size that is more "perfect" for your nose. If you'll just be using the bands for sleep, it's best to opt for a slightly larger size first to ensure you have access to the most airflow.

HOW DO I USE THE SIZE CHART?

Follow the directions above to ensure you've sized the chart correctly upon printing. Once you've got your chart in your hands and the size tabs cut and folded, place your nose inside the tabs to see which offers the best fit. The right size should fit your nose with a tiny bit of wiggle room--you should be able to feel the edges of the paper lightly graze your nose on either side. The fit shouldn't be snug, nor should you be able to rest your nose in the paper tab without feeling the edge of the paper on either side. 

I JUST RECEIVED MY KIT, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF I ORDERED THE RIGHT SIZE. HOW CAN I TELL?

The proper size Intake Band should create a significant difference in airflow while not exerting too much force on the tabs. Most first-time users, including those who have no trouble breathing through their nose normally, are surprised by the increase in airflow Intake creates. Though this isn't an exact science, a good rule of thumb is that if you're not surprised by how clearly you can breathe, your band is likely too small. Conversely, if your band feels uncomfortable, or your tabs peel off despite proper application, your band is likely too big.

I USED THE SIZE CHART, BUT THE SIZE I ORDERED STILL DOESN'T SEEM TO FIT. HELP!

We get it--sizing can be tricky! If you haven't already, we recommend taking each band in your kit for a full test run--give both sizes a full training day or night of sleep, and see how they wear. The proper size often seems too big at first (if you hold it up to your nose without applying it to the tabs, there should be around 3mm to 1/4 inch of space on either side). As long as the band doesn't pull up the tabs before you're ready to remove them, it should be the right size for you. If the band is too small, you'll find that it doesn't open your nostrils wide enough to feel a noticeable difference. If you've used the size chart and given both bands a trial run, contact us at info@intakebreathing.com and we'll ship you an alternate size. No need to return your current bands, simply give them to a friend or recycle them.