Why is it not good to sleep under a tree at night?
Me: Hey John, You look so tired. Why don't you take rest here?
John: yes, I'm very tired, l need to sleep. Good night.
Me: No John. Please don't sleep under that tree. It is quite harmful.
John: No, it's not.
Me: See, you are not able to breathe properly, right?
John: yes, you are right.
Me: Do you know why?
John: why it's happened. Can you please explain me?
Me: Wait, I will tell you.
This is because during the day, in the presence of sunlight, plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen in the process of photosynthesis.
However, they even respire simultaneously.
In this process, plants take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide. But the production of oxygen is more than the production of carbon dioxide. Hence, if we sleep under a tree during daytime, we may get a good amount of oxygen, thus giving us a nice sleep.
However, at night, plants do not perform photosynthesis due to the absence of sunlight.
But respiration still goes on.
Hence, as compared to oxygen, the proportion of carbon dioxide around the trees is more.
Thus, if we sleep under a tree at night, we may feel suffocated due to lack of oxygen.
Moreover, inhalation of excess carbon dioxide is harmful to human beings.
Therefore, it is not good to sleep under a tree at night.
Our atmosphere is 78% nitrogen. Together with oxygen and other gases, our atmosphere exerts a huge pressure on our bodies.
While breathing, this atmospheric pressure helps squeeze out oxygen from our lungs into our blood. So, without nitrogen, atmospheric pressure would drop, thus reducing the amount of oxygen entering our blood. Also, air in our sinuses exerts an equal amount of pressure to balance the atmospheric pressure. However, low atmospheric pressure will create pressure differences, leading to headaches. Without nitrogen, the number of free unstable oxygen radicals would drastically increase in our body, leading to damage to our DNA, thus increasing the risk of cancer. Lastly, nitrogen is an essential component of our DNA, RNA and even chlorophyll, the pigment which helps a plant prepare its food. So basically, without nitrogen, there would be no life on earth.
Our nostrils have specialized tissues. At a given time, these tissues are swollen in one nostril while they are shrunk in the other. Hence, when we breathe, air passes easily through the nostril in which the tissues are shrunk.
However, due to the swelling, very less amount of air slowly passes through the other nostril. Thus, it seems as if we are breathing through one nostril only. However, after sometime, the swelling and shrinking in the nostrils reverses. This breathing pattern is called nasal cycle. Nasal cycle is beneficial for us.
Do you know how?
Some odors are detected better in fast-moving air, while others in slow-moving air. Thus, with fast-moving air in one nostril and slow-moving air in the other, our nose can detect a greater range of smells.
Besides this, our nostrils are moist. Continues breathing can make them dry. Hence, when we breathe through one nostril, the other nostril gets time to become moist again.
We can get a runny nose due to common cold, flu, allergies, sinus infection, etc. Now, our nose consists of a mucous membrane which secretes a slimy substance called mucus. However, sometimes, this membrane produces excess mucus which comes out of our nostrils, thus causing a condition called amenorrhea, popularly known as runny nose.
But why is our body producing mucus in the first place?
For protection, Mucus contains mucking, which give mucus its gel-like properties helping it trap germs, dust, etc., and thus preventing them from entering our body. Mucus also contains antibodies and immune cells which kill germs and other foreign particles. Besides this, mucus even warms and moisturizes the inhaled air, thus preventing our breathing passage from getting damaged.
Breathing by nose has a number of advantages.
Firstly, hair and mucus in our nose help in filtering out foreign materials, dust, allergens, etc.
Secondly, nose breathing releases more nitric oxide, which is ultimately responsible for more release of oxygen.
Lastly, the nose adds warmth and moisture to inhaled air. This makes it more suitable for our respiratory tract.
Breathing by mouth has the following disadvantages.
Firstly, breathing by mouth dries up our saliva. As there is very less saliva, it is unable to protect us against harmful pathogens.
Secondly, in children, continuous mouth breathing may lead to crooked teeth or minor jaw deformities.
Thirdly, experts believe that mouth breathing can lead to lack of oxygen in our body.
Lastly, mouth breathing also leads to sleep apnea. Sleep apnea results in sleep deprivation, which causes fatigue and exhaustion.
Whenever we smoke cigarettes, we inhale a mix of about 4000 harmful chemicals. These chemicals cause swelling of bronchial tubes present in our lungs, thus resulting in excess production of mucus. Also, they damage hair-like projections called cilia, whose function is to push out the excess mucus. As a result, the bronchial tubes get clogged. This leads to persistent coughing as our body attempts to clear the mucus, thus eventually causing chronic bronchitis.
Secondly, these chemicals also damage tiny air sacs called alveoli present in our lungs. This reduces the amount of oxygen entering our blood, thus causing a condition called emphysema. Note that chronic bronchitis and emphysema are collectively called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. COPD is irreversible and incurable.
Lastly, some of these chemicals can also damage the DNA present in the cells of bronchial tubes and alveoli, thus leading to lung cancer.
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