Anne Truong MDMen's Sexual Health Doctor

Exploring the Impact of Nasal Breathing on PNS and Sympathetic Nervous Systems

30 Jan 2023 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:47

A short YouTube lecture by Anne Truong MD explaining that nasal (nose) breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system (the 'relaxation' system), which increases blood flow and supports erections. By contrast, the sympathetic nervous system ('fight or flight') constricts blood flow and inhibits erections; stress, anxiety, or depression shift balance toward sympathetic dominance. The speaker emphasizes that parasympathetic prevalence is required for erection.

Chapters

When you do a nasal breathing or nose breathing, you also activate the nerve that is called parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system is the relaxation nervous system. It's a system that actually stimulates more blood flow. It's a system that stimulates an erection. The other nervous system, sympathetic nervous system, is the fight or flight nervous system, which constrict blood flow, which restrict an erection. So when you're stressed and when you're not relaxed, or when you're depressed, when you're anxious, the sympathetic nervous system kicks in more than the parasympathetic nervous system. So in order for you to get an erection, your parasympathetic nervous system has to be more prevalent than the sympathetic nervous system.