Your nose is an interesting organ. Smack dab in the middle of your face, it can define everything from your ethnicity to your health.
But there are a lot of things you can’t tell just by looking at it. Here are some things you may not even have known your nose could do.
Your nose is an air filter. When you breathe in, you’re taking in any variable combination of nitrogen, dust, pollution, smoke, viruses, bugs, and anything else that might be in the air. The little hair-like membranes in your nose, called cilia, are what trap all of that stuff and turn it into mucous, leaving only the air for us to breathe. Then the mucous gets pushed down our throats. It’s gross, but our stomachs are more equipped for dealing with it than our lungs.
Your nose is a thermostat. Your lungs and throat want basically everything to be body temperature. The nose knows this, and when you breathe in, it brings whatever air you’re taking in to a much more palatable temperature. This is why your nose runs in the cold: your body is warming up the air, and it’s creating condensation.
Your nose sniffs out danger. Your sense of smell isn’t just for helping you taste all the different flavors in your instant ramen. It’s also good for sensing danger, such as smelling smoke before seeing a fire or letting you know when food has spoiled. You can also sniff out familiar things, like your friends and family, through your body odor.
You mainly breathe with your nose. This is even true when you’re exerting yourself. While the mouth does become the dominant breather in these scenarios, you continue to breathe partially through the nose. Nasal breathing is especially important to infants who breastfeed, since they have the unique ability to breathe and suckle that adults don’t have. It’s also interesting to note that while mouths are the much bigger airway, people almost universally feel uncomfortable if their noses are plugged.
Interesting, right? Your nose has a lot of cool stuff going on. So treat it to a nice whiff of chocolate today.
