Because your nostrils split their work load . Throughout the day , they each take falling out in a operation of interchange over-crowding and decongestion foretell the nasal cycle . At a given here and now , if you ’re breathe through your nose , the king of beasts ’s share of the air is going in and out of one anterior naris , with a much smaller amount passing through the other . Every few hours , your autonomic aflutter system , which postulate care of your spunk rate , digestion and other affair you do n’t consciously control , switches things up and your other anterior naris does all the heavy lifting for a small while . The opening and shutting of the two passages is done by swelling and deflate erectile tissue - the same stuff and nonsense that ’s at employment when your reproductive organs are wind up - up in your nose .
The rhinal wheel is going on all the time , but when you ’re sick and really choke , the extra mucose often makes the anterior naris that ’s on break feel much more backed up .
There are at least two adept reasons why nasal cycling pass .
One , it makes our sense of smelling more complete . unlike scent molecules degrade at different rates , and our scent receptors nibble up on them accordingly . Some smells are easier to observe and process in a fast - moving slipstream like the decongested anterior naris , while others are better find in the dim airstream of the congested nostril . Nasal cycling also seems to keep the nose keep for its affair as an air filter and humidifier . The alternating over-crowding give the mucose and cilia ( the tiny hairs up in your nose ) in each anterior naris a well - merit break from the attack of air and prevent the inside of your nostril from drying out , cracking and haemorrhage .
Another snot mystery: Why does my nose run when I cry?
When you cry , most of your tears disgorge over your lower eyelid and race down your face . Some of them , though , do n’t quite make it over the hill and instead go back down into the tear ducts and into the nasal cavity , which is connected to the ducts . If you ’re really bawling , you ’ll have quite a few bout running down into the nose , and their salinity also helps untie up mucose and get it flowing , give you a runny nose .
