Here’s a small, real, well-documented finding that’s easy to try and easy to misunderstand: humming increases nitric oxide in your nose.
The Real Finding
Humming has been shown to increase nitric oxide levels in the nose by roughly 15 times compared to quiet breathing, measured directly in a real study of 10 healthy volunteers. This is a real, measured, directly-sourced result — not an estimate or an extrapolation, and it’s held up as the field’s own reference finding for over two decades since.
The Important Scope Limit
This nasal-NO effect is local to the sinuses — it hasn’t been shown to raise nitric oxide throughout the body the way dietary nitrate does. This distinction matters: the nasal nitric oxide this research measures plays a role in local sinus airflow and host defense, but it is a genuinely different real finding from the systemic, vascular nitric oxide that our complete guide to nitric oxide describes for blood pressure and blood flow. Humming is not a substitute for the food-based habits that support that systemic pathway. Some other sources blur this distinction, describing sinus-released nitric oxide as if it directly affects blood pressure or heart rate — the real evidence doesn’t support that broader claim, and we want to be precise about that here.
Why Local Nasal Nitric Oxide Still Matters
Nasal nitric oxide isn’t just a curiosity — it plays a real, documented role in your sinuses’ own natural defenses, helping fight off bacteria, viruses, and fungi in the air you breathe, and supporting the tiny hair-like structures that help clear your airways. Interestingly, people with chronic sinus inflammation and nasal polyps have been found to have measurably lower nasal nitric oxide than people without it — which is part of why researchers find the humming finding worth studying further, even though humming itself hasn’t been shown to treat or cure any sinus condition.
Why It’s Still a Real, Worthwhile Habit
Even scoped narrowly, this is a small, real, low-effort habit — a few minutes of humming costs nothing, requires no equipment, and is grounded in a real, measured finding, not a supplement claim. It’s simply not a stand-in for the vascular benefits of nitrate-rich foods or regular movement. Worth knowing too: at least one recent study specifically tested whether humming’s nasal-NO effect improves thinking or memory, and found no benefit — a useful, honest reminder that this remains a real but narrow, local effect, not a broader cognitive or systemic one.
How to Try It
There’s no special technique required — normal humming, at a comfortable volume, for a few minutes, is what the underlying research measured. This isn’t a substitute for other established nasal or respiratory health practices, just a small, real, additional habit worth knowing about.
Where This Fits
See our complete guide to nitric oxide for the complete picture of how it works throughout your body.
References
- Weitzberg, E., & Lundberg, J. O. N. (2002). Humming greatly increases nasal nitric oxide. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 166(2), 144–145. https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.200202-138BC
- Ambrosino, P., Molino, A., Spedicato, G. A., Parrella, P., Formisano, R., Motta, A., Di Minno, M. N. D., & Maniscalco, M. (2020). Nasal nitric oxide in chronic rhinosinusitis with or without nasal polyps: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9(1), 200. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9010200
- Francis, N., Petrovic, K., Lundström, J. N., & Thunell, C. (2024). Induction of nitric oxide via humming does not improve short-term cognitive performance or influence emotional processing. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0301268
About this article
Researched and written by: HealthUpward Editorial Team
Last updated: August 29, 2026
Evidence basis: Based on peer-reviewed research and reputable public health organizations cited within this article.
Medical review: This article has completed HealthUpward’s editorial review process. It has not been reviewed by a licensed healthcare professional.
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