Around 80% of human only breath through one nostril at a time, most people don't notice this, they may simply think we use both at the same time or one of them is there to help the other one when it is blocked by a nasty cold.
Your two nostrils shift their workload back and forth in a delicate manner called the NASAL CYCLE. At any moment, most of the air you breath in travels through just one nostril, while a much smaller amount pass through the other. At some point, the nasal cycle reverses course and the workload is shifted to the other nostril.
The duration of time between nostril switching varies, depending on the individual and various other factors, but each cycle usually lasts from 40 minutes to 4 hours or so. That is why you have intervals of easy breathing even when your nose is block by a nasty cold.
It is thought that the nasal cycle could be the reason that whenever we sleep on our side, we will often switch sides throughout the night, even when we are in a comfortable position. It could just be that our body needs to switch which nostril it is breathing out of, so you feel the urge to roll over to your other side while asleep.
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