Mask or no mask
It was a breakaway session of the Great Mask Debate; does wearing a mask while running pose a danger to the runner? As usual, there were people weighing in with their interpretations-
“The air-pocket between the nose and the mask fills up with carbon dioxide, and that reduces oxygen levels in the blood.” “No, that’s not so. The blood only absorbs a small percentage of the oxygen that is inhaled, so it doesn’t make a substantial difference.”
“No, a mask forces you take in more carbon dioxide. It could have medical complications.” “Certainly not. When the carbon dioxide levels go up, the body slows down, so the oxygen levels are restored.”
My personal take is, if you find it difficult to run with a mask, don’t run, but I was curious about this. I scoured the internet, but though I could find many interpretations, there didn’t seen to be one single study that addressed this particular issue.
“I wish somebody could just run 5 kilometres with and without a mask to end this debate”, I thought. Then realized I didn’t have to depend on ‘somebody’ to do it. That ‘somebody’ could well be me.
Only one small problem.
I haven’t run for months, and wasn’t sure if I had it in me to pull off two 5 kilometre runs. I thought of reducing the distance, but realized that for the experiment to be successful, the run should be at least 30 minutes long, giving sufficient time for oxygen levels to register a change.
Fortified with half a liter of water, I donned a disposable surgical mask and climbed onto the treadmill. After recording my oxygen saturation level of 98% and a pulse rate of 80, I was good to go.
I deliberately picked a lower speed than normal since I wanted the entire run to be at an even pace.
Running with a mask was not substantially different from running without one. One kilometre done, I slipped the oxymeter on my finger, turned the camera on and managed to take a slightly blurred photograph.
The oxygen saturation had dropped to 88%. I had anticipated the fall to be slower, and was slightly taken aback. But I decided to see the experiment through.
Then suddenly, I remembered something I had read in one of those innumerable articles I had scoured- when running with a mask, you should breathe through the nose, not through the mouth. After years of breathing through the mouth while running, shifting breathing techniques wasn’t easy but I reminded myself of the experiment, and did it.
When I took the reading at the 2 kilometre mark, the oxygen saturation level had gone up to 94%. And it stayed at 95% or above for the rest of the run.
Clearly, the naysayers are wrong. Running with a mask doesn’t have much of an impact on the oxygen saturation level. Since the levels remained well within the comfort zone, there was really no reason for me to replicate the run without a mask, but for the sake of comparison, I did.
Same speed, same conditions, same breathing technique (through the mouth for the first 1.5 kilometres, and through the nose subsequently). It was much more pleasant, because I was able to wipe the sweat off my face, but apart from that, the run felt no different. The oxygen saturation level, on an average, was higher when I ran without a mask than when I did with the mask, but the difference between the two was not significant.
Will I run with a mask?
Unlikely.
I like to sip water every couple of kilometres, which is not possible when you are masked up.
Also, with the mask covering half your face, you cannot feel the breeze on your face, which is one of the best parts of running outdoors.
Since I don’t enjoy running with a mask, I will not go for a run outdoors.
But if you must run, and must run outdoors, there is no rational reason to not wear a mask.
Mask up.
