First of all, there is no ‘wrong’ way to breathe. If you’re alive, you’re breathing pretty well 😄
But: no matter how healthy your diet is, how well you exercise, sleep and recover: if your breathing isn’t efficient your body can not function optimally.
That’s a pretty strong statement, so let me back it up with a few facts:
Inefficient breathing is breathing that doesn’t support optimal health. It is most easily recognised as a superficial, stressed breathing pattern: too fast and high in the chest. Most people breathe completely unconsciously. That doesn’t change the fact that inefficient breathing impairs your energy management, your mood and your health!
The majority of people breathe inefficiently. Why? Stress is a big cause, but also our fixation on flat stomachs and the ‘superhero’ pose with chest puffed forward and a rigid abdomen. Mouth breathing is also directly linked to inefficient breathing patterns. We use our breath to suppress emotions (think about how you stifle a laugh, or stop yourself from crying), when we do that too often it can cause chronic breathing issues.
We also tend to hold our breath often without realising it, and then overbreathe to compensate afterwards.
Even how we eat affects our breathing: if you eat a meal high in refined carbs, sugars and processed foods you create an acidic environment in the body. Our body’s compensatory mechanism to maintain pH balance is to trigger an increased breathing rate.
Recent research has shown that the body starts sending signals (changes in breathing pattern) for an hour before a panic attack hits, but because we are so out of tune with our bodies we don’t recognise these signals.
When we overbreathe (as more than 70% of the population does!) we blow off too much CO2, and can’t bind oxygen efficiently. CO2 is not a waste gas but one we need to release oxygen into our cells. A lack of CO2 leads to dizziness, tightness in the chest, exhaustion, stress, poor circulation, inability to focus, cold hands and feet, … even though our O2 saturation can be at 96-100%, without CO2 that O2 is worthless. A recent survey showed 60 percent of the ambulance runs in the larger USA cities are a direct consequence of symptoms precipitated by overbreathing.
Efficient breathing is low and slow: diaphragmatic breathing at a rate of less than 10 breaths per minute (at rest). Optimal breathing has been scientifically proven to be achieved at an even slower rate at an average of 5,5 breaths per minute!
By breathing less, your breathing also becomes more diaphragmatic. An efficient breath is one where our ribcage expands 360° horizontally.
An efficient breath stimulates the vagus nerve, which in turn activates our parasympathetic nervous system (rest & digest). The movement of the diaphragm massages the heart and organs helping blood flow and digestion. An efficient breath maintains our O2 / CO2 balance and optimises our body chemistry.
Do a quick check: set a timer for 1 minute, close your eyes and count your breaths without trying to influence them (one breath = an inhale + an exhale). How many do you count? If it’s more than 10 breaths per minute at rest, you are overbreathing.
Next check: put a hand on your chest and a hand on your belly. Inhale and simply watch which hand moves first. If the hand on your chest moves first and moves vertically: you are most likely overbreathing.