If you overbreathe or have breathing anxiety...

[PanicCured]

Great information about overbreathing from Patrick McKeown's Anxiety Free Buteyko breathing book I thought I'd share. Getting my breathing under control was pinnacle in me healing my anxiety. Trying to breathe more and more and feeling an air hunger coincided with my anxiety often:


The Bohr Effect Simply Explained
Healthy people have quiet and unnoticeable breathing. While they are resting, you cannot see or hear their breathing.
Quiet breathing ensures optimum partial pressure of carbon dioxide within your lungs, blood, tissues and cells. The release of oxygen from your blood depends on the presence of carbon dioxide.
Overbreathing causes a loss of carbon dioxide from your lungs, blood, tissues and cells.
This results in less oxygen being released from your blood into your tissues and organs. The more you breathe, the more your body is being starved of oxygen.
Breathing through your mouth, sighs, sniffing, noticeable breathing, hearing your breathing during rest or having a low Control Pause (explained later) indicates that you are starving your body of oxygen. Your brain is being starved, resulting in anxiety, depression and stress.

Persons suffering from anxiety and depression breathe a volume greater than normally accepted amounts. For example, an average sized person with anxiety might breathe 15 to 20 breaths per minute, with each breath larger than the normal 500 ml. Interspersed with this is a number of sighs. Assuming that each breath is 700 ml, the average breathing volume for this person is 10 to 15 litres of air per minute. In food terms, this is akin to eating six to nine meals each day!
Chronic overbreathing
Chronic overbreathing basically means that we habitually breathe more air than what our bodies require. In many ways, this is similar to a person developing the habit of overeating.
Breathing is similar. If we breathe more than what our bodies require over a 24-hour period, the habit takes hold. Dr Stephen Demeter confirms this when he states, “Prolonged hyperventilation (for more than 24 hours) seems to sensitize the brain, leading to a more prolonged hyperventilation.”

[gypsylee]

Persons suffering from anxiety and depression breathe a volume greater than normally accepted amounts. For example, an average sized person with anxiety might breathe 15 to 20 breaths per minute

I use this app which times your breathing (you breathe according to the "music") and there's a progressive program. With the one I'm on atm I'm doing 3.6 breaths per minute. I can do the one after that, which is less than 3 breaths but it's a bit uncomfortable. But you can see the difference in "anxious" breathing and controlled breathing.

I started doing this last year during a pretty bad nervous breakdown. I was sleeping only a couple hours a night, if that, and after doing the breathing for a couple days (20 minutes at a time) I was able to sleep maybe 6 hours. It was like a miracle.

From what I read, even people without anxiety breathe way too shallowly. Babies breathe properly but as we get older we just get in the habit of shallow breathing. So everyone can benefit from learning and practicing diaphragmatic breathing.

Cheers,
Gypsy :)

[PanicCured]

I use this app which times your breathing (you breathe according to the "music") and there's a progressive program. With the one I'm on atm I'm doing 3.6 breaths per minute. I can do the one after that, which is less than 3 breaths but it's a bit uncomfortable. But you can see the difference in "anxious" breathing and controlled breathing.

I started doing this last year during a pretty bad nervous breakdown. I was sleeping only a couple hours a night, if that, and after doing the breathing for a couple days (20 minutes at a time) I was able to sleep maybe 6 hours. It was like a miracle.

From what I read, even people without anxiety breathe way too shallowly. Babies breathe properly but as we get older we just get in the habit of shallow breathing. So everyone can benefit from learning and practicing diaphragmatic breathing.

Cheers,
Gypsy :)

Patrick McKeown told me years ago when I spoke to him over Skype that the most important is first light calm breathing and then 2nd breathing deeper into the abdomen. To first get the overbreathing unber control or at least to get the breathing to a relaxed, light and calm level. He also said when you excerice the breathign quickens and yoru breathe rate should mach your body's metabolism. Sleep will be less than running, etc.