The Value of Controlled Breathing

(Newswire.net — December 19, 2017) Cheyenne, Wyoming — What is controlled breathing? Isn’t breathing just one of those autopilot kinds of things the body does? Yes and no. The human body does conduct some routine takes involuntarily but it doesn’t mean the way it has adapted to doing it is automatically correct, hence the need to mentally check-in for a self-assessed check-up from time to time. Now step into my proverbial office for a moment to consider how you’ve been breathing and how controlled breathing can work for you. 

Controlled breathing is aimed at tailoring your breathing patterns to maximize the results of a specific aim or goal, whether emotionally, mentally or physically. So that means stress, anxiety and respiratory ailments can all be positively or negatively influenced by how you breathe. 

This thought is a common thread throughout a number of disciplines, from yoga and meditation to tai chi to martial arts. They all emphasize controlled breathing as part of their philosophical methods of living. 

“Normal breathing volume is approximately four to six liters of air per minute during rest, equating to 10 to 12 breaths per minute,” informs Joseph Mercola, a decorated medical practitioner. “Meanwhile, breathing volume for people with asthma tends to be around 13 to 15 liters per minute, and those with sleep apnea breathe on average 10 to 15 liters per minute. In short, asthmatics and those with sleep apnea breathe far too much — upwards of three times more than normal — and this dysfunctional breathing pattern is part of their disease profile.”

Overbreathing is almost sure to be a novel term to you but it is exactly what happens when consistently vast volumes of air taken in causes a chemical imbalance in the body. The brain is the ultimate control centre that monitors the pH levels and carbon dioxide concentration. Though carbon dioxide is often considered an exhaled waste gas it does also serve internal purposes and is needed in certain quantities.

“Getting rid of carbon dioxide (CO₂), not bringing in oxygen, is the main stimulus that drives us to breathe under most circumstances,” explains Roger Cole, physiology researcher in Del Mar, California. “This is because too much CO₂ makes the blood more acidic, which can impair the function of all of your body’s cells. Your brainstem is finely tuned to maintain the pH of the blood, so when the pH skews acidic, it triggers the stress response and sends an urgent message to the diaphragm to initiate a breath to bring in more O₂ and rebalance the blood.”

So breathing in too much carbon dioxide causes the body to spike in acidity and not enough carbon dioxide leaves the body with greater than required state of alkalinity. The balancing act required for overall well-being demands thoughtfulness and precision, that’s something nasal strips such as Breathe-IN™ by HealthyWiser™ was created in mind to assist you to do.