Thread by @AlpacaAurelius

Most people are breathing the exact opposite as they should

This damages your facial structure, increases stress, reduce tissue oxygenation, lowers co2, slows metabolism, worsens sleep...it is a factor in almost every single disease

Here's how to improve your breathing:

We breathe more than we do anything else, it is the most underrated aspect of health

Everybody is focused on diet, yet without oxygen we cannot make ATP.

All food is not created equal & neither are all breaths

Breathing improperly lowers ATP production and tissue oxygenation

You can actually test how well your tissues are oxygenated and most people fail miserably: here's the CONTROL PAUSE test

1. Take two normal breaths through the nose
2. Pinch your nose
3. Get a timer out
4. Hold your breath until the first urge to breath and stop the timer

Buteyko found the results of the test correlated to how well your tissues are oxygenated and the results associate with many diseases

This table below captures the average control pause with a number of health issues

Here are some breathing fundamentals & exercises to improve your breath, tissue oxygenation and control pause test

#1 Nasal breathing

Breathing through the mouth is a modern health disaster. Nasal breathing warms, humidifies, and cleans the incoming air.

95%-99% of bacteria and pollutants will get trapped in nasal airways, whereas mouth breathing allows far more in.

nasal breathing also increases co2, improves facial structure, lowers blood pressure, activates the parasympathetic nervous system and can even make you more attractive.

#2 Light

The heavier you breathe, the more co2 you'll deplete and the more you'll activate your fight or flight nervous system.

Your breath should be almost undetectable

#3 Deep Diaphragmic

Most people misinterpret a deep breath as a very LARGE and lOUD breath...but deep breaths are quiet and come from deep in the diaphragm, not the chest.

The diaphragm activation which ensure you're breathing in and retaining as much oxygen as possible.

#4 Slow

Optimal breathing is 6-8 breaths per minute...meaning each breath on average should take 8-10 seconds.

Most people are taking far more frequently which does the exact opposite of what's intended, depleting co2 and oxygen.

#5 Posture

Correct posture is required to take a deep breath. Slouching and sitting in a chair all day prevents your diaphragm from fully activating

Now for some exercises to help retrain your breathing patterns and co2 tolerance

Exercise #1: Breathe light with air hunger

This first exercise is intended to increase your carbon dioxide tolerance. A big reason why people breathe more frequently than they should is because they're not able to tolerate the increasing levels of co2 (which are beneficial)

1. Place your hands on your chest and belly
2. Observe your breath as it enters & leaves your nose
3. reduce the speed of each breathe as it enters and leaves your nose
4. slow it down so you feel hardly any air at all
5. create a feeling you need more air and maintain for 5 mins

Exercise #2: Diaphragmic Breathing

The goal of this is to improve diaphragm activation

1. Place your hands at either side of your lower ribs.
2. Breathe in silently and as you do feel your ribs expand OUTWARD
3. take fuller breaths but fewer, you shouldn't hear the breath

Exercise #3. Slow diaphragmic breathing while walking

In this exercise you'll tie both of the previous two together while walking

Place your hands-on your sides
feel the ribs moving outwards
slow down your breath, and reduce the # of breaths per min
breathe lighter for 5 mins

Exercise #4 breath hold while walking

This exercise will help to increase CP time

1. exhale through your nose
2. pinch your nose and hold your breath for 5 to 10 paces
3. stand still and breathe 10 breaths through your nose
4. repeat up to 10 times

FYI, these last 4 exercises are all from the book The Breathing Cure, by Patrick Mckeown

don't be a loser mouthbeather