The Benefits of Functional Breathing

Because we’re breathing all of the time and it’s such an intrinsic function that we do unconsciously most of the time, most people don’t think about the idea that HOW they breathe could be somehow better.

• 75% of people who suffer from anxiety have dysfunctional breathing patterns.

It can be obvious when we feel out of breath during exercise and don’t realise that a breathing pattern disorder has symptoms that we maybe doing and think of as normal throughout the day such as:

Taking big breaths

Breathing too fast, 

Upper chest breathing during rest

Irregular breathing

Mouth breathing

Sighing and frequent yawning

Tingling hands & feet

Cold hands and feet

Waking up during the night to pee

When we see someone who is very stressed, they are often fast breathing with an open mouth.

• How we breathe effects every cell in our body. Dysfunctional breathing can affect any organ or system in our body producing symptoms such as:

General fatigue

Poor concentration

Impaired memory

Disturbed sleep

Cardiovascular health, 

Muscle pain & soreness, cramping, stiffness, 

Digestion, 

Heartburn, hiatus hernia, 

Flatulence, 

Bloating, abdominal discomfort

Dizziness, headaches, migraines, numbness in the hands and feet, hot flashes

Anxiety, tension, 

Panic attacks, phobias

Slow metabolism

Weight gain

Asthma, anxiety, panic attacks and stress all negatively influence our breathing patterns and feedback into a vicious feedback loop of insufficient breathing.

• Functional breathing is about the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide (and the presence of nitrix oxide)

Each cell needs 2 things – glucose and oxygen. 

Therefore when we correct the balance and restore functional breathing we can experience THE BENEFITS OF:

More energy – for everything! When oxygenation is optimal, your body can access the energy from the food you eat. And as you spend more time focusing on a breathing practice, you will notice you’re motivated to change other habits for healthier alternatives too. Change takes more energy than maintaining the status quo so if we want to move more yet we always feel too tired, unmotivated and weighed down with the stresses of the day, it feels even harder than it could.

Better focus and concentration – this is why mindfulness doesn’t work for people who need it the most as they are caught in a feedback loop because anxiety, panic attacks and stress all negatively influence our breathing patterns and feedback into a vicious feedback loop of insufficient dysfunctional breathing.

Better brain health & blood flow – 

Improved memory

Better fat burning abilities - 

A faster metabolism - 

Better posture – nasal diaphragmatic breathing generates intra-abdominal pressure that controls your posture and spinal stability. 

Better absorption of the nutrients in your food – our body only produces 50% of the digestive enzymes when we are over breathing as it signals (via the vagus nerve) that we are not safe and our nervous system is operating in ‘fight or flight mode’

Better Functional Movement – our body has more access to functional ranges of motion when it feels “safe” and operating in the ‘rest and digest’ parasympathetic branch of our nervous system. 

Better undisrupted deeper sleep - During the day we can consciously switch when we become aware of how we are breathing and depending on how demanding the task at hand is most people can nose breathe when they focus on it and are in a relaxed state. 

When we breathe in and out through the nose in a light diaphragmatic way we are able to calm the nervous system, soothe racing thoughts, and bring ourselves back into our body. This aids in our wind-down routine, transitioning from work mode to rest mode. Additionally, how we breathe while we sleep influences the quality of sleep we receive. We should all be nose breathing when we sleep, similarly to how we should be nose breathing throughout the day.

Sleep helps manage our energy expenditure system, sleeping for less than 7 hours have a higher risk of having or being diagnosed with diabetes. Sleep quality is inherently linked to glucose metabolism. After a poor nights sleep we crave more carbohydrates for quick energy fixes. It effects our appetite and cravings.

Reduced insomnia & snoring - A big benefit of functional breathing is deep, restful sleep. When we nasal breathe during the night we are at a far less chance of snoring and sleep apnea.

Good Pelvic floor health – your pelvic floor and diaphragm are directly connected. Your pelvic floor muscles and diaphragm contract and relax opposite each other to facilitate your breath. This means that, just by breathing, you can connect with — and gently move — your pelvic floor muscles. When you exhale, your pelvic floor returns to its resting state.

More calm & able to focus – change your breathing from fast and hard to slow and deep signals to the brain that you are safe. When we over breathe our amygdale shrinks resulting in poor decision making and anger. Our ‘rest and digest’ is only activated on the exhalation of the breath. The longer you can spend in the exhalation phase of the breath the more relaxed you’ll be. 

More resilient physically & mentally – Our resilience to the build up of Co2 in the body is a measure of our resilience to the stressors of life. 

Weight loss - When you lose weight, fat breaks down into carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and oxygen. The hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O₂) leave your body as water (H₂O) while you get rid of CO₂ via the lungs. In fact, 84% of every fat molecule leaves the body in exhaled air. This explains why exercise helps us to lose weight — because the more we move, the more we breathe.

The more you move, the more calories you will burn and when breathing is more efficient, you will quite simply enjoy exercise more. Your metabolism will work better. And you will be able to walk, run, cycle or move for longer before you gas out with jelly arms or legs and are exhausted.

Boost your metabolism - Your respiration is affected by your metabolism. Your respiratory exchange ratio– the ratio between the metabolic production of carbon dioxide (CO2) and the uptake of oxygen (O2)– tells us a lot about what is happening within your body from an energy production standpoint. Fat-burning and carb-burning have been shown to produce different concentrations of CO2 in your breath. 

The amount of CO2 you're exhaling tells us if you’re burning carbs or fat.  If the CO2 level is high, you're burning carbs, and if it's low, you're in a state of fat burn. 

(This is about the fuel being used, not fat loss)

This is why VO2 max tests and new devices such as the Lumen and Biosense measure your fat burn capacity and metabolic flexibility by measuring your CO2 concentration as an indicator of what is happening metabolically.

“Respiratory Quotient,” the Ratio of Carbon Dioxide Production to Oxygen Utilization, Can Be Used to Estimate Fat and Carbohydrate Utilisation

Improved Heart Rate Variability – the slower you breathe (6 breaths/minute ) the higher your HRV. Slow, deep breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system which decreases the heart rate and dilates blood vessels, reducing your overall blood pressure. As your breathing becomes slower, your brain associates it with a state of relaxation, which causes your body to slow down other functions like digestion.

Increased aerobic and anaerobic fitness that results in-

A stronger immune system.

Faster healing due to detoxification of metabolic waste.

Treatment for chronic fatigue and brain fog.

Increased red blood cell count.

Improved endurance performance and muscle recovery.

Increased oxygenated blood flow to the brain and other organs.

Slowing cognitive decline for patients with Alzheimer’s and other brain disorders.

Speedy recovery after respiratory infections.

Increase in formation of blood vessels.

Functional breathing allows you to breathe more easily and boost oxygen availability

Normal breathing chemistry involves the exchange of oxygen (O₂) and carbon dioxide (CO₂). In simple terms, you breathe in to get oxygen, which your body needs for energy. You breathe out to get rid of excess carbon dioxide and bring fresh oxygen into the lungs. 

Inhalation is triggered as the brain responds to rising levels of CO₂, which means that, if you are very sensitive to CO₂, you will need to breathe sooner, harder and faster.

This also means that when you are LESS SENSITIVE to the build up of CO₂. you can reliably boost oxygenation, breathing efficiency and athletic performance by reducing your body’s response and sensitivity to CO₂. Your breathing will be calm, light & diaphragmatic during both rest and sleep. 

CO₂ determines the bioavailability of oxygen to the tissues and cells. Co2 is not always a waste gas, it facilitates the release of oxygen to the cells. Oxygen is carried around the body in the hemoglobin in red blood cells.

When we practice a breath hold CO₂ gradually builds up in the blood and with practice you then become less sensitive to the CO₂  allowing you to tolerate the presence of more of it which then ”supercharges your health.”

One of the ways you can do this is by “breathing less’ and practicing breath holding exercises. The Oxygen Advantage® breath holding exercises disrupt blood gases to create hypoxia and hypercapnia. This causes physical adaptations that improve performance and make breathing easier.

The Benefits of Breath Holding

You can use breath holds to:

• Delay the onset of fatigue and lactic acid, so you can exercise for longer and recover faster

• Improve repeated sprint ability for team sports such as rugby and football/soccer

• Improve respiratory muscle strength — this has many benefits including greater breathing efficiency, increased endurance, and even better sexual function and pelvic floor health

• Improve aerobic capacity

• Increase production of EPO (erythropoietin) safely and legally

• Improve running economy and running time

• Improve swimming performance

• Reduce oxidative stress, effectively slowing your aging process

Why nose breathing:

Conclusion:

In conclusion,