For most people, breathing is done without much thought to technique or strategy. However, a study published in Nature Communications found that1 Trying to learn a new idea might make you think about how you breathe. People looking for clues about their mood and stress levels might study how they breathe, since breathing is intricately connected to the entire body.
When people are feeling anxious or stressed, it's almost instinctual to say, „Take a deep breath.“ But deep breathing or belly breathing can actually do more harm than good. Fortunately, breathing, unlike many other involuntary bodily functions, operates automatically but is capable of voluntary modification.
For example, you can adjust the rate and depth of your breathing, and choose whether to breathe through your mouth or nose. Such decisions can result in physical and cognitive changes, for better or worse. Also, many people don't realize that dysfunctional breathing habits are often the result of psychological trauma.
When you feel stressed, your breathing patterns and rate naturally change, but it's important to be aware of how these triggers change your breathing habits and what you can do to resolve them. . Researchers have found that the way you breathe can even affect how you remember facts.2
Breathing techniques may affect memory
In the Nature Communications study, researchers controlled the activation of the brain's main inspiratory generator, the PreBötzinger complex (PreBötC). The PreBötzinger complex (PreBötC) is a small cluster of cells within the medulla oblongata.3 Although it is known that this is the brain's respiratory control center, the details of its neurological control remain unknown.
The study involved genetically modified mice to assess how breathing affects the formation of important memories during object recognition and fear conditioning tests. Optogenetic manipulation, a method of using light to control neuron activity in genetically modified mice, was used to control breathing.
The researchers induced apnea in the mice when they were encoding new information, preventing them from detecting new objects. When breathing stops, areas of the hippocampus, which are important for memory storage, are affected. When the researchers forced irregular breathing patterns, memory improved, but when breathing slowed, memory recall worsened.
The same team published a study in 2018Four The results revealed that people were less accurate in recalling information when they transitioned from exhalation to inspiration at the beginning or middle of a memory task. The researchers then used human participants and brain scans to link memory decline to dysfunction in the brain's temporoparietal junction, which is responsible for information processing.Five
The next step was a high-profile animal study in which researchers suggested that breathing techniques not only lower stress levels but may also serve as therapeutics. Nozomu Nakamura, a member of the research team and a neuroscientist at Hyogo University of Medicine in Japan, commented:6
„Breathing is a fundamental action in mammals' life support. Although the details of respiratory function in relation to brain states are unknown, recent research suggests that breathing may play an important role in online brain states. It is suggested.”
Determining the detailed role of respiration and molecular mechanisms in the brain is a challenge for future research to understand the effects of stress tolerance. The application of respiratory manipulation methods and breathing exercises will be of vital importance for the treatment and treatment of depression and neuropsychiatric disorders. ”
However, the problem with most breathing exercises and techniques is that they do not address the habits that cause respiratory dysfunction. Your body knows how to breathe, but problems can occur if you unconsciously override your learned breathing habits and throw the system out of whack.
Hyperventilation is a common cause of memory loss and brain fog
Cognitive changes such as attention deficit, learning difficulties, memory decline, and brain fog are common symptoms, so it's no surprise that research shows that the way you breathe can affect your memory. low CO2 — also called hypocapnia — is caused by hyperventilation. But the way you breathe doesn't just affect the way you think. Conversely, the way you think can affect the way you breathe.
Inside me Conversation with Peter LitchfieldA respiratory expert with a deep understanding of respiratory physiology and its impact on health, Dr.2 Levels are adjusted by automatic reflection.7
There are CO-sensitive receptors in the brain and arterial system.2 Concentration and pH of various extracellular fluids such as plasma and interstitial fluid (pericellular). There are receptor sites in the arterial system that are sensitive to oxygen levels, but surprisingly not in the brain.
This system is not designed to be thrown out just because you feel stressed. If you don't develop bad breathing habits, your breathing will be optimal in most situations, including during a conversation. However, hyperventilation is breathing that causes CO.2 Deficiency can cause a variety of physical and psychological changes, including:
- blood loss in the brain
- loss of oxygen
- glucose loss
- Electrolyte changes in the brain that prepare for lactic acidosis in neurons
These brain changes, in turn, tend to cause disinhibition, in which emotions (often anger and fear) are released. This emotional release is helpful by allowing us to cope with difficult situations and circumstances. In this way, hyperventilation is reinforced because it acts as a „solution“ to the perceived problem. Many people then begin to use hyperventilation as a coping mechanism.
Litchfield says, quite simply, that you can't form a habit unless it benefits you or your physiology in some way. That's why it's so important to develop a partnership with your body and explore your habits and how and why you learned them in the first place. Fortunately, such patterns can be reversed by implementing respiratory behavior analysis learning techniques.
Bad breathing habits are the biggest reason for low carbon dioxide levels2
The biggest reason for hypocapnia is poor breathing habits in response to habitual triggers such as stress. This is why learning specific breathing techniques is not a long-term solution because it does not address the habit or habit trigger. To solve this problem, you need to understand why your breathing becomes irregular and how you can develop new habits.CO reduction in addition to cognitive changes2 The following consequences of hyperventilation can occur:8
headache |
nausea and vomiting |
Abdominal symptoms and bloating |
Malaise |
Muscle pain and weakness, tetany, hyperreflexia, spasms, tingling in the hands and lips, numbness, tremors, difficulty swallowing |
Cardiovascular changes such as palpitations, tachycardia, arrhythmias, angina, and electrocardiogram abnormalities |
Symptoms related to consciousness (dissociation, disconnection from the environment, disconnection from people, fainting, hallucinations, etc.) |
Emotional changes due to decreased blood flow in the brain |
Changes in personality and self-esteem |
CO can be measured accurately, but2 The concentration is measured using a tool called a capnometer. This is a good test to find out if your symptoms are due to carbon dioxide.2 Scarcity is breathing into a paper bag. Once the symptoms go away, you know that hypocapnia, or hyperventilation, is the problem.
Never use plastic bags as they may cause suffocation. Be sure to use a paper bag that is approximately 6 inches by 15 inches. If it's too small or too large, it won't work. Place a paper bag over your nose and mouth and hold it with your hand while breathing in. C.O.2 CO builds up inside the bag and increases CO.2 level when inhaling.
However, getting to the root of the problem usually requires breathing behavior analysis learning techniques. Litchfield explains:9
„We're having a conversation about the person's physiology, and they're seeing what's going on when the person is behaving that way. So we explore that together. And we do all kinds of tests together depending on the person.'' What is the person and what is the problem?
A good example would be to intentionally make your child hyperventilate. Now, this is not as simple as it seems. You have to do it the right way. There's really a right way to do it, and there's a wrong way to do it. Someone is intentionally hyperventilating. What happens when you do that is they start having symptoms, they start having deficits, and they become present and focused on their experience.
they aren't talking. I'm the one talking. I'm asking them questions to think of answers, not to interact with me, just to think of answers to questions.
Ask questions like, „Are you feeling any emotions right now?“ Is there anything you remember now? Does this remind you of anything in your current life situation? Does this remind you of something that happened in the past?
And there is a lot of information before doing this. I have this form. So they're not just random questions. That's really specific. They are about the person and their life and what we discovered together. And what often happens is that you get trapped. they can't get out. They breathe like that and CO2 No matter what I do, I can't level up. And this is what happens in real life situations when they get trapped…
When I work with them, I practice a kind of experiential paradigm that allows them to increase their CO.2 level. They are surprised when the symptoms disappear. ”
Easy way to increase CO2 level
Mouth breathing also lowers CO, although it's important to be aware of poor breathing habits that can unknowingly compromise your health.2 levels decrease, negatively impacting oxygen utilization at the cellular level. breathe through the nose Helps maintain health even during exercise.
Although it may be tempting to breathe through your mouth during exercise, avoid that tendency. Limit your exercise to just breathing through your nose most of the time.
This is temporary as the body adapts to the slight increase in CO.2 As you increase your level, you will find that you can still breathe through your nose even at higher exercise levels. The following steps will help you breathe lighter and your nose hairs will hardly move.
This type of light breathing can help you enter and maintain a calm meditative state while lowering your blood pressure and relieving nasal congestion, making it easier to breathe. You may feel a slight lack of air at first, but this is tolerable. If you feel uncomfortable, take a 15 second break before continuing.
- Place one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach. While your chest remains still, feel your abdomen move in and out slightly with each breath.
- Close your mouth and breathe in and out through your nose. Focus on the cold air coming in through your nose and the slightly warmer air coming out as you exhale.
- Slowly reduce the volume of each breath until it feels like you are barely breathing (you will notice that your breathing is very quiet at this point). The important thing here is to starve yourself of some air. This simply means that a small amount of carbon dioxide builds up in your blood, sending a signal to your brain to breathe.
After 3 to 4 minutes of air starvation, you will begin to experience the beneficial effects of carbon dioxide.2 Accumulation such as increased body temperature and increased saliva production. The first is a sign that blood circulation has improved, and the second is a sign that the parasympathetic nervous system, which is important for stress reduction, has been activated.