You’re Just a Breath Away From Changing How Your Body Functions

Photo by Oleksandr P: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-closing-her-eyes-against-sun-light-standing-near-purple-petaled-flower-plant-321576/

There’s lots of things you can do to change your physical and mental state to become more alert when you need to be, or more calm and relaxed if that’s what you’re after, but few things that can change your state are as simple and convenient as controlling your breathing.

Our bodies are “hard-wired” to react to our breathing, and this makes it possible to quickly modify your state simply by paying attention to, and controlling, your inhalation relative to your exhalation.

When you inhale deeply, the diaphragm moves down to open up more space in the thoracic cavity where your heart and lungs are housed. This results in a decrease in pressure around those organs, and this results in the heart expanding slightly.

As the heart expands, pressure within it falls. A sensor within the heart sends a message to the brain about the change in pressure, and the brain sends back a signal to increase the rate of the heart beat to compensate for it.

The increased heart rate in turn raises your overall blood pressure and circulation, including to the brain, and this results in increased alertness.

To take advantage of this effect “on demand,” simply inhale for longer or more forcefully than you exhale on each breath.

But what if you’re stressed and need to calm down?

Well, not too surprisingly, the opposite occurs when you do the opposite.

As you exhale, the diaphragm moves up, reducing space in the thoracic cavity, pressure in the heart increases, which again the brain is made aware of. In response the brain sends a signal to lower the heart rate, and this brings about a sense of increased calm.

So, if you wish to calm yourself, exhale for longer or more forcefully than you inhale.

That’s all well and good, and this is why “diaphragmatic breathing” is so often encouraged for health, but there’s a piece of the puzzle that’s been largely overlooked and has only recently had any real interest in the scientific community.

That puzzle piece is nasal breathing versus mouth breathing.

This is actually a pretty complex subject unto itself, so for the purpose of this article, I want to focus in on just the effects of breathing through your nose versus your mouth on the movement of the diaphragm.

As just discussed, it’s movement of the diaphragm that sets the processes in motion that result in increased alertness with greater inhalation and the calming effect of greater exhalation.

Nasal breathing actually stimulates greater diaphragmatic breathing than mouth breathing in most cases, so (at least in theory, as formal research in this area is very limited at present) breathing through your nose will likely give you greater effects from your conscious breathing control over your alertness/calmness.

Nasal breathing also results in slower movement of air through the lungs, resulting in improved oxygen uptake as compared to mouth breathing – up to 20% more! Improved oxygenation results in both reduced stress in the body’s tissues and improved mental function.

Of course, there are some things that can interfere with nasal breathing. Sinus congestion is a common issue, and in cases where the individual started mouth breathing at an early age, there may be actual permanent changes to the formation of the jaw such that the airway is somewhat obstructed by the tongue.

Some of the impediments to nasal breathing can be corrected and some can’t but there’s a certain habitual aspect to nose breathing versus mouth breathing and it can be worthwhile to at least try to modify one’s habits in favor of nasal breathing. Besides just trying to be aware of how you’re breathing, one simple trick is mouth taping, which involves placing tape on your mouth to hold it closed to force you to breathe through your nose – the special hypoallergenic tape strips designed for this purpose are recommended as opposed to something like duct tape!

To sum things up, if you want improved alertness and mental focus, increase your emphasis on inhalation – making it longer or more forceful than your exhalation. If you want to calm yourself and relax, do the opposite – making your exhalation longer or more vigorous than your inhalation. And for both, and for health in general, focus on nasal breathing as much as you can.

Until next time…

George F. Best, D.C.