Originally Posted by magiciansampras
Hey richard, maybe you can help me with this breathing question.
I've noticed that recently I've had trouble getting a "satisfying deep breath." That is, I take a deep breath and I may or may not get a full, satisfied feeling. I'd say this happens maybe once in three deep breaths.
The other thing is that, again recently, I've been catching myself taking more deep breaths. Whether this is psycho-somatic and I'm doing this to test whether or not I can get a satisfying breath or not, I don't know.
But, do you think it could be related to the long running? Maybe some kind of exercise induced asthma or something? You're the resident OMNI breathing expert
.
No this isn't psychosomatic. Do you ever get chest tightness? And why the need to get "satisfying deep breaths" anyway?
The more you breath deeply, the less well your tissues oxygenate. As you breath deeply more often, you will feel less satisfied and feel the need for more air.
Our bodies have a "capnostat" that sets the desired CO2 levels in our
arterial blood. Buteyko's primary discovery is that many of us have this
set to have CO2 levels that are too low. We breath much too much oxygen.
CO2 is not a waste product but a precious compound used by every cell in
the body. If we overbreath, or chronically hyperventilate, the CO2
levels are too low and we actually don't do nearly as well.
Some of us respond by snoring, sleep apnea, asthma, hay fever, panic
attacks, anxiety. Buteyko believed that snoring and asthma are
mechanisms that our bodies use to *restrict* our air intake in an effort
to raise CO2 levels that are too low.
You can tell someone who chronically hyperventilates because they will
almost always be nose breathers. And they will be breathing fast and
often noisily, with or without wheezing.
The solution...I would recommend you start nose breathing even when you run. It may slow you down at first but after awhile you'll be up to your present levels, but it is far healthier. Nose breathing makes hyperventilation very difficult.