3 Keys to Health: Breath
In the last post, I wrote that movement keeps us biologically young and healthy.
It is true, but it's useless if you don't know how to breathe. I don't mean breathing somehow. I mean breathing efficiently, like nature intended.
LUNG AND LONGEVITY
A Framingham Study conducted over two decades on 5,200 subjects showed that the smaller and less efficient lungs became, the quicker subjects got sick and died. Their lung capacity was a far better predictor of life span than genetics, diet, or the amount of daily exercise.
BREATHING YOUR WAY TO DISEASE
You can breathe yourself to hypertension and even osteoporosis. All that being very fit and physically active.
Sounds rubbish? Overbreathing (taking in more air than necessary) leads to a drastic carbon dioxide drop in the body. That causes blood pH to rise and become more alkaline. Your body always seeks balance (homeostasis). In this case, the balance between alkaline and acidic. It's done by the kidneys that release an alkaline substance into the urine which, unfortunately, flushes away all the minerals, too. The bones release some of these minerals back into the bloodstream as a quick fix. But that makes the bones more fragile.
Also, sleep apnea (that moment at night when you choke on your tongue and stop breathing for a few seconds) can wreak havoc in your body. Hypertension, metabolic and neurological issues are common for those who unconsciously stop breathing at night.
… AND BREATHING YOUR WAY BACK TO HEALTH
How can you prevent that? By breathing through the nose only. James Nestor describes in his book a study he participated in, involving plugging his nose for just 10 days. During this time, he was snoring much of the night and had up to 25 sleep apnea episodes per night. Once the nose plugs were removed, the sleep apnea dropped to zero and the snoring stopped, too.
Allergies, sinus issues, bronchitis, asthma, and sleep apnea can all be reversed if you return to breathing how your body was designed to. If you breathe through the nose and use at least 50% of the diaphragm's capacity. And if you don't over-breathe. That is, don't take too much air in. It's THAT simple.
BREATH AND STRESS
Respiratory, circulation, and nervous systems are very closely connected. If you breathe quickly, sharply, and loudly, you're likely turning on your fight and flight response. 24/7. You don’t even need to experience stressful events per se to trigger the stress response. A list of ailments connected with the chronic stress response is so long I'd have to continue for the next few pages. Just as an example, a chronic restriction in blood flow caused by stress is a cause of 8 out of 10 most-common cancers.
If you leave things as they are, your lung capacity will decline with age.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Good news? Internal organs are malleable. You can change how you breathe. It will change your lung capacity and your entire physiology, including the functioning of your autonomic nervous system.
You can do it at any age. You can retrain your diaphragm and re-engage it in the process of breathing. You can teach yourself to breathe through the nose day AND night.
In fact, the effect on the heart rhythm and your nervous system is immediate. A few slower exhales, and you're back to the rest-and-restore mode.
Want to feel some of those effects for yourself?
Watch my video to experience instant shift. Or this one, to start building healthy breathing habits.