The Oxygen And Carbon Dioxide Paradox
There’s a direct relationship between how much and how quickly we breathe, and the state of our nervous system and thus our physiological and mental health. We assume our body reflexively knows how much air it needs at all times, but seems like that is not the case. Our bodies have adapted to our modern lifestyles, which often involve chronic stress, sedentary habits, unhealthy diets, overheated homes, and lack of fitness. All of that has led to a culture of dysfunctional over-breathing, for some people up to 2 and 3 times the required amount. We breathe too much, too fast and often through the wrong hole. (An incredible book to read is Breath by James Nestor, a journalist who travelled the world to explore what went wrong with our breathing and how to fix it.) Studies that have explored breathing patterns have shown that most people breathe anywhere between 15-30 breaths per minute. These numbers probably don’t mean much until you know that the healthiest and most efficient way of breathing is only 5.5 breath cycles per minute. You can easily measure your own respiration rate if you’d like. Just set a timer for one minute and count the number of breath cycles. One breath cycle...