It’s hard to believe that something we do from the second we come out of the womb to our deaths is so frequently overlooked. Very few know the nuances of breathing. For example, breathing slow actually gets more air into the body than breathing fast! Why? More time to allow for oxygen transport and carbon dioxide to be eliminated. Athletes have just recently been taking advantage of this.
Here is something to ponder, breathing through your nose is much more efficient, healthy and is related to curing many disease states including obesity.
With that in mind, here are a few other interesting facts about breathing.
- The average person breathes 17 times a minute. That equates to almost 25,000 breathes a day! On the contrary, athletes breathe on average 5 to 6 times a minute. That means they breathe only around 8500 times a day. Considerably more efficient! The diaphragm is one of the most used muscles in the body, next to the eyes and heart. Treat it with care
- Depending on the situation, you breathe more through one nostril! The right nostril is tied more to the Sympathetic Nervous System and dominate in situations where the fight or flight response is necessary. Also, in the morning when waking up! The left nostril is related to the Parasympathetic Nervous System, which controls the rest and recovery response and therefore is more dominate when you are winding down or going to sleep.
- Want to think big? Alveoli, where O2 – CO2 transition occurs, covering a surface measuring more than 1,076.4 square feet or about 100 square meters. Equivalent to half a tennis court! The next time you breathe in think about all the places that breath must go!
- Think about this… a blue whales’ lungs in total have a combined capacity of over 1,300 gallons of air! That’s a big breath!
- Laughing matters! Normal inhalation fills just 25% (tidal volume) of the total lung capacity. The remaining 75% (residual volume held in the lower 2/3’s of our lungs) remains filled with old stale air. Respiration becomes even shallower when compounded by stress.
- Laughter helps to provide longer exhalations, thus ridding the lungs of residual air and enriching the blood with ample supplies of oxygen! It is the only time everyone uses the diaphragm efficiently. Have you ever laughed so hard that your stomach hurt? Case in point.
Once we pay attention to breathing, our lives can be enhanced beyond what you can imagine! From health to athletic performance, you will be giving your body every chance to be all it can be!
Stay healthy!
Reprinted with permission from author.
Mike Rickett MS, CSCS*D, CSPS*D, RCPT*E is a nationally recognized health and fitness trainer of the trainers, fitness motivator, author, certifier, educator, and the 2017 NSCA Personal Trainer of the Year. He has been a fitness trainer for more than 35 years. With Cheri Lamperes, he co-directs BetterHealthBreathing.com, a conscious breathing educational program focusing on the diaphragmatic technique to enhance overall wellness. In addition, he also directs the personal training site ApplicationInMotion.com.
