This post was inspired by the book Breath by James Nestor.

Correct breathing influences the body’s biochemistry, body mass and overall health. Conscious deep breathing allows us to reach our nervous system, thus to control immune response and restore health. How we breathe effects the size and function of our lungs. Improving our breathing directly affects the body and does help us live better and longer.

Mouth breathing

Humans normally breathe through the nose. But there are situations that force us to breathe through the mouth, such as a blocked nose due to a cold. There are many other reasons for nose blockage, but we’re just mentioning the most common one.

Mouth breathing causes snoring, apnea, low saturation and higher water loss – 40 % more than through nose. It physically changes the body, transforms the airways for the worse. Inhaling through the mouth causes the soft tissues in the back of the mouth to become loose and flex inward, creating less space and making breathing more difficult. Mouth breathing thus needs even more mouth breathing.

During deep sleep, pituitary gland secretes hormones that control the release of adrenaline, endorphins, growth hormone and vasopressin. The latter communicates with cells to store more water. This is the reason animals can sleep for longer periods through the night without feeling thirsty or having to urinate. If the body has inadequate time in deep sleep, like in the case of apnea, vasopressin isn’t secreted enough. Kidneys release water, which triggers urination and the need for more liquid. Snoring and apnea cause diabetes, high blood pressure and more. The reasons all explained in the paragraph right below.

Obstructive sleep apnea is a repeating partial or complete obstruction of the upper airway during sleep, which leads to cycles of hypoxemia and decreasing intrathoracic pressure. These repeating actions lead to various pathophysiological conditions, such as hypoxia, sleep restriction and fragmentation, resulting in sympathetic neural activation, systemic inflammation, oxidative stress and changes in hormonal systems.

Changes in hormonal systems include, among other factors, activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary-adrenal axis, leading to fat accumulation and obesity.

Repeating hypoxia causes insulin resistance. Further, diabetes affects central respiratory control and thus promotes apnea. Sleep‐disordered breathing and type 2 diabetes are associated, independent of aging and obesity.

Nose breathing – the proper airway

Inhaling through the nose clears the air, heats and moistens it for easier absorption. Nose breathing triggers different hormones that lower blood pressure, ease digestion, respond to stages of menstrual cycle, regulate heart rate, open the capillaries and enable storing memories.

Soft tissues in the nostril open and close throughout the day in their own rhythm, synced to the body’s activity and biorhythm, called nasal cycles. They switch about every 4 hours. The interior of the nose is covered with erectile tissue, it can engorge with blood, thus it seems to be influenced also by sexual urges. This tissue enables the nostril cycles and it becomes inflamed during illness or other states of imbalance.

Breathe “with your belly”

Breathing is powered by diaphragm. It lifts during exhalation, shrinking the lungs and drops during inhalation. An adult engages as little as 10 % of the range of diaphragm breathing, which overburdens the heart, elevates blood pressure and causes circulatory problems. Extending breaths to 50 or 70 % of diaphragm’s capacity eases cardiovascular stress and the body works more efficiently. It affects the rate and strength of the heartbeat.

Biochemistry of breathing

Inhaling through the nose enables the sinuses to release larger amounts of nitric oxide (NO), a molecule that is an important part of increasing circulation and delivering oxygen to cells. Nasal breathing increases the flow of nitric oxide 6 times more than mouth, thus the body can absorb about 20 % more oxygen. Nitric oxide functions as a local regulator and neurotransmitter in the endothelium of blood vessels. When the level of oxygen in the blood falls, endothelial cells in blood vessel walls synthesize and release NO. In the surrounding smooth muscles it activates an enzyme that relaxes the muscle cells. The result is vasodilation, which increases blood flow to tissues. Immune function, weight, circulation, mood and sexual function are all influenced by the amount of NO in the bloodstream.

Mussels that are more active, produce more CO₂, which attracts more O₂ – supply on demand on molecular level. CO₂ has a dilating effect on the blood vessels, opening to carry more O₂ to cells. Lowering the breath rate lowers the heart rate, raising CO₂ levels, enabling metabolism to use O₂ more efficiently.

From what we’ve seen so far, it’s clear that deep conscious low frequency breathing has a profound effect on the body. By breathing more efficiently, we expel more CO₂, thus blood pH rises to become more alkaline, which is a normal and optimal state of the body. Almost all cellular functions take place at blood pH above 7, about 7,5 is optimal. The body always gravitates towards making the body alkaline.

With shallow breathing more CO₂ is held in the hemoglobin, pH lowers, blood becomes more acidic. The kidneys respond to this acidity by buffering, releasing bicarbonate into the blood. With more bicarbonate in the blood, pH rises. Bicarbonate is then removed with urine. Buffering is a temporary action. If the pH is constantly too low, kidneys release too much bicarbonate into the blood to alkalise it, taking minerals Mg, P and K with it. Consequently, the lack of minerals causes nerve malfunctions, muscle spasms, weakening bones and cells unable to efficiently create energy. Thus breathing becomes even more difficult. With this information we can conclude that it is possible to shallow breathe the body into osteoporosis.

Cells buffer too. When there’s a decrease in oxygen, cells produce ATP anaerobically. This process creates more acidic environment in which O₂ can disassociate from haemoglobin easier. The damage from shallow breathing comes from the constant energy the body has to expend running more cells anaerobically and to constantly buffer the blood pH.

Body energy

Body makes energy from air and food. With oxygen – aerobic respiration, without it – anaerobic respiration.

Anaerobic energy is generated only with glucose, it’s more quick and easy for our bodies to access. It’s a kind of turbo boost and backup system when the body doesn’t have enough oxygen. Anaerobic energy is not as efficient and it creates an excess of lactic acid. This process explains why the first few minutes of a more intense workout are often harder. Lungs and respiratory system must catch up to the supply of oxygen the body needs and it has to use anaerobic respiration. This also explains why that exercise later on becomes easier, as the metabolism implements aerobic respiration. Body is built with fewer anaerobic muscle fibers, because these are only useful for fast responses, but not for long term usage. When cells run aerobically, 16 times more energy efficiency is gained over anaerobic.

Wim Hof method

By creating controlled stress through breathing and/or cold exposure, we control the release and usage of stress hormones. This is much different than the stress we can’t control, one that comes from external situations. It’s something we’re doing ourselves, not something happening to us. By creating controlled stress, we can consequently much easier cope with the uncontrolled, external stress. This practice induces a positive stress response. That means that the body goes into “fight-or-flight” mode, releasing adrenaline and increasing focus. The breathing exercises also induce temporary blood alkalosis and increase pain threshold. By controlling the breathing and with it O₂ and CO₂ levels, we control the stress that the body would otherwise be getting in when such conditions came from the outside. Because when in stress, the body reacts with quick shallow breathing, increasing the CO₂ levels, taking the body and brain into panic or flee mode.

WHM practitioners’ bodies get well adapted to unusual levels of O₂ and CO₂. Chemoreceptors are well adapted to binding and taking in more molecules and regulating their blood levels quicker.

The breathing exercises have many effects, both mental and physiological. With the WHM breathing exercises, body consumes a lot of oxygen in a short time. This allows the cells to produce more ATP. Since oxygen plays a vital role in generating energy in the body, these breathing exercises lead to higher energy levels overall.

Technique

With various breathing techniques we affect the autonomous nervous system. Among first being the vagus nerve. At high stress, the vagus nerve slows the heart rate, circulation and organ functions. It’s the ability to “play dead” as seen with reptiles and mammals. In people it is expressed as fainting.

Inducing controlled stress stimulates the vagus nerve and enables us to keep in touch with our bodies and our mind, to be able to control stress even when outside of our control. We are not the passengers in our bodies, we are the pilots. As mentioned in the paragraph above.

WHM practice of breathing and regular cold exposure releases stress hormones: adrenaline, cortisol and norepinephrine on command. The burst of adrenaline gives energy and releases immune cells that heal wounds, fight pathogens and infections. Higher level of cortisol helps downgrade short-term inflammatory immune responses. Norepinephrine redirects blood flow from skin, stomach and reproductive organs to muscles and brain. This heats the body, opens brain’s pharmacy, flooding the bloodstream with self-produced opioids, dopamine and serotonin. All with several 10 breaths.

Evolution

Breathing functionally-wise people are to human species what pugs are to Canis species with their breathing diffculties. Through evolution our faces and breathing ways shrunk. In first part is has to do with the change of lifestyle – populations no longer moved, meaning less walking and running, so no need for larger lungs, noses and sinuses. In second part it’s the industrialised food. Less chewing shrunk the mouths. Resulting in narrow faces and crooked teeth.

Shallow breathing also affects our posture. In small mouths, tongue falls back into the throat, creating a mild suffocation. In sleeping it causes apnea, in awake state such individuals attempt to open the obstructed airways by slopping shoulders, craning necks forward and tilting head up. It’s an adapted CPR posture, but all the time in awake state. It also reflects on the spine, instead of it being J shape, it is S shaped. Bodies function poorly with such posture. Weight of the sloping head stresses the back muscles, leading to back pain, kink in neck adds pressure to the brain stem, triggering headaches and other neurological problems. Tilted angle of the face stretches the skin down, thins upper lip, pulls the flesh down on the nasal bone, this is called cranial dystrophy. Something one can be born with or can cause it with wrong breathing. Also something that can be significantly improved by proper breathing.

Lessons and information to take from this article:

• shut your mouth, literally, breathe through the nose or learn to
• learn a breathing technique that suits you, there are plenty to choose from. Try and see. Here we only mentioned the WHM technique, but if this one doesn’t suit you, there are many more. If you have the option, measure your saturation and urine pH levels before, after and some hours after the breathing, so you can see the actual results.
• Try mewing, a tongue technique that widens the air way, even the sinuses, substantially.

Sources:

• Nestor J. Breath. 2002
• The journey of the iceman, Wim Hof’s secrets to defying science
• Muraki I., Wada H., Tanigawa T. Sleep apnea and type 2 diabetes. 2018
• Campbell Biology

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