Deep breathing is a bad idea

The Buteyko Breathing Method is designed to improve health (and athletic performance) by practicing reduced breathing, that is learning to reduce the volume of air that we inhale and exhale with each breath. 

Conventional wisdom commonly says “when you need to relax, take a deep breath”. That deep breath however, is physiologically inappropriate, and creates many unhealthy side affects. 

Deep breathing leads to chronic hyperventilation which negatively affects the cardiovascular, neuromuscular, digestive, and the immune systems, as well increasing the incident of respiratory and psychological disorders. 

Chronic hyperventilation can account for most health problems in the U.S. 14 common symptoms are responsible for over 50% of all primary care visits to physicians. Of those visits, only about 10% can be attributed to an identifiable illness. Abdominal pain, chest pain, headache, and back pain are commonly found to be medically unexplained, yet each of these symptoms is very commonly associated with chronic hyperventilation.

Why is this problem so widespread? The answer partially lies in our modern environment as described in this video.

The purpose of breathing is to maintain an internal balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide (CO2). The balance of oxygen and CO2 determines our body pH levels. CO2 is a byproduct of aerobic metabolism. The more vigorously we move, the more CO2 we create and the more acidic our body becomes. 

Stress activates our fight or flight mechanism which prepares us to act - to fight or run away. We begin over-breathing, making our body slightly alkaline, in preparation for an upcoming surge of acidity once we move. 

If we do not physically act, but instead take a deep breath or sigh, we blow off most of our CO2. The  result is respiratory alkalosis or hyperventilation. By continually entering this state we reset  our normal pH balance, making overbreathig the natural state of affairs

People often think of hyperventilation as being a state of anxiety In reality, anxiety is a byproduct of overbreathing. As Dr. Buteyko describes in this video, increased overbreathing (therefore increased anxiety) revert us back to relying on a more primitive portion of our brain (the one reflexively wired for survival). In other words, along with the many health risks overbreathing also affects our ability to learn.

The primary test to know if you are a chronic hyperventilator is to test your Control Pause (see video). An explanation of your results can be found here.