Written by Joseph Scherger, MD, MPH. Medical Director, Restore Health Disease Reversal: 760-898-9663.
How healthy is your breathing? Most of us take breathing for granted. That is a mistake. Ancient science tells us that if you breathe well, you will have a long and healthy life. Breathe poorly and die sooner. Science writer James Nestor has compiled the science of breathing in his illuminating book, Breath (Riverhead Books, 2020).
Here are the hallmarks of breathing well:
- Breathe through your nose. Mouth breathing makes us the worst breathers in the animal kingdom. If you have trouble breathing through your nose, get that fixed. I love going among the oxygen-giving plants and taking a deep breath through the nose.
- Exhale fully and deeply. Get the stale air out of your lungs so you can breathe more fresh air in.
- Breathe slowly and less often. Spend 15 seconds on a breath cycle for four breaths a minute as an exercise. In medicine a typical breathing rate is 12-16 breaths a minute. That is much too fast and shallow. It is healthy to pause between breaths. Breath holding is a good exercise followed by good deep breathing.
- Fast breathing is part of vigorous exercise and that is healthy too as long as the breaths are deep.
- Chew to develop the jaw and open the airway. Unfortunately modern babies do not chew as much as we did as hunter-gatherers. Our jaws are often undeveloped, crowding the wisdom teeth. It is never too late to chew more and help develop the airway for breathing.
Put these simple techniques to work and enjoy better health through better breathing.
Restore Health Disease Reversal: 760-898-9663.
