The Benefits of Breathing
I know what you’re thinking. Breathing is necessary to live, obviously it’s a benefit. That’s not what this article is about. The benefits of breathing go beyond simply inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide.
Did you know you can train your breathing muscles?
Inspiratory muscle strength training (IMST) is an interesting way to expand your breathing capabilities. Studies show that IMST improves pulmonary function and inspiratory muscle strength. This means that your lungs and diaphragm can expand to their full capacities without you feeling strain. IMST has also been shown to help reduce dyspnoea: the shortness of breath that is caused by strenuous exercises, extreme temperatures, obesity, and higher altitudes. By implementing an IMST routine, you are essentially training your lungs to hold the right amount of air when you need it most.
How to Implement Inspiratory Muscle Strength Training
With its proven effectiveness, IMST has become common. There are devices that can help you or you can do it on your own. By using the device, you only need to train 5–10 minutes a day, in comparison to the 30 minutes you would need without one. Think of it as resistance training except for breathing. By taking on this training, you’re preparing yourself to breathe better during high intensity workouts.
One of the highest recommended devices is the POWERbreathe K3. This device allows you to choose the resistance for inhaling and the valve will not open unless you are able to produce enough pressure.
Breathing to Calm Down
Moving on from training, breathing has also proven to be effective on the parasympathetic nervous system. Sometimes you can become out of breath because of anxiety or panic attacks and there are countless breathing exercises to help your body and mind calm down. By breathing deeply, matching your inhalation time to exhalation, it signals your parasympathetic nervous system to calm down.
When it comes to anxiety and panic attacks, breathing can sometimes seem impossible. It’s always important to remember the proper techniques that will help you. Take a few minutes to breathe, in through your nose and out through your mouth. This will trigger your mind to help you calm down. If you’re alone in situations like this, contact someone who is aware of your panic attacks, and they will guide you through your breathing exercises.
The brain is the most powerful organ in the human body and scientists still don’t know the full extent of what it’s capable of. Difficulty breathing in connection with anxiety or panic attacks is just one example of how formidable our brains are.
Training Too Hard vs. Panic Attacks
It’s quite common to mistake breathing hard because of training and panic attacks. If you are someone who already has prior issues with anxiety, it’s even harder to distinguish between the two. First, if you’re starting to worry about it being a panic attack, you need to remind yourself that you are in the middle of training and a rapid heart rate is normal. Remember to breathe and you’ll be surprised how quickly you can get back to your training. Second, you can take a break to centre yourself. Don’t overwork your body or your mind!
Now, if you’re worried about getting these attacks when you work out, you need to remember that keeping a steady workout routine helps your body produce endorphins. Not only do endorphins reduce stress, but they also give you that happy feeling that is guaranteed to improve your mood.
Think of it like this: working out = more endorphins = less anxiety = better breathing
Everything up to this point is to show you how important it is to breathe. By integrating inspiratory muscle strength training, you decrease your chances of having difficulty breathing not only when you work out but if you experience panic attacks as well. This all ties in together because there are endless benefits of breathing; whether that is to find ways to breathe better during workouts or if it’s to control your breathing.
You need to always keep in mind that your body and mind is your own. Your experience will differ from the person next you and so on. You need to figure out what works best for you and implement that into your daily routine. If you decide to try using an IMST device or not, if you want to improve your control over breathing, that choice is up to you.
Never forget that the most important thing you can do to calm down is…just breathe.
Copyright © 2019 Andy Vincent PT
Created by DO Digital Marketing
1 thought on “The Benefits of Breathing”
Having been diagnosed with late onset asthma some twenty years ago, I was prescribed the usual inhalers. However I was introduced to Powerbreather by a colleague at our running club and since have used it as part of my warmup routine. This is a great article which goes a long way into describing the issues, well done.