We can survive 3 weeks without food…
3 days without water…
But only 3 minutes without breathing.
Similar to many of us missing the how-to parent handbook, for our body, find and many other critical life functions, we have never been taught HOW TO BREATHE.
The negatives of poor breathing
As a result, and over time, most of us are immensely inefficient with our breathing, leading us potentially to a long list of health conditions that keep us from living our best lives. The main one and the most dangerous to all of those in high pressure situations, such as farming, is brain fog. And this affects decision making.
Anxiety, stress, depression, asthma, hay fever, insomnia, sleep apnoea, restless legs, snoring, excess sweating, brain fog, mental fatigue and burnout are just some of the conditions we face when we breathe poorly.
I see so many farmers as business owners, men and women, struggling to sleep well and I’ve experienced this myself. Many farmers are fatigued and nearing burn out by the stress and pressure of this farming life we choose to live. I also see so many in our families and our communities challenged by hay fever, asthma and related respiratory conditions.
25-45% of the population over-breathe
The major issue with our western society is that we over breathe. In fact, we inhale far too much air through our mouth which is a very large hole, so our breathing is often out of control. And the body must process all that air.
What’s important here is the importance of carbon dioxide. Somewhere along the line carbon dioxide became the bad guy and misbranded as a waste gas and something we need to get rid of.
There is a strong link to our nervous system activity of the link between oxygen and carbon dioxide. In fact, carbon dioxide is a critical component of calming the nervous system. So those that meditate, what happens here is that the deep breathing and getting rid of all that air repeatedly, are releasing an important asset in transporting oxygen in the body – carbon dioxide.
Let’s break breathing down
The air that we breathe is loaded with oxygen. In through our lungs and into our blood stream. Effectively, the oxygen jumps into a car driven by hemoglobin which transports the oxygen to where it is needed. But the hemoglobin can’t release the oxygen unless carbon dioxide is present. The carbon dioxide is the key to unlocking the doors so the oxygen can jump out.
Hence, the more carbon dioxide you retain in your blood stream, the more oxygen you can make available to your cells, in the brain in particular. So, when you breathe well, you provide plentiful carbon dioxide for the oxygen to be delivered where it is needed at the time.
Three minutes of over breathing leads to a 60% decrease of blood supply and oxygenation to the brain. This is common to those that sit at a desk looking at emails or numbers, perhaps even while we’re doing your budget with you!! This results in what is called low level brain fog which no doubt we have all experienced.
What is good and poor breathing?
About 10 breaths per minute and below is good and 7 and below is even better. Gentle, regular pattern, slow, consistent and even. Perhaps even a little exhale at the end. Signs like yawning, sighing, throat clearing all indicate that your breathing is dysfunctional. Most poor breathers display 15 or more breaths per minute.
How do you know if you’re a poor breather? (Eg a Labrador)
- Breathe fast
- Breathe through your mouth
- Hear your breathing
- See your breathing – chest and neck movements
- Irregular breathing – coughing, sneezing
What are the signs of ideal breathing? (Eg a Cheetah)
- Slow breath
- Breathe through the nose
- Silent breathing
- Low (deep in the diaphragm)
- Gentle, even, rhythmical and unnoticeable
What about when we’re under pressure, stress, long and late hours like seeding and harvest? Once you over breathe you lose your vagal nerve stimulation (another story in itself!) which relaxes the body. The nervous system chooses to be in resting state or fight and flight. The latter is required for such a small portion of our day, like when we’re fighting a fire or something that gets the adrenaline pumping!
Unfortunately, now we end up in that state more regularly so our breathing becomes more irregular and shallow, releases carbon dioxide, and this then overstimulates the nervous system again so it’s a viscous cycle. This then has a major negative impact on sleep quality. With low levels of carbon dioxide in your blood stream you never cycle through the four phases of sleep, the most important being the final restorative phase so you end up feeling worse than when you went to sleep.
Don’t think, just do
Even high-performance athletes are focusing on breathing as part of their training for endurance and recovery in particular. Roger Federer whom no doubt we all love and respect as an amazing human being let alone his sporting prowess, is a pin up of good breathing.
Personally, I find focusing on this for 20-30 minutes in the morning and at night before bed can help improve getting to the ideal breathing. Morning is also a good time of day to do something for yourself. Nighttime is for improved sleep. We are coming up to that time of year when there will be time in vehicles or the office where you can practice your breathing…the ute, header, truck, car and the list goes on. I recommend you find what works for you, and I reckon it will help you to compose you for your day ahead.
Whatever it is you are doing, and wherever you are over these next few busy months, take the time to stop and think about your breathing, try slowing it down and using the 5 ideal tips earlier in this article.
And in the words of Wim Hoff…
“Breathe mother trucker, breathe”
