There is something we can say we have done and will do every day of our lives: breathe.
Furthermore, we can be certain that we do it well enough;
If this were not the case, we would die (or we would need mechanical ventilation to avoid doing so).
However, a quick search on the Internet immediately yields results that suggest that, also in breathing, there is room for improvement.
There are techniques, there are exercises.
Keeping ourselves alive is just the foundation;
breathing better can be used for many other things.
Before moving on to these techniques and the possible benefits of including breathing exercises in our routine, let's start at the beginning: could a healthy person, without any respiratory disorders, breathe better than they do now?
“In many cases it is very likely that yes,” says Miguel Soro, member of the Board of Directors of the Spanish Association of Physiotherapists (AFI).
“Since we were children we have been given advice on a wide variety of aspects related to health.
As for breathing, we have always been insisted that the correct way to do it is to take air through the nose and release it through the mouth, but, apart from that, it is not very common that they teach us the correct way to breathe," he indicates. he.
The expert explains that the diaphragm, the main respiratory muscle, which contracts and relaxes to allow air to enter and exit the lungs, is in many cases underused, which “influences our ventilatory mechanics and our lung capacity, in other aspects".
Still, even with an underused diaphragm, most people will not notice that they need to work on improving their breathing.
This shallow breathing is almost always sufficient, says Gerard Muñoz Castro, researcher and respiratory physiotherapist, member of the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR).
However, when it is necessary to use the respiratory muscles to make an effort, “it is important to have an adequate respiratory pattern”, something that can be trained.
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The healing power of breathing
The first direct benefit of improved breathing, indicates Soro, is that it is made “deeper and more efficient”, which “helps oxygenate the body in a more adequate way and makes these muscles stronger and function correctly.” ”.
This is especially applicable to people with chronic respiratory pathologies, however, since, as Gerard Muñoz points out, “the scientific evidence of this improvement in efficiency in healthy people is not so evident.”
Breathing better can also mean “an improvement in physical capacity and therefore can contribute to better development of peripheral muscles,” adds Muñoz.
It has been speculated, in fact, that certain respiratory techniques could improve
core
strength , although there is “no strong scientific evidence” in this regard either.
What better oxygenation can achieve is improve sports performance, says Soro.
In fact, he points out, “training of the respiratory muscles is already being included in the routine of many athletes as a complement to the training of their own discipline, since it is another aspect that must be taken care of to improve their performance.”
Better posture, less pain
Regardless of whether or not breathing better can help us in everyday life or when doing sports when we do not have any respiratory problems, there are other benefits that are obtained through performing specific breathing exercises.
For example, according to a study published in 2022 in the
International Journal of Environmental Research
and Public Health
, a breathing exercise program guided by a physical therapist can improve posture, muscle balance, and pectoral mobility, compared to programs based on the yoga and pilates.
The exercises performed by the participants in the study (women between 20 and 22 years old), however, did not only consist of lying on the floor, breathing in a specific way, but breathing was carried out in different positions and , sometimes joining it with slow movements.
Practicing certain breathing exercises will also help us recover before surgery.
It is common in hospitals for patients undergoing certain operations to also undergo respiratory rehabilitation and, in recent years, prehabilitation is also being introduced, that is, doing these exercises before.
“These respiratory rehabilitation or 'prehabilitation' programs have shown a reduction in post-surgical complications, a reduction in hospitalization time or less functional loss.
In more colloquial language we could say if you arrive at the surgical intervention in 'better shape', the ability to overcome the post-operative period will also be better," says Gerard Muñoz Castro.
Another area that has been studied a lot is pain.
On the one hand, as Miguel Soro indicates, in many cases a decrease in respiratory efficiency is related to neck pain.
By training breathing, “we can improve or prevent this type of condition at certain times.”
The lung function of people with chronic neck pain, in fact, is usually not optimal, so specific training focused on improving breathing can help relieve that pain as well.
Also in the case of other pain such as lower back pain, it has been seen that breathing exercises help reduce it.
Furthermore, as breathing techniques help to relax and reduce stress, they also help relieve pain.
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Change the way you breathe to learn to manage stress
Breathe to improve stress and anxiety
“Learning to carry out conscious breathing is one of the first therapies that are carried out in all interventions with anxiety and stress,” says Ismael Dorado, organizational secretary of the Spanish Society for the Study of Anxiety and Stress (SEAS). ).
As a clear example of how breathing is related to this, the expert asks us to think about when we get scared.
“We automatically shorten our breathing,” he notes.
“Anxiety and stress situations are related to the respiratory rhythm, so regulating breathing, making a conscious intervention, is one of the first things we can do for our well-being,” he explains.
There are also numerous studies on the effect of conscious breathing on our psychological state.
One of them, from 2015, concluded that practicing slow breathing (less than ten breaths per minute, with exhalation longer than inhalation) can reduce stress and anxiety levels.
As for why breathing in a certain way makes us relax, there are quite a few possible reasons.
It has been proven, for example, that this type of breathing decreases levels of cortisol (the so-called “stress hormone”) in saliva and can reduce blood pressure.
Ismael Dorado, from SEAS, adds that this conscious and relaxed breathing “directly influences our brain activity.”
This is because “breathing has direct connections with different parts of the cerebral cortex, areas where thinking, perception, imagination originate and also in processes very directly related to learning, attention and, above all, memory (because breathing badly makes us sleep poorly, which harms memory).”
Intervening breathing can help improve all of this.
breathing techniques
Although scientific evidence is little by little making it clear that doing breathing exercises can have multiple health benefits, it is also important to understand that there is still much to investigate.
Most studies have a very small sample and focus on the short term and, as a meta-analysis published in 2023 warned about the effects of breathing exercises on mental health and stress, we must be cautious to avoid mixing hype. and evidence.
Even so, the experts consulted believe that it may be a good idea to incorporate some breathing exercises into our routines.
The first step, Miguel Soro recommends, is to “see how we breathe”, that is, analyze our normal pattern and see what could be improved.
From there, he proposes two examples “that can help us breathe correctly and relax”:
Diaphragmatic breathing.
“This exercise involves breathing deeply using the diaphragm.
To practice it, sit or lie down in a comfortable position.
Place one hand on your abdomen and the other on your chest.
Inhale slowly through your nose, allowing your abdomen to expand while your chest remains relatively still.
Exhale slowly through your mouth, letting your abdomen contract.
Repeat this process several times, focusing on deep, slow breathing.”
Breathing with apnea.
“This exercise involves inhaling, holding the air, exhaling and holding the air again, all at equal intervals.
To practice it, inhale slowly for a count of four, hold it for a count of four, exhale slowly for a count of four, and hold it again for a count of four.
Repeat this process several times, maintaining a constant rhythm.
Ismael Dorado, for his part, describes a variation of this last technique, which he recommends practicing before going to sleep, when we realize that we are going to be in a complicated situation or before making an important decision.
“It's about inflating our lungs to the maximum until we can't take it anymore, holding it for three seconds, releasing the air in five and waiting three seconds again before repeating.
Dedicating a minute to this breathing rhythm can help a lot,” he explains.
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