Deep Breathing

Question: Can deep breathing reduce weight and also upkeep a person's health? I do deep breathing wheneveI find throughout the day. In office even when I am working on the computer I breath deeply. Will this reduce weight?? I heard because we get more oxygen to the cells by deep breathing, it increases the activity of the cells and thereby increases the calorie burning capacity of the body and reduces the weight. I want reallly serious answers please.

Answer: Basically, you want to know if you can lose weight without doing any work? HOLY BALLS THESE ACIAI BERRY AD-POSTERS ARE EVERYWHERE.

Question: "Controlled deep breathing helps the body to transform the air we breathe into energy." Who said this? "Controlled deep breathing helps the body to transform the air we breathe into energy. The stream of energized air produced by properly executed and controlled deep breathing produces a current of inner energy which radiates throughout the entire body and can be channeled to the body areas that need it the most, on demand." What is your opinion? Who said this?

Answer: This comes from Nancy Zi. I believe this is true. Controlled breathing exercises do wonders to your good health.

Question: Deep breathing exercises and panick attacks are they correlated? Hello! I've just read that hyperventilation can be a cause for panic attacks, and an effect of deep breathing. On the other hand, in all relaxation techniques deep breathing is an important element. So, how come a core element of relaxation techniques can actually trigger you a panic attack? Am I missing something here? I also know that people with anxiety disorder are encouraged to try to relax but, won't this lead to hyperventilation, trigger a panick attack and enter into an endless vicious circle? Thanks By the way, I've read about these things on Wikipeidia (articles: "Panic attack" and "Hyperventilation")

Answer: Hyperventillation occurs when there's too much oxygen in your blood. That usually occurs when there's a rapid breathing, shallow or deep. Usually such breathing is involuntary and can you feel dizzy and nervous. In my experience, it's the panic attacks which cause hyperventillation, not the other way around. In relaxation techniques, the breathing is usually very slow and unlikely to trigger hyperventillation.

Question: What can you do when you are anxious and deep breathing won't help? It's like I am just waiting for somehting bad to happen. I can't mediate and deep breathing doesn't calm me. Any ideas? I am under treatment. I choose not to take medication but I think it may be a bad choice.

Answer: first of all stop and tell yourself everything is ok, and know that it is just your anxiety, and it will pass. You are not going to die and nothing bad is going to happen. just believe and you will calm yourself down, you are in control so take control and stop the anxiety before it stops you

Question: deep breathing constantly making chest and stomach tired? I had a terrible ordeal in which I felt my heart beating really fast and I had a hard time breathing. I had to breathe deeply and never feeling comfortable to the point that my chest and stomach felt tired. I could not sleep because I couldnot breathe that well lying down. I finally slept at 6am and woke up at 9am with heartburn and took Zantac75 on an empty stomach and I have not eaten for 12 hours but went back to sleep. I woke up 6 hours later and worried if not eating for 18 hours and having Zantac in my body can be harmful. Also, I wonder if anyone understands the reason why I have to take deep breaths and still never feel comfortable with breathing and feeling tired on stomach and chest. I also always feel stress emotionally and this makes it worse. Help.

Answer: you should go to the hospital or at the absolute very least go to your doctor tomorrow. chest pain/racing heart beats and shortness of breath can indicate serious life threatening problems. heartburn is also a symptom of a heart attack. so please seek help

Question: How can I make deep breathing natural when I run? I get really painful side-stitches when I run, so I've been trying to breathe deeper. It hasn't helped, so I wonder if I am doing it properly. Any help on how to practice the correct breathing to prepare me for running?

Answer: To most previous answers: It doesn't make any sense to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth!! In order to run most efficiently you need to receive as much oxygen in as short a time as possible because that is what fuels the muscles. When has anyone been able to breathe in faster through their nose than through their mouth when running?! When you are running try to stay relaxed, especially concentrate on relaxing your arms and shoulders. keep your breathing natural, let your body figure out a good breathing rhythm for you. my coach taught me a way to practice breathing for running. stand up. spread your arms apart while at the same time take as deep a breath as you can, fill as much of your lungs as you can and when you're full exhale (don't hold your breath during this just breathe as deeply as possible). when you exhale bring your arms together again. repeat this for about 30 breaths then take about a 30sec break and do 30 more, then another 30sec break and then 40 breaths for a total of 100 deep breaths. do this at some point every day and it will help you be able to control your breathing.

Question: What's a good way to calm your nerves when deep breathing just doesn't work? I have trouble with anxiety. I try to take deep breathes and relax but sometimes that just doesn't cut it. Any tips to help calm down in stressful situations?

Answer: Assess your situations. Are they really worth getting worked up over? Umm, that's the best I could tell you besides breathing calmly. You could try meditating, it does wonders for stuff like that.

Question: How does deep breathing exercises with visualization help bring permanent change for a anxiety disorder? I have GAD (General Anxiety Disorder), thank you Vietnam and PTSD. After years of taking med's, I'm going to a therapist who is having me do deep breathing exercises with visualization. How do this work physiologically to permenantly reverse the anxiety I experience?

Answer: It redirects your mind, allows you to focus on something else more calmly rather than thinking about freaking out. Deep breathing sends a calming effect to the brain which in turns lowers your epinephrine levels (fight or flight hormones); visualizing something pleasant also helps in that (gives you something else to do).

Question: How to do Deep Breathing exercises? I hv been sufferng from severe Anxiety since 8 years,Doctors has adviced me to do deep breathing.Following his advice i did a lot of research on deep breathing.Some web says it shd be done on chest expansion,some says abdomen expansion is best.Please advice me which one is good for anxiety?

Answer: I can only tell you my experience with this. I have had a few anxiety attacks in the last couple of years and what helps me is breathing in through my nose to the count of five and out through my mouth to the count of five. I use lung expansion because it seems to help me best. Researching it may not really do any good. Each persons technique for handling their anxiety attacks is different and you just need to find what's right for you. Another thing that helps me is identifying (out loud) objects around me. It doesn't have to be certain things, just focus on and say what's around you. I don't know why this works but it really does. Good luck and remember that they are just anxiety attacks and it will end soon and you will be okay.

Question: Is the heart rate while deep breathing lower than resting heart rate? if you can, can u give me the general heart rate while deep breathing with the source. THX

Answer: yes...it's called a sinus arythmia. it's not normally any problem. you very often see this cardiac arrythmia in young people as well as athletes, however, anyone could have it. it is not normally treated in any way and is very often considered to be a "healthy response to vagal tone". thats the part of the nervous system that controls and regulates heart rate and rhythm as well as other bodily functions. generally heart rate is a component of age and health. in nursing school we were taught that a normal resting heart rate was 60 to 80 beats per minute. there are factors that can change this and only a doctor can tell you if there is truly a problem. if your not having chest pain or shortness of breath your probably fine. good luck

Question: When I do the deep breathing exercise on Wii Fit, it always tells me to breathe through my nose? Even though I am already breathing through my nose, it tells me that I need to start breathing through my nose instead of my mouth -- it never fails! Is there something I could do to correct that? Is my breathing too strained? Is it because of my posture?

Answer: Breathing through your nose is beneficial while your mouth has negatives. Here is an awesome article explaining why this is true: http://www.breathing.com/articles/nose-breathing.htm

Question: why does heart rate decrease when deep breathing? I can't explain why pulse rate decreased due to slow, deep breathing...any help?

Answer: Heart rate fluctuation during respiration can be attributed to many things, increased thoracic pressure from inspiration generally increases heart rates as well as the now abundant source of oxygen. Holding your breath will lower your heart rate, there are tons of physiological cues going on to answer such a broad based question.

Question: why is deep breathing good for calming yourself down? i have an sol tomorrow,and our teacher said to take deep breaths if we got nervous.i ask why,and she said i dont know.so,why does it help?

Answer: Deep breathing can help you relax and slow down your heart rate therefore, calming yourself. It is also reasurance.

Question: Why does deep breathing relieves anxiety & panic attacks? I have tried it and it works most of the time. What does breathing has to do with it?

Answer: Several reasons. One is that deep breathing triggers chemical reactions in the brain that are calming. That is why deep breathing is a part of most meditation techniques. Also, during a panic attack often the person is unknowingly hyperventilating, which escalates the problems with heart rate, dizziness, etc. Deep breathing helps bring blood oxygen levels to normal and therefore the heart slows etc. Finally if you are focused on any activity at all, even deep breathing, it helps short circuit the cycle that is happening in the brain that is causing the problem to begin with.

Question: If I want to do deep breathing exercises, is it better to do them laying flat or sitting up? I started doing these exercises recently to relax and help my asthma. I find that doing the deep breaths and then slowly exhaling when laying flat really hurts me and I don't seem to be able to take as deep a breath, or exhale as well as when I sit up.

Answer: sitting up is def. better becuase it gives your lung and chest a greater expansion area. when you are laying down your back is up against the bed which restricts your lungs from getting its greatest expansion.

Question: What are the benefits of deep breathing exercises? How is deep breathing done properly and how often?

Answer: it lowers blood pressure, heart rate, and stress levels. it increases blood oxygen levels which helps with kidneys, heart, muscle growth, electrolyte exchange, circulation. it also prevents atelectasis which is a closing of the aveoli in the lungs by forcing them to stay open. one of the problems that we face as we get older is a lack of expansion in the lungs. muscles become weaker, cartlidge flexes less, etc. as the lungs will expand less and less, the lower parts lose their ability to open and hold air so we get short of breath with simple exercise the older we get because we have less space. doing deep breathing as a younger person helps fight off some of the effects of old age, just like stretching muscles of the back or legs improve flexion and circulation as we get older. how often?? good question. just like regular exercise, doing it every day is a good thing. but like regular exercise sometimes we just don't have the time or energy. even once a week will do you some good and increase the oxygen levels in the blood.