Breath
Breathing.
It is something I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about until recently. Obviously it is a huge component of our life, our being. If you are breathing, you ARE alive, if you are NOT breathing, you are NOT alive. We can all agree that breathing is pretty important.
Because breathing is so automatic, how much is there to consider? Breathing is something we have done since we came into being and something we will do until we experience our last breath. Turns out, there is quite a bit to consider when one starts to think about breathing.
Do you breathe through your mouth or through your nose? (Hint: It should be through your nose.)
Are you taking full, deep breaths or shallow breaths?
How many times do you breath in a minute? We should be breathing 5-7 times a minute but most of us are breathing 12-20 times per minute.
Have you ever tried sleep taping?
Have you explored the different techniques for breathing?
For example, when breathing through your mouth at night - snoring or sleep apnea often occur because your tongue isn’t in the right place. Normal body functions start to get out of whack, which interfere with your sleep and breathing. I tried taping my mouth closed overnight so I could get in the habit of breathing through my nose all the time. Yes it felt silly, yes it was awkward (especially when I yawned) but nose breathing is now a habit, both day and night. I used tape at night for about a month and it has helped me sleep more consistently and more soundly (according to my fitbit watch). Before night taping, I would wake up once a week, coughing because of sleep apnea. Once a week isn’t a lot, but it was disrupting my sleep and making me anticipate the next episode. Plus, with Covid still on the loose, I just feel better knowing the air I breath is being filtered through my nose and not just coming in, unfiltered, through my mouth. I had no idea how much our noses do - there it is, just waiting to be used, all day everyday!
In James Nestor’s book, Breath, he talks about breathing, a lot. He writes about the importance of breathing through your nose and highlights the complications that arise when you breathe through your mouth, not just at night but all day. He goes into the examples of deep breathing and the role anxiety plays in shallow breathing (think panic attacks). The book is easy to read as Mr. Nestor is a great story-teller, weaving together science, studies, anecdotes and examples to clearly explain the beauty and importance of that little thing we do everyday, all day, without thinking about it. Breathing.