What is overbreathing?
Clinically, overbreathing is known as hyperventilation; put simply, it means breathing more air than the body needs. The standard volume of normal breathing for a healthy adult is three to six litres of air per minute. Scientific research conducted by Professor Buteyko over four decades, along with scientific trials at the Mater Hospital in Brisbane and the Gisborne Hospital in New Zealand, demonstrated that people with asthma breathe a volume of ten to twenty litres per minute between attacks, and can breathe over twenty litres during an attack.
Symptoms of overbreathing or Chronic Hidden Hyperventilation Syndrome
CHVS gives rise to many conditions, but because it receives very little attention in the diagnoses of illnesses, patients can spend years going from doctor to doctor looking for a cure for their symptoms.
How can I tell if I breathe too much?
Professor Buteyko developed this test to measure your depth of breathing and consequent levels of blood carbon dioxide. It is called the Control Pause
- Sitting down, close your mouth and breathe normally through the nose for 30 seconds or so.
- Take a normal breath in.
- Allow a normal breath out through your nose.
- Gently close your nose with thumb and forefinger and start to count the seconds.
- When you feel the first need to breathe release the nose and take a breath in through the nose. Keep the mouth closed at this point.
The number of seconds that has passed is your Control Pause
If you managed less than 10 seconds you have health problems
If you can hold for less than 25 seconds your health needs attention
30-40 is satisfactory
60+ seconds is excellent.
What happens if I breathe too much?
The Control Pause was developed by Professor Buteyko following years of research with thousands of patients. While you may not have asthma, if you do have Control Pause of less than 20 seconds you will probably have other symptoms of ill health. Physician Claude Lum noted that hyperventilation "presents a collection of bizarre and often apparently unrelated symptoms, which may affect any part of the body, any organ and any system".
But I don't Hyperventilate, do I? Maybe. Do you experience any of these signs?
- At rest you can hear yourself breathing.
- Huffing, puffing, sighing and yawning .. all indications of hyperventilation.
- Frequently having to get up and pass water in the night.
- Waking up with a dry mouth and/or a blocked nose.
- Broken sleep with intense dreams and often waking up in the early hours.
- Lack of energy and difficulty waking up.
- Lack of concentration, irritability and feelings of anxiety.
- Abnormally cold hands and feet
A wider list of symptoms associated with hyperventilation are -
Respiratory system: shortness of breath, tightness in chest, over-sensitivity of airways, excessive production of mucus leading to sneezing and coughing, long-term blocked or running sinuses, excessive yawning and sighing.
The nervous system: light-headedness, dizziness, poor concentration, unsteadiness, numbness, tingling and coldness, especially in the hands and fingers and often in the face. In severe cases, loss of memory or loss of consciousness.
Heart: racing, pounding or skipped heart beats
Psychological: Degrees of anxiety, tension and apprehension . Manifestations of stress.
General: Mouth dryness, abdominal bloating, belching and flatulence, easily tired, poor sleep patterns, general weakness and chronic exhaustion
Why do we overbreathe?
When we overbreathe on a permanent basis, the respiratory centre in our brain is trained to accept a lower level of carbon dioxide. This level is determined to be correct even though it is less than the body requires for good health.
There are many factors in why we overbreathe and they vary from person to person, not all of them applying to each individual. The following ten factors are more prevalent in countries of increasing modernisation and affluence, and this helps explain why asthma and other diseases of civilisation are so prevalent in the same countries.
What can I do about it?
You can reset the breathing mechanism to accept higher levels of Carbon Dioxide, thereby reducing symptoms and leading to improved health. Currently Buteyko is your best chance of doing this.
What will an AsthmaCare UK course do for me?
- Control you condition instead of your condition controlling your life
- Reduce your medication needs dramatically
- Provide you with a greater understanding of your condition and medication
- Give you an improved performance in sport and exercise
- Reduce your symptoms of asthma, sinusitis, hayfever, breathlessness, allergies, migraines/headaches, sleep apnoea, snoring, etc.
REGULAR COURSES HELD IN
Stratford-upon-Avon, London and the Isle of Man 
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