These tensions add to or create vision and voice problems and gasping on the inhale. Many become more inclined to
mouth breathe and then snore into
sleep problems due to the sudden and intense need for air that breath holding causes.
Breath holding techniques to improve oxygen uptake or raise CO2 levels may cause chronic tensions and vocal restriction. This is why I sometimes use a special biofeedback instrument to monitor CO2 levels during breathing development training because I occasionally ask them to slow their breathing for a specified time and want to make certain this does not throw off their optimal CO2/O2 balance.
Most of us have excessive tension in our present day to day living. So with breath-holding to increase CO2, the tissues may get more oxygen but due to the tensions, the oxygen cost of breathing may skyrocket along with increased stress. This is often a delicate balance best monitored by a
skilled health professional trained in Optimal Breathing Techniques.
ATHLETES AND BREATH HOLDING
Sports related asthma is becoming epidemic. I understand that a few swimming coaches train students to not breathe. Your cells, particularly your muscle cells, undergo a chain of reactions known as cell respiration.
"Respiration" in this sense, does not directly mean breathing, but rather a breakdown of the body's main source of energy, glucose. (sugar.)
Your cells can perform two types of respiration: aerobic (meaning "with oxygen") and anaerobic (meaning "without oxygen"). Aerobic respiration is the usual and preferred way for your cells to produce energy, but when you hold or in any way make your breath less so, you are depriving your body of oxygen and your cells have to resort to anaerobic respiration.
When that happens, the energy-producing process is kicked over to an alternate pathway called lactic acid fermentation. That burning, sore sensation you feel right after vigorous activity? That's a build-up of lactic acid -- it hurts.
To compare you could say that aerobic respiration yields 40 ATP, adenosine triphosphate. This is the molecule your cells use for most of their energy. Lactic acid fermentation yields 2 ATP.
Fermentation will happen to some of your cells when you workout. But as I understand it, when you hold your breath, this lactic acid fermentation occurs in most of your oxygen-deprived cells, and it makes that burst of energy you want very short lived -- not to mention potentially painful.
My
Optimal Breathing kit has been integrated into the Doctorate program for Advanced Athletic Training (DAT) at the University of Idaho.
"As the nation's first
Advanced Doctor of Athletic Training (DAT), this program is designed to improve your clinical practice through advanced manual therapy techniques and analysis of patient outcomes in an applied research focus."
So, make sure your breathing is as big and easy as it can be. Then go have a great workout. We counsel to undo the tension and restriction from physical work(outs) with our DVD2.
"I saw the letter on breath holding that had been sent to you in this last newsletter. It appears that this person is suggesting doing something that I, and others I'm sure, before and after the early 50s had worked out as a way to extend time underwater on a free dive.
It could have killed me, as I don't doubt that it has killed many over the years. In my case I was lucky in that I passed out in an experiment on shore rather than while under-water. Decades later I learned that this suicidal practice was called 'hyperventilation' You go from little desire at all to breathe, to nothingness all in an instant.
This happens when, thinking you are getting rid of all the used air and limbering up your rib-cage and diaphragm to hold as much new good air as you can force in and repeating many times to replace the air used in limbering up, you are really setting your 'breathe in or pass out' signal flag far below normal level so that by the time your oxygen level is too low for consciousness, your all important CO2 has not built up high enough for you, with training, not to be able to ignore. "
I'm sending this to you in hopes that you will verify the dangers and add a warning to the last news-letter.
BLOOD PRESSURE
Holding your breath when you perform stomach crunches may cause your blood pressure to spike higher than it normally would during resistance training. In a study, people who voluntarily held their breath during abdominal exercises had higher peak blood pressure elevations compared to when they breathed during the exercises. Then there is
Valsalvas maneuver where the people hold their breath to force out a bowel movement and die on the toilet from a heart attack.
EMAIL APNEA?
In the November 23, 2009 Huffington Post, well known writer Linda Stone in her "Just Breathe: Building the case for Email Apnea" stated that "Dr. Margaret Chesney, at the National Institute of Health (NIH).
Research conducted by Chesney and NIH research scientist, Dr. David Anderson, demonstrated that chronic breath holding contributes significantly to stress-related diseases. The body becomes acidic, the kidneys begin to re-absorb sodium, and as the oxygen (O2), carbon dioxide (CO2), and nitric oxide (NO) balance is undermined, our biochemistry is thrown off.
Email induced sleep apnea
Breath-holding and hyperventilating disturb our body's balance of oxygen, CO2, and NO. Nitric oxide, not to be confused with the nitrous oxide used in dental offices, plays an important role in our health.
From a briefing document prepared for the Royal Society and Association of British Science Writers, Pearce Wright explains, "The immune system uses nitric oxide in fighting viral, bacterial and parasitic infections, and tumors.
Nitric oxide transmits messages between nerve cells and is associated with the processes of learning, memory, sleeping, feeling pain, and, probably, depression. It is a mediator in inflammation and rheumatism."
EYESIGHT & BREATH HOLDING
"Don't hold your breath while using your eyes"
The eyes MUST have oxygen. One can turn oneself temporarily blind by holding the breath long enough. Breathe freely; not studied, controlled, or even thoughtful breathing, but easy breathing such as a dog enjoys when it throws itself on the floor to sleep. Breathing exercises can be very helpful but should send one towards better breathing. Many do not.
"In my eye-training studio I once worked with a cataract case whose vision we had improved by our method to such an extent that I called in a doctor, who worked sympathetically with us, to examine the eyes with his powerful ophthalmoscope.
One eye the doctor found to be entirely cleared of cataract. The lens of the other eye was still a little too cloudy to see the retina - to get the red reflex. 'Take a long very slow in breath' I said to the pupil.
The doctor exclaimed aloud that that single breath had temporarily cleared the last vestige of film in the eye, so that the retina could be seen readily. Each time the pupil remembered to breathe, the remaining shreds of sediment were dissipated. Each time he held his breath a little murk clouded the lens once more.
If deep breathing will do this for a seriously affected eye, one can realize how great the benefit to normal or nearly normal vision."How to improve your sight" by Margaret Darst Corbett.
"About breath holding effecting the vision? It seems to all come down to staying relaxed and comfortable. Clear vision needs constant movement to function correctly. There is a perpetual vibration that, in effect, causes the illusion that everything you are viewing is in a state of movement.
This oppositional movement of the world in front of your nose, is essential to clarity. As soon as we hold still, the vision fails to remain clear and the mind fails to recognize the input. That is why blinking and breathing and brushing your visual field with your nose are the first steps to good vision.
When we hold the breath, we hold still. This effects the vision immediately. Also, less O2 exchange effects the vision immediately. The tension needed to hold the breath can also diminish clarity.
Happy eyes work effortlessly, and a generous easy deep breath relaxes the eye muscles, leaving them free to vibrate effortlessly, follow your attention and interest, and support your amazing imagination. DG
BREATH HOLDING AND SELF HARM
Question To the Panel: Is it possible to hold your breath long enough to harm your brain, harmed due to lack of oxygen (or other cause)? I ask because I like to snorkel rather than scuba dive, but I still appreciate diving down as far as I can, and often push myself to the limit on depth and time length. So at what time (or ratio), if any, would I be hurting myself? : Benjamin H
Dear Benjamin: rather than holding your breath when snorkeling, how about exhaling, that is with closed lips blow bubbles very minimally for as long as you can while you are under. I would suggest that you come up for air if possible before it feels uncomfortable.
I don't have hard data on how long you could go for, but certainly you don't want to push it so far you may become unconscious. We have all heard the CPR & Red Cross quotes that you can become anoxic - lose significant O2 supply to the brain within 3 min, but that is when you are holding your breath.
That is very different from developing prolonged exhalation ,which can gradually increase with practice and is best done in your comfort zone. Mike White has many valuable suggestions on that on his web site. Sincerely, Margaret Leong, M.A.,P.T.
Mike adds. I have a nose breathing snorkle. Love it. See Tribord online.
Advice from a reader.
"The issue is about conditioning to the body, if you dive a lot you tend not to feel uncomfortable but euphoric on rising to the surface. The most significant piece of advice for free diving is never do it alone, if one is doing short times the above advice is fine, from 10 – 20 seconds or so.
From the above question it would seem he is trying to push the time limits and times. Free divers can hold for 5mins on a dive and the method outlined is not good for doing that if that is what he wishes to do.
The advice is my opinion and should be along the lines of;