When we’re relaxed, our breathing pattern is set by the body and matches what our body needs. However thoughts, emotions, or stress can interfere with this process, and cause dysfunctional breathing.
Dysfunctional breathing patterns can also form during a time of serious illness, where the lungs have been compromised. The breathing pattern that remains after the lungs have recovered is a form of body memory.
In hyperventilation, for example, we breathe too much (too fast/too deep) in relation to the needs of the body.
The typical breathing pattern seen in functional symptoms is to breath too fast using only the top part of the lungs. This common pattern of breathing causes levels of CO2 in the body to drop, which causes various symptoms, such as brain fog, tingling around the lips and dizziness.
How are breathing patterns set?
When we are relaxed, breathing pattern is set automatically based on the level of CO2 in the blood.
This means, when we are relaxed, breathing matches well with the body’s physiological needs.
Thoughts, emotions and attention can all interfere with this process.When we are anxious, worried, or stressed our breath naturally speeds up.
This is one of the ways the SNS prepares our body for challenges it might face.
We can cause our breath to speed up just by opening our email inbox.
Hyperventilation and symptoms
Hyperventilation (over-breathing) is the most common dysfunctional breathing pattern in FSS.
Hyperventilation is often a problem of not breathing out fully. If we don’t breath out fully, we can end up breathing too fast, only using the top part of the lungs (shallow breathing).
This pattern of breathing causes a sensation of air hunger; it feels as though there is not enough space in the lungs.
Our breath may become shallow when we sit with a stooped posture for long periods of time without regular breaks to move and stretch the body. Shallow breathing might also become our default when we are fearful of worsening pain by moving or breathing too deeply.
Worry or anxiety leads us to take a new breath in before we have finished fully breathing out.
When we hyperventilate, we blow off CO2 too fast. CO2 levels in the body drop. The brain notices low CO2 and sends us symptom messages to let us know something is not right.
Some symptoms are caused because C02 is a vasodilator. When levels drop, small blood vessels contract, reducing blood flow. Other symptoms are caused due to the bio-chemical properties of carbon dioxide. When CO2 drops, changes in calcium levels and pH can lead to nerve hyperexcitability resulting in pins and needles in the fingertips, numbness around the lips, and muscle cramps.
Within the brain these changes cause confusion, brain fog or dizziness.
Over-breathing also often leads to air going into the stomach, leading to stomach aches and too much intestinal gas.
Most people don’t have all the symptoms of hyperventilation, especially when hyperventilation has gone on in the background for a long time. The body might have partly adapted and stops trying to draw your attention to the problem.
Some people notice they are sighing a lot, as the body tries to release the excess air. Or that they sleep lightly and wake often feeling anxious.
All these patterns can indicate a reset is needed.
Dysfunctional breathing patterns after illness
Sometimes our breathing pattern is a body memory of an earlier time in our lives. This is common after a respiratory illness, or traumatic event.
The adaptations made when it was difficult to breathe are imprinted in our breathing apparatus. Even when the trigger or lung
disease has passed, a disordered breathing pattern can sometimes continue until we take active steps to reset the breath.
Respiratory physiotherapy makes use of corrective breathing exercises to help the body learn to undo dysfunctional breathing patterns.
