How Better Breathing Improves Your Overall Health

Written By Anica Oaks / Reviewed By Ray Spotts

Breathing is a physical part of our lives that you may take for granted. The average person takes between 12 and 18 breaths per minute. When that respiratory rate increases or slows down, your health can be impacted, often negatively, especially if the inconsistency continues. Learning how to breathe more effectively can improve many bodily functions and your health in general.

Lungs and Air

It helps to become aware of how you breathe, including frequency and intensity. Take a couple of moments to pay attention to how you're breathing when you are sitting quietly or actively moving. When exercising, you should notice increased breathing that does not cause discomfort. Check with your doctor about the amount of physical activity that is safe for you.

As you breathe in and out at a steady rate, your lungs will absorb and process the airflow and produce oxygen for all the cells of your body. Cells need oxygen to live and thrive, so it is important to maintain regular and reliable breathing. It may help to consult resources like a diaphragmic breathing technique blog article for correct breathing techniques.

Heart and Circulation

Stable breathing sends oxygen to all your body's major organs through your bloodstream, including the heart. Functioning like a pump, your heart pushes air all over your body to maintain effective circulation. Your arteries, veins, and capillaries transport blood everywhere it is needed to nourish every living cell. Adequate air supply is required for health and even life, so make sure you breathing often and enough.

Emotions and Stress Management

Learning how to breathe well can help to manage emotional upheavals. When we get nervous or upset, we often breathe rapidly and sometimes hyperventilate, which can cause dizziness and, if prolonged, loss of consciousness.

At the first sign of emotional distress, remind yourself to slow your breathing to normal effort. This will help to reduce your heart rate and coordinate a calmer physical response, which in turn, can help you to feel better quickly.

Nutrition and Digestion

Even eating can be impacted by how we breathe. Shallow breathing might enable you to eat more quickly, but that may cause you to take bigger bites or chew your food less before swallowing it. In turn, this way of eating can cause indigestion and upset your stomach as well as your elimination process.

Your breathing should accommodate daily activities and your moods. Practice deep breathing, so you can use it when needed for physical exertion or to calm an emotional response. Learn all you can about the benefits of healthy breathing that contribute to a healthy body and mind.

Subscribe to our Trusted Health Club newsletter for more information about natural living tips, natural health, oral health and skincare. If you are looking for more health resources check out the Trusted Health Resources list.  

Written By:
Anica Oaks is a professional content and copywriter who graduated from the University of San Francisco. She loves dogs, the ocean, and anything outdoor related. You can connect with Anica on Twitter @AnicaOaks.

Reviewed By:    

Founder Ray Spotts has a passion for all things natural and has made a life study of nature as it relates to health and well-being. Ray became a forerunner bringing products to market that are extraordinarily effective and free from potentially harmful chemicals and additives. For this reason Ray formed Trusted Health Products, a company you can trust for clean, effective, and healthy products. Ray is an organic gardener, likes fishing, hiking, and teaching and mentoring people to start new businesses. You can get his book for free, “How To Succeed In Business Based On God’s Word,” at www.rayspotts.com.

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels