Five tips for better breathing this summer
Summer is here and it’s time to take a breather. While you are enjoying some relax and recharge time, try these ideas to promote better breathing.
1. Breathe through your nose
When you breathe through your nose, it warms and adds moisture to the air you are breathing in.
It also filters and cleans the air.
All this means better quality air hitting your airways which can reduce airway irritation.
When you are sitting or at rest, try and nose breathe if you can.
2. Focus on the out breath
Often when people are breathless, they feel like they are fighting to get enough air in, when in fact the more useful strategy is to focus on the out breath.
Think of a glass of water.
If you keep pouring water in, eventually the glass is full, and you need to tip the water out to make room for more.
Our breathing is similar.
Ifwe keep focusing on breathing in, in, in, our lungs get full, and it becomes more difficult to breathe.
‘Empty the glass’ by focusing on a long out breath and your next breath in will come more easily.
3. Tummy breathing
The diaphragm is a big dome shaped muscle that sits under your ribs.
It is the largest (and usually most efficient) muscle for breathing.
When the diaphragm contracts down to draw air into your lungs, it squashes onto your tummy, causing your tummy to rise.
That is why diaphragm breathing is sometimes called tummy breathing.
We have other breathing muscles around our upper chest for when we need more air flow, but at rest, the diaphragm is usually doing most of the work.
Rest a hand on your chest and a hand on your tummy to see if you are tummy breathing.
4. Exercise
Sometimes people avoid exercise because it makes them breathless.
This creates an unhelpful cycle: avoiding exercise leads to reduced fitness, reduced fitness makes exercise harder and results in more breathlessness… and so it goes on!
Reverse the cycle by doing some regular exercise.
5. Let go
It can be common for people to hold tension around their shoulders.
Whenever you do anything with your hands, your shoulder muscles are turned on to provide stability.
Stress can also contribute to your shoulder muscles being tense.
This can all have an impact on your breathing pattern.
Take time now to let go.
Allow your shoulders to drop.
Doesn’t that feel better?!
This article is part of a regular column written by Zoë Manderson, a respiratory physiotherapist in Taranaki for Te Whatu Ora and a member of the Foundation's Respiratory Advisory Board.