14 Nov Are You Over Breathing?

This is a fascinating and vital read if you are interested in health and endurance. “Oxygen Advantage” by Patrick McKeown is available as a audiobook as well as paperback.

The book and it’s research makes the case that we tend to over-breath. That we get rid of too much CO2 and take in too much O2 causing a stressful imbalance in our blood stream.

I wondered at the title of the book because it describes in detail the importance of C02 tolerance to our cardiovascular system.

Here is a brief synopsis of the book.

Basically we are over-breathing; meaning taking in too much Oxygen and releasing too much Carbon Dioxide. The science behind this points to C02 receptors in your brain that indicate when you need to take that next breath.

Due to over-breathing we have conditioned those receptors to become oversensitive. This triggers the need to take a breath, what the author calls oxygen hunger.

By breathing too much we are stressing our cardiovascular system… almost like revving our engine all the time.

The research indicates that when CO2 is at a higher level in the body, it becomes easier for O2 to be released to our muscles. The brain works better and athletic performance improves. What a flip in thinking! I encourage you to read the book or get it on Audible. If you are a Yoga or Meditation teacher this will be a game changer!