Abstract

Medical norm for breathing is very small, virtually tiny (only 6 L/min at rest for adults). Sick people breathe at least 2 times more than that. As a result, they have short breath holding times and reduced body oxygen content 24/7 due to their deep and frequent breathing pattern.

There are numerous variations of the breath holding time test. One test is most sensitive to body oxygen content and, therefore, the information in this article is based on this test. In order to measure body oxygenation, pinch your nose after your usual exhalation and hold your breath but only until first stress or discomfort. Your breathing pattern after the test should be the same as before the test. You should not gasp for air after the correct test. How to Measure Tissue Oxygenation
If

a person breath-holds after their normal exhalation, it takes about 40 s before breathing commences From the medical textbook Essentials of exercise physiology McArdle W, Katch F, Katch V (2-nd edition); Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, London, the UK; 2000, p.252. This table summarizes western studies regarding breath holding times for humans with various health states. Note that the first study was conducted about a century ago. Diseases or types of Number people investigated of people Fit instructors 22 Home defence pilots 24 British candidates 23 US candidates 7 Delivery and test pilots 27 Pilots training for scouts 15 Pilots taken off flying through stress Normal subjects 30 Neurocirculatory asthenia 54 Normal subjects 22 Anxiety states 62 Normals and class 1 heart 16 BHT, seconds 46 49 47 45 39 42 34 23 16 33 20 16 References Flack, 1919

Friedman, 1945 Mirsky et al, 1946 Kohn & Cutcher, 1970

patients Class 2 and 3 heart patients Pulmonary emphysema Functional heart disease Normal subjects Asymptomatic asthmatics Asthmatics with symptoms Normal subjects Panic attack Anxiety disorders Outpatients Inpatients COPD or CHF (congenital heart failure) 12 heavy smokers Normal subjects Panic disorder Normal subjects Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome Normal subjects Normal subjects Successful lung transplantation Successful heart transplantation Normal subjects Outpatients with COPD

53 3 13 6 7 13 14 14 14 25 25 7 12 26 23 30 30 76 10 9 8 31 87

13 8 5 28 20 11 25 11 16 17 10 8 8 21 16 36 20 25 38 23 28 29 8 Marks et al, 1997

Davidson et al, 1974 Perez-Padilla et al, 1989 Zandbergen et al, 1992

Gay et al, 1994

Asmudson & Stein, 1994 Taskar et al, 1995

McNally & Eke, 1996 Flume et al, 1996

Table 1.2 Breath holding time results according to various medical studies (from the book: Normal breathing: the key to vital health by Dr. Artour Rakhimov) Doctor Buteyko, the founder and creator of the Buteyko breathing method, and his medical colleagues tested breath holding parameters of hundred thousands patients since this is the main test for his medial therapy. These doctors discovered that the following relationships generally hold true:

1-9 s severely sick, critically or terminally ill patients, often hospitalized. 10-19 s sick patients with serious health problems and, often, on daily medication. 20-39 s people with quite poor health, but often without any serious organic problems. 40-59 s good health and fitness. 60 s or more ideal health and well-being, when many diseases are impossible. Practically, breath holding time depends on one factor only: the breathing pattern of the person. In sick people breathing is deep (up to 700-900 ml of air per breath) and frequent (about 15-20 breaths per minute). In healthy people, breathing is shallow (400-600 ml per breath) and slow (8-12 breaths per minute). While most modern people believe in deep breathing myth, hundreds of medical studies proved that chronic hyperventilation or over-breathing reduces body oxygenation, as we see it in sick people and causes abnormalities in the immune, nervous, hormonal and other systems of the human body. Watch this video clip that explains how and why we get less oxygen cells, when we breathe more than than medical norm. Breathing Patterns and Cell Oxygenation References More information about breathing patterns, CO2 effects, and breathing retraining techniques, as well as treatment options can be found on these web pages: Breathing Patterns and Cell Oxygenation How our unconscious breathing patterns influence oxygen transport and body oxygen content Carbon Dioxide Health Effects What CO2 does in the human body Over 100 medical references that testify about CO2 benefits ranging from vasodilation and the Bohr effect to normal brain functioning and immunity Breathing Problems Solved: www.NormalBreathing.com