It impacts everything from fitness to sleep.
Breathing may seem innate, but there are a lot of ways to do it wrong. One habit that's particularly common among people of all levels of fitness, says Matt Berenc, director of education at the Equinox Fitness Training Institute in Beverly Hills: over-breathing.
When you breathe correctly—slowly, through your nose and into your diaphragm—your body has enough time over the course of each inhale to produce carbon dioxide. That CO2 buildup signals to the red blood cells that they need to send oxygen to the tissues and muscles. In turn, you get a little extra energy, explains James Breese, CSCS, a London-based educator who leads cardio programming workshops for Equinox trainers and coaches.
But for most people, everyday annoyances like traffic and loud noises put the body in a stressed state that causes them to take shorter breaths through the mouth, Berenc says.
That’s no good. You take in more oxygen in a shorter amount of time when breathing through your mouth, leaving no opportunity for the CO2 to accumulate, notes Breese. In turn, you don’t get all the energy you could from the air you inhale. In fact, Breese has seen people drop their 10K times by as many as five minutes just by switching over to nasal breathing during the day and while running.
When you’re training, over-breathing can make you tire out more quickly, Berenc says. The habit also slows recovery, in part because it affects your ability to sleep deeply. Thankfully, it’s a habit you can fix. Once you do, you’ll be able to exercise at harder intensities for longer periods of time and burn more fat for fuel, Berenc says, since the conversion process depends on oxygen uptake.
That's it. The shorter you lasted during each test and the more "yes" answers you racked up, the more you over-breathe. Use the below strategies to correct the habit—and to reap the fitness and recovery benefits.
How to train your breath during the day:
Focusing on your breathing mid-workout isn't enough. “The other twenty-three hours of the day have much more of an impact,” Berenc says.
The first step is to eliminate all (yes, all) mouth-breathing, especially when you’re walking around and climbing stairs. Berenc also suggests practicing the walking breath hold test as often as five times per day, every day.
How to train your breath during your workouts:
If you need help reinforcing nasal breathing during your workouts, Breese recommends holding water in your mouth for a set period of time (even for up to 20 minutes) to force yourself to breathe through your nose.
There's only one time you should breathe through your mouth: in the middle of sprints or other HIIT intervals when you feel short of breath. “Just return to a calm, controlled nasal breath as soon as possible afterward,” Berenc says. Bonus: The switch lowers your heart rate more quickly so you're prepared for the next hard effort.
When recovering from intense bouts like sprints or heavy lifts, he recommends holding your breath for two to five seconds between each inhale and exhale to improve your efficiency and CO2 tolerance.
If you practice all these techniques, you should see improvements (around five extra steps during the walking test) within one or two weeks, Berenc says. To track your progress in the long term, do the BOLT once a week in the morning, before stress can affect your breathing. Your fitness and sleep will improve as a result.