Scientific Principals
The chemistry of respiration
Breathing disorders such as asthma, sinusitis and hay fever are the result of hyperventilation/ over breathing. When we over- breathe we disturb the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in our lungs and blood vessels.
To understand the hazards of over-breathing (hyperventilation) it is necessary to cover some basic principles of respiration and the important role of carbon dioxide in health.
Respiration serves to deliver oxygen to the tissues where it is needed and to remove excess carbon dioxide via the lungs. Oxygen is transported within red blood cells in the blood as oxy-haemglobin. Each haemoglobin blood protein can carry up to four oxygen molecules. Oxygenated blood is circulated with great precision to those parts of the body where it is most required.
By ingenious design the cells most needy
of oxygen are those that produce the most carbon dioxide,
carbon dioxide being a bi-product of cellular metabolism.
Carbon dioxide diffuses across the cell membrane into
the blood vessels. The increase in carbon dioxide saturation
of the blood acts as a vasodilator (relaxing the smooth
muscle in the blood vessels) ensuring the free flow of
oxygenated blood to the oxygen hungry tissues. In addition
to this, elevated carbon dioxide levels in the blood facilitate
the release of oxygen from haemoglobin, this is known
as the Bohr Effect.
The hazards of Hyperventilation
Anyone
who has experienced dizzeness after blowing up party balloons
or an air mattress will be familiar with the effect that
breathing too much air has on reducing oxygen supply to
the brain. If breathing large volumes of air is supposed
to be beneficial, why does it make us dizzy?
Hyperventilation, or over- breathing,
does not add oxygen to arterial blood. Under normal breathing
the blood is close to saturation with respect to oxygen
and is simply not able to absorb more. However, over-breathing
depletes carbon dioxide in airways and arterial blood
producing a condition known as hypocapnia. Hypocania reduces
oxygen availability to our cells in two ways:
- As blood levels of carbon dioxide drop during hyperventilation smooth muscle constricts around the blood vessels restricting the flow of oxygenated blood to the tissues.
- Lower levels of carbon dioxide dissolved in the blood shift blood pH towards a state known as respiratory alkalosis and the haemoglobin which transports oxygen in the blood binds more tightly with the oxygen reducing its release to the body tissues.
Over-breathing and its effects on health
Over-breathing can trigger asthma attacks, panic attacks, migraines and exacerbate a range of disorders including: breathlessness, shortness of breath, asthma, hypertension, heart palpitations, irregular heart beat, dizziness, spacey feelings, tingling in hands and feet, numbness, light headedness, fatigue, sleep apnoea, cold hands and feet, digestive disorders including gastric reflux, bloatedness, irritable bowel and stress disorders.
Professor Konstantin Buteyko attributed
over 200 disease states to dysfunctional breathing. The
Method he developed is a strategy to retrain dysfunctional
breathing with simple breathing exercises and lifestyle
guidelines that achieve freedom from symptoms and restore
health by normalising breathing.
I conceived the idea of diminishing the depth of respiration, i.e. its normalisation, and became convinced that it can contribute to recovery. KP Buteyko
