Do the Number of Breaths We Take Per Minute Have An Affect On the Way We Live?

Science seems to think so

Breaths per minute

There’s a strong correlation between the number of breaths we take every minute to the level of stress we experience. As stress is on the rise and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon, learning how to take fewer breaths could be the saving grace in a world that’s only getting faster.

Below is the table is table that what happens when we take more and less breaths per minute.

20 breaths per minute x 60 = 1,200 x 24 = 28,800

Cause & effect: High, consistent stress levels in all areas of life.

Location: Upper chest/throat

Nose or mouth breathing: Typically mouth breathing (may partially alternate)

*the importance of nose breathing can be discovered in my latest blog

Possible side effects: anxiety, burn out, poor sleep, skin problems, excessive behavior/addiction

15 breaths per minute x 60 = 900 x 24 = 21,600 (the average person’s breath count)

Cause & effect: Medium levels of stress consistently throughout the day. Alert & sharp mind.

Location: Chest/throat

Nose or mouth: Both (may alternate)

Possible side effects: Like above but potentially less severe.

10 breaths per minute x 60 = 600 x 24 = 14,400

Cause & effect: Calm, collective, peaceful, balanced. Stronger resistance from emotional and mental stressors.

Location: Belly/chest

Nose or mouth: Nose

Possible side effects: N/A

5 breaths per minute x 60 = 300 x 24 = 7,200

Cause & effect: Consistent meditative mind, optimal awareness.

Location: Belly/chest

Nose or mouth: Nose

Possible side effects: N/A

This obviously doesn’t account for the ever-changing nature of the breath speeding up and slowing down but rather holds it within a rigid context. Exercise, talking, and other stresses fluctuate the number of breaths we take per minute but on average, it’s how many breaths we breathe per minute most consistently which is the important thing to note here.

We can’t talk about why these differences are so important without touching into what happens to our nervous system when we do. So, let’s look at this incredibly complex, vast, and subtle organism that operates throughout our entire body, and how that links directly to the number of breaths we take per minute.

The Nervous System

The nervous system is made up of two parts: The Sympathetic Nervous System and Parasympathetic Nervous System. Each one controls different parts of the human body and what’s interest is that when we breathe (in and out) we stimulate both every time.

When we inhale we stimulate the sympathetic nervous system. When we exhale we stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system. Each breath is designed to balance the nervous system out as the breath breathes through us. Nature really is so impeccably designed!

When we inhale, our heart rate goes up a little. When we exhale, our heart rate goes down a little. This is a very simple explanation on what happens to us physiologically with every breath we take. This rise and fall, speeding up and slowing down motion is paramount to our state of being.

*you can test this out on yourself just for fun. Close your eyes for just a few breaths and start to feel your heart — notice if you feel it change with your breath.

As we breathe in our heart rate goes up a little as our diaphragm lifts and our heart contracts. This sends an incredibly speedy message up to the brain that then sends an incredibly speedy message back to the heart that says, ‘you must speed up’ so it does. Then as we breathe out the reverse is true. The diaphragm drops and the heart opens. This sends an incredibly speedy message up to the brain that then sends an incredibly speedy message back to the heart that says, ‘you must slow down’ so it does. This communication is all done at a rapid speed via the pathways of nerves that run from the brain to the heart and then spread throughout the body via our nervous system. Whatever messages are sent thereafter create the thoughts we think, the emotions we feel, and the behaviors we act out.

Could every thought, every emotion and every behavior be directly linked to our breath? It’s an exciting question!

If yes, we can change these messages whenever we need to with our breath alone!

In speeding up or slowing down the rhythm of our breath we can tap into the different parts of the nervous system, thus altering our state of being. This can be done simply by breathing in and out quicker to speed up or slow down. These simple breathing rhythms have enormous health benefits if done with awareness but can lead to catastrophic states of being if not. Anxiety and panic attacks are some of the most known common causes of when it goes wrong.

The sympathetic nervous system

The sympathetic nervous system controls our stress response, better known as the fight or flight response. It also monitors our bodies temperature, controls saliva levels, inhibits digestion, increases the heart rate, and responds to the moment to moment stresses the body faces while responding to the environment it’s in.

By increasing the speed of our breath we stimulate this part of our nervous system. Good stress creates a positive stress response (exercising, cold water) while bad stress creates a negative stress response (a heated argument, violence). Depending on whether it’s a positive stress response or a negative one, the nervous system responds accordingly depending on whether it thinks you are in immediate danger or not.

Benefits to speeding up (through exercise)

1. Pumps more oxygen around the body

2. Quickens circulation

3. Opens the heart to pump more blood

4. Awakens the cells

5. Engages the diaphragm

6. Releases Dopamine & Serotonin (the ‘happy’ chemicals)

That’s why exercise feels so great. It might not initially feel good when our muscles are burning up and the sweat is pouring out but afterwards, when we’re feeling content and rested, we tend to feel better for it. But for the exact same reasons, its why emotionally toxic environments feel so terrible. The nervous system responds in the same way: it is alert, alive, and in a fight or flight mode without any way to release that burst of adrenaline (with the breath faster and shallower) so we tend to feel more stressed, have addicted tendencies (coffee, tobacco, pornography etc) and often feel life to be too overwhelming. Monitoring this response is key.

The parasympathetic nervous system

The parasympathetic nervous system aids digestion, stabilises a resting heart rate, produces saliva and basically balances out what the sympathetic nervous system does while we are resting.

We activate the parasympathetic nervous system every time we exhale. The mechanism to re-balance is built into the very fabric of our being so the only link that’s missing from engaging it or not is knowledge. This is what I hope to share here.

There are so many benefits to slowing the breath down, especially in today’s world where everything is cranked up to such a fast pace. A very simple way to explain this is by exhaling longer than we inhale. That’s the golden rule. For example, if you inhale for 2 seconds, you can exhale for 4 seconds. If you inhale for 4 seconds, you can exhale for 6 seconds.

This allows the nervous system to relax after a few breaths (or a couple of minutes) and for the heart to beat slower which in turn relaxes the mind and lets all the other cells in the body know that it’s okay to relax, so they do.

This simple yet profound breathing pattern can breathe space into an otherwise fraught situation.

Here are some other benefits to slowing the breath down:

1. Calms the whole nervous system down.

2. Creates balance

3. Lowers the heart rate

4. Creates a peaceful inner state.

5. Aids digestion, relaxation & deeper sleep

6. Soothes anxiety

If you’re anything like me an explanation also helps to make sense of what’s happening on a physical level. Experience still reigns superior here but having the knowledge to back it up provides insight that helps me better understand what I’m doing, and maybe more importantly, why I’m doing it so I can keep showing up to it when the difficult days make it harder to do so.

Breathing exercises provide a way to restore balance which is why I love them so much. Understanding the nervous system is great for a deeper connection to our body, our breath, and to life itself.

The environment we find ourselves in

Our environment, both in the places we find ourselves in and in the internal space we create inside for ourselves, is key in either supporting our nervous system or frying it. The people we are surrounded by, the work that we do, the food that we eat, the words that we speak, the music that we listen to, the thoughts that we think, and what our internal voice says when it speaks to us all play a big role on the way our nervous system responds.

If we’re surrounded by people that put us down, are violent, negative, eat junk food, listen to loud violent music and are generally unsupportive, there’s a much bigger chance that our nervous system will be on high alert at best, and completely frazzled at worst.

If, on the other hand, we’re surrounded by kind, loving, supportive people that encourage and love us, that are positive, eat healthy, nutritious food and listen to soft, gentle music, we will typically find that our nervous system is more relaxed.

This comparison isn’t to favor one over the other but more to highlight the way in which the nervous system can be supported or knocked out of balance. My goal here isn’t to judge or condemn any way of being (I love listening to Eminem, eating a Cadbury’s diary milk chocolate bar, drinking a cold beer and (guiltily) watching the Fast & Furious series when my partner is away so I get it) so this isn’t to judge any of the above behaviors but more to show how the nervous system responds to the different environments we subject it to so you have a choice, or at the very least, know what will happen when we put it there.