Overeating may not be the problem.
We all know that our bodies need calories to live. We also know that eating more calories than we need does not improve our body’s performance. In fact, most of us accept that too many calories are downright harmful. Have you ever considered that breathing is more critical to life than eating but just like overeating over-breathing can make us sick? That’s right, our bodies need to breathe but too much of a good thing is making us sick, fat, and fatigued.
Signs you may be over-breathing
Signs you may be over-breathing include sighing, moving your shoulders when you breathe, breathing through your mouth, and starting your next breath as soon as you exhaled the last one. Some of the symptoms of chronic over-breathing include snoring, fatigue, exercise-induced asthma, allergies, type II diabetes, and weight gain.
How to determine if you suffer from chronic overbreathing
Here is simple test you can do yourself to see if you suffer from chronic over breathing. Sit quietly and breath normally and quietly for a minute. Then after you exhale simply pause your breathing. Start a timer on your watch or smart phone at the beginning of the pause. Stop the timer once your body desires to take the next breath. Do not confuse this with holding your breath as long as you can. You are simply looking for the amount of time it takes for you to desire taking a next breath, when you would naturally breath again if you weren’t pausing your breathing.
If this time is 20 seconds or longer you’re doing pretty well. High performance athletes routinely achieve times of closer to 40 seconds. If your time is below 10 seconds you are a chronic over breather. You most likely are suffering some significant health issues and find it difficult to lose weight even when you work at it faithfully. The good news is now that you know about it you can change it.
To learn more, Call our Sioux Falls Dental Office to schedule an appointment with a dentist who can provide further information on this subject and enhance your oral health.