W WELLBEING
L
IS THE WAY YOU BREATHE THE BIGGEST
OBSTACLE TO YOUR WEIGHT LOSS GOALS?
BY JOEL JELEN, BREATHING EXPERT
Of all the articles I’ve written for Wirral Life to date, I’m
sure you’ll agree that none will be more headline-grabbing
than the one about ‘how struggling to lose weight can be
attributed to poor breathing!’
In my field of breathing re-training for clients using the
Buteyko method, it’s well known that bad sleep interferes
with hormones that make you hungry and make you feel full.
However, I promise you that breathing through your nose has
been scientifically proven many times over to increase your
metabolism and help you lose that weight.
Here’s a proven fact...
Nose breathing increases oxygen and improves the quality
of our sleep which keeps our hunger-suppressing hormones
in check. The proof is in the many studies highlighting how
poor sleep is linked to increased appetite and a higher chance
of obesity.
I’m sure you’re wondering why...
Well, this is in part due to the connection between sleep and
the peptides that regulate your appetite: ghrelin and leptin.
Ghrelin, known as the ‘hunger hormone’ increases during
periods of poor sleep. Simultaneously, leptin – the ‘satiety
hormone’ that sends ‘full’ signals to the brain, decreases. So
how do you achieve a good night’s sleep beyond all the advice
you may have heard previously?
Here’s the deal...
Unsurprisingly given my passion for optimal breathing, the
route to a good night’s sleep is how you breathe during the
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day. If you can start your day by relaxing when you awake
rather than e.g. rushing to your favourite piece of technology
as you eat breakfast, that’s a good start. Don’t put yourself on
a heightened sense of anticipation before you’ve even left the
house!
Whilst at work, if you work and, if you e.g. use technology, be
conscious of your breathing. Is it relaxed? Is it audible, are you
mouth-breathing and/or chest breathing? If the answer is yes
to any of these then you are over breathing and you will end
up spending your day yawning and sighing because taking
too much air provokes this as you lose oxygen.
What’s the bottom line?
The less you breathe, the more oxygen you generate and the
healthier you are! It is not the other way round! Whatever
your work or leisure time looks like, remember that the more
oxygen you lose, e.g. by excessive talking or exercising with
your mouth open or through technology apnea (my last
article refers) the greater chance you will mouth breathe at
night during your sleep.
It gets worse...
That will do nothing for your weight loss ambitions apart
from frustrate you. It really is a vicious circle but, then it
gets better... adopting the right breathing during the day and
practising Buteyko breathing techniques can bring a huge
change to many of your life goals once you know how.
Joel Jelen is founder of Reset Breathing. More details can be
found at www.resetbreathing.com.