The Oxygen Advantage: The Simple, Scientifically Proven Breathing Techniques for a Healthier, Slimmer, Faster, and Fitter You

by Patrick McKeown

What determines how much of this oxygen your body can use is actually the amount of carbon dioxide in your blood.

When we breathe correctly, we have a sufficient amount of carbon dioxide, and our breathing is quiet, controlled, and rhythmic. If we are overbreathing, our breathing is heavy, more intense, and erratic, and we exhale too much carbon dioxide, leaving our body literally gasping for oxygen. It’s very intuitive: If we breathe better, increasing the amount of carbon dioxide inside us, then we can deliver more oxygen to our muscles and organs, including the heart and brain, and thus heighten our physical capacity.

Sport has always been the great love of Don Gordon’s life. He loved everything about it—the sweat, the competition, the adversity, the triumph. Growing up, he attended many races and football games with his father, watching his favorite competitors and aspiring to be just like them. Nothing compared to the atmosphere of a good game: the excitement of the fans, the shouts of encouragement (or profanities, according to the progress of the game), and always the belief and the hope that one day he would be just like the athletes he idolized. As a teenager, cycling was Don’s sport. He spent hours training on his bike, but he could never quite keep up with his fellow cyclists. He tired quickly and more often than not found himself breathless, watching from a distance as his friends rode their bikes farther and longer than he ever could. As time passed Don reluctantly gave up his dream of competing like the athletes he so admired as a boy. He finally accepted that there was no place for him in the world of competitive cycling. Twenty years later Don had become director of European operations in a leading American technology firm. While on a trip to Europe, he happened across my Oxygen Advantage program. Because Don had tried so many things before, he was skeptical, but decided to give it a shot. He got in touch with me, and in our first session together I gave him the crash course I gave you in the introduction to this book. He had never considered the relationship between physic...

But taking a large breath into the lungs during rest will not increase oxygen content. It is exactly the wrong thing to do if you seek greater endurance. Based on this misconception, many athletes adopt the practice of intentionally taking deep breaths during rest and training, and especially when their bodies are overtaxed. By doing so, however, they in fact limit and sometimes even diminish their performance.

It is, however, a common misconception that breathing in a larger volume of air increases the oxygenation of the blood. It is physiologically impossible to increase the oxygen saturation of the blood in this way, because the blood is almost always already fully saturated. It would be like pouring more water into a glass that is already filled to the brim.

Oxygen saturation (SpO2) is the percentage of oxygen-carrying red blood cells (hemoglobin molecules) containing oxygen within the blood.

During periods of rest the standard breathing volume for a healthy person is between 4 and 6 liters of air per minute, which results in almost complete oxygen saturation of 95 to 99 percent. Because oxygen is continually diffusing from the blood into the cells, 100 percent saturation is not always feasible. An oxygen saturation of 100 percent would suggest that the bond between red blood cells and oxygen molecules is too strong, reducing the blood cells’ ability to deliver oxygen to muscles, organs, and tissues.

The human body actually carries a surplus of oxygen in the blood—75 percent is exhaled during rest and as much as 25 percent is exhaled during physical exercise. Increasing oxygen...

the primary stimulus to breathe is to eliminate excess carbon dioxide from the body.

Chronic hyperventilation or overbreathing simply means the habit of breathing a volume of air greater than that which your body requires.

When we breathe in excess of what we require, too much carbon dioxide is exhaled from the lungs and, hence, is removed from the blood. It forces that door to a more closed position, making it harder for oxygen to pass through. Breathing too much for short periods of time is not a significant problem, as no permanent change in the body occurs. However, when we breathe too much over an extended period of days to weeks, a biochemical change takes place inside us that results in an increased sensitivity or lower tolerance to carbon dioxide. With this lower set point, breathing volume remains above normal as the receptors in the brain continuously stimulate breathing in order to get rid of carbon dioxide that is perceived to be in excess of the receptor’s programmed limits.

Carbon dioxide performs a number of vital functions in the human body, including: • Offloading of oxygen from the blood to be used by the cells. • The dilation of the smooth muscle in the walls of the airways and blood vessels • The regulation of blood pH.

The crucial point to remember is that hemoglobin releases oxygen when in the presence of carbon dioxide. When we overbreathe, too much carbon dioxide is washed from the lungs, blood, tissues, and cells. This condition is called hypocapnia, causing the hemoglobin to hold on to oxygen, resulting in reduced oxygen release and therefore reduced oxygen delivery to tissues and organs.

As counterintuitive as it may seem, the urge to take bigger, deeper breaths when we hit the wall during exercise does not provide the muscles with more oxygen but effectively reduces oxygenation even further.

For the vast majority of people, 2 minutes of heavy breathing is enough to reduce blood circulation throughout the body, including the brain, which can cause a feeling of dizziness and light-headedness.

It is well documented that habitual mouth breathing during waking and sleeping hours results in fatigue, poor concentration, reduced productivity, and a bad mood.

The same can also be true of individuals whose occupation involves considerable talking, such as schoolteachers or salespeople. People in these professions are often all too aware of how tired they feel after a day of work, but the exhaustion that follows endless business meetings is not necessarily due to mental or physical effort—more likely it is a result of the effects of elevated breathing levels during excessive talking.

carbon dioxide also plays a central role in regulating the pH of the bloodstream: how acidic or alkaline your blood is. Normal pH in the blood is 7.365, and this level must remain within a tightly defined range or the body is forced to compensate. For example, when the blood’s pH becomes more alkaline, breathing reduces to allow carbon dioxide levels to rise and restore pH. Conversely, if the pH of the blood is too acidic (as it is when you overconsume processed foods), breathing increases in order to offload carbon dioxide as acid, allowing pH to normalize.

Without the requisite amount of CO2 in the blood, blood vessels constrict and hemoglobin cannot release oxygen into the bloodstream; without the requisite amount of oxygen, working muscles do not perform as effectively as they should. We become breathless, or hit a wall in our capabilities.

The ideal BOLT score for a healthy individual is 40 seconds.

The truth is that the vast majority of individuals, including athletes, have a comfortable breath-hold time of about 20 seconds, often less. However, to achieve your full potential, a BOLT score of 40 seconds should be the goal.

Below is a brief guide to each of the three steps to increasing your BOLT score: 1. Stop Losses of Carbon Dioxide • Breathe through your nose, day and night. • Stop sighing; instead, swallow or suppress the sigh. One sigh taken every few minutes is enough to maintain chronic overbreathing, so it is necessary to counteract the sigh by swallowing or holding the breath. If you notice your sighs only after they have taken place, then hold your breath for 10 to 15 seconds to help compensate for the loss of carbon dioxide. • Avoid taking big breaths when yawning or talking. Individuals with a low BOLT score are often tired, and yawn frequently throughout the day. Try not to take in a large breath during a yawn. Likewise, individuals who talk for a living need to be aware that their breathing should not be heard during talking. If you find that you can hear your breathing during talking, then it is better to slow down the speed of your talking, use shorter sentences, and take a gentle breath through your nose between each sentence. • Observe your breathing throughout the day. Good breathing during rest should not be seen or heard. 2. Improve Tolerance of Carbon Dioxide This is where you practice exercises designed to reduce your breathing volume toward normal. They will bring a feeling of relaxation to your body and encourage your breathing to slow down and become calmer. The objective is to create a tolerable need or hunger for air...

The most accurate BOLT score is taken first thing after waking. This BOLT measurement is more accurate because you cannot influence your breathing during sleep, and therefore an early morning score will be based on your breathing volume as naturally set by your respiratory center.

Mouth breathing activates the upper chest, involves larger breaths, and may cause reduced oxygen uptake in the arterial blood. It is no wonder that habitual mouth breathers often suffer from poor energy, a lack of concentration, and moodiness. We

In the yoga book The Science of Breath, written over a century ago, Yogi Ramacharaka said this about nostril versus mouth breathing: “One of the first lessons in the Yogi Science of Breath is to learn how to breathe through the nostrils, and to overcome the common practice of mouth breathing.”

Below is a brief list of the functions of nasal breathing: • Nose breathing imposes approximately 50 percent more resistance to the airstream in normal individuals than does mouth breathing, resulting in 10 to 20 percent more O2 uptake.

Nasal breathing warms and humidifies incoming air. (Air entering the nose at 42.8˚F/6˚C will be warmed to 86˚F/30˚C by the time it touches the back of the throat, and a cozy 98.6˚F/37˚C—body temperature—upon reaching its final destination, the lungs.)

Nasal breathing removes a significant amount of germs and bacteria from the air you breathe in.

Nasal breathing during physical exercise allows for a work intensity great enough to produce an aerobic training effect as based on heart rate and percentage of VO2 max.

As discussed in the next section, the nose is a reservoir for nitric oxide, an essential gas for the maintenance of good health.

Mouth-breathing children are at greater risk of developing forward head posture, and reduced respiratory strength. • Breathing through the mouth contributes to general dehydration (mouth breathing during sleep results in waking up with a dry mouth). • A dry mouth also increases acidification of the mouth and results in more dental cavities and gum disease. • Mouth breathing causes bad breath due to altered bacterial flora. • Breathing through the mouth has been proven to significantly increase the number of occurrences of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.

When it comes to nasal breathing and breath-hold exercises, nitric oxide plays an important role. Nitric oxide is produced inside the nasal cavity and the lining of the thousands of miles of blood vessels throughout the body. Scientific findings have shown that this extraordinary molecule is released in the nasal airways and transferred to the lower airways and lungs through nasal breathing.

This short-lived gas dilates the air passages in your lungs and does the same to the blood vessels.”

Think of the nose as a reservoir: Each time we breathe gently and slowly through the nose, we carry this mighty molecule into the lungs and blood, where it can do its work throughout the body. Mouth breathing bypasses this special gas, missing out on the important advantages that nitric oxide provides for general well-being.

Nitric oxide plays an important role in vasoregulation (the opening and closing of blood vessels), homeostasis (the way in which the body maintains a state of stable physiological balance in order to stay alive), neurotransmission (the messaging system within the brain), immune defense, and respiration. It helps to prevent high blood pressure, lower cholesterol, keep the arteries young and flexible, and prevent the clogging of arteries with plaque and clots.

It is no coincidence, therefore, that as men grow older, conditions related to reduced blood flow—including erectile dysfunction—become more prevalent. The potency of nitric oxide in opening blood vessels becomes clear when you realize that this simple gas plays a significant role in erection of the penis.

Most important for athletes wishing to optimize their sports performance, nitric oxide plays a central role in dilating the smooth muscle layer embedded in the airways. Open airways allow for a better transfer of oxygen to and from the lungs during exercise, while tight airways create an uncomfortable and inefficient experience that ultimately affects performance.

The production of nitric oxide in the nasal sinuses can be increased by simply humming. In an article published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Doctors Weitzberg and Lundberg described how humming increased nitric oxide up to fifteenfold in comparison with quiet exhalation. They concluded that humming causes a dramatic increase in sinus ventilation and nasal nitric oxide release.

The results were an amazing 70 percent reduction of symptoms such as nasal stuffiness, poor sense of smell, snoring, trouble breathing through the nose, trouble sleeping, and having to breathe through the mouth.

Nose Unblocking Exercise • Take a small, silent breath in through your nose and a small, silent breath out through your nose. • Pinch your nose with your fingers to hold your breath. • Walk as many paces as possible with your breath held. Try to build up a medium to strong air shortage, without overdoing it. • When you resume breathing, do so only through your nose. Try to calm your breathing immediately. • After resuming your breathing, your first breath will probably be bigger than normal. Make sure that you calm your breathing as soon as possible by suppressing your second and third breaths. • You should be able to recover normal breathing within 2 or 3 breaths. If your breathing is erratic or heavier than usual, you have held your breath for too long. • Wait 1 or 2 minutes before repeating the breath hold. • In order to prepare yourself for the longer breath holds, go easy for the first few repetitions, increasing your paces each time. • Repeat for a total of 6 breath holds, creating a fairly strong need for air. Generally, this exercise will unblock the nose, even if you have a head cold. However, as soon as the effects of the breath hold wear off, the nose will likely feel blocked again. By gradually increasing the number of steps you can take with your breath held, you will find the results continue to improve. When you are able to walk a total of 80 paces wit...

Taping the mouth at night ensures the benefits of good breathing during sleep, allowing you to fall asleep more quickly, stay asleep longer, and wake feeling energized.

At first, Annette was slightly nervous about using the tape, though she was keen to try anything that might help her sleep and increase her energy levels. Initially, she found taping her mouth to be uncomfortable, and noticed that her breathing increased due to anxiety when she used it. However, over the next few days she practiced wearing the tape for short periods of 20 minutes while she went about her normal activities at home. This helped to acclimatize her to breathing through her nose and to overcome any fears about wearing the tape at night.

Over the years, I have introduced this taping method to thousands of people with incredible results. Unless you breathe calmly through your nose at night, you have no idea what it feels like to have a great night’s sleep. Taping the mouth at night is a simple but very effective technique, and while it may sound a little strange, it is well worth getting used to.

How long this takes will vary from person to person, but in general wearing the tape for a period of around three months is sufficient to restore nasal breathing during sleep. Breathing through your nose will result in a naturally moist mouth when you wake up. If your mouth is dry upon waking, you know that your mouth was open during sleep.

For thousands of years, masters of the ancient arts of yoga, tai chi, and qigong have espoused the importance of quiet, gentle, and light breathing.

during tai chi tournaments, judges pay particular attention to whether they can notice the breathing of competitors, with points being deducted when breathing is evident.

tai chi Master Chris Pei explains how breathing is at the very core of the Chinese concept of chi (qi): “Generally speaking, there are three levels of breathing. The first one is to breathe softly, so that a person standing next to you does not hear you breathing. The second level is to breathe softly so that you do not hear yourself breathing. And the third level is to breathe softly so that you do not feel yourself breathing.”

The traditional Chinese philosophy of Taoism succinctly describes ideal breathing as “so smooth that the fine hairs within the nostrils remain motionless.” True health and inner peace occurs when breathing is quiet, effortless, soft, through the nose, abdominal, rhythmic, and gently paused on the exhale. This is how human beings naturally breathed until modern life changed everything.

Authentic professional yoga practitioners will have developed a high tolerance to carbon dioxide through their practice—sometimes to the point of being able to sustain one calm breath per minute for a whole hour!

When you are practicing abdominal nasal breathing, you should not be able to see or hear your breath during rest. In contrast, overbreathing through the mouth, in an attempt to take a “deep” breath, will be clearly audible and cause the chest to rise and fall, but will still not manage to draw the breath deeply into the lungs.