What determines how much of this oxygen your body can use is actually the amount of carbon dioxide in your blood. You may remember from biology class that we breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide, also called CO2. Most people learn that carbon dioxide is just a waste gas that we exhale from our lungs, but it is not a waste gas. It is the key variable that allows the release of oxygen from the red blood cells to be metabolized by the body. This is called the Bohr Effect. Understanding and utilizing this physiological principle will allow you to stop overbreathing.
