Peter Lichtbild
Breathing is unique behavior that regulates acid-base physiology. Acid-base physiology is about the pH balance of the body and fluids, including blood and the fluids surrounding tissue cells (interstitial fluid). The effects of deregulated pH (or chemistry) on health and performance can be dramatic and profound. The way you have learned to breathe should have a much greater impact on you than you could have ever imagined!Good breathing behavior means proper regulation of body chemistry (pH), a chemistry that ensures electrolyte balance – proper distribution of oxygen. Poor breathing behavior means deregulation of body chemistry. Breathing, like any other behavior, is regulated to varying degrees by learning and thus by motivation, emotion, cognition, perception, and memory. Bringing together two simple facts, that (1) breathing is a behavior subject to the principles of learning, and that (2) breathing regulates body chemistry (pH), means bringing together biology and behavioral science in a profound way, thus opening up practical avenues relevant to the lives of millions of people.
Symptoms triggered by overbreathing
RESPIRATION: shortness of breath, shortness of breath, feelings of suffocation.BREAST: Tightness, pressure and painSKIN: Sweat, cold, tingling and numbness.HEART: palpitations, irregularities, increased rateEMOTION: Anxiety, anger, panic, fear, worry, outburst, cryingSTRESS: tension, fatigue, weakness, headache, high blood pressureHEAD: Dizziness, loss of balance, fainting, blackout, confusion, disorientation.SENSES: blurred vision, dry mouth, sound seems distant, reduced pain threshold.SELF: traumatic memories, low self-esteem, personality changes.IDENTIFICATION: Attention deficit, loss of focus, inability to think, memory impairment.CONSCIOUSNESS: Feelings of \”other worldliness\”, feeling of disconnectedness, hallucinations.PERIPHERAL CHANGES: trembling, twitching and shaking.MUSCLE: tetany, spasm, weakness, fatigue and pain.ABDOMEN: Nausea, cramps and flatulence.
Hypocapnia
Breathing behavior regulates pH by proper exhalation (ventilation) of carbon dioxide (CO2). In fact, pH plays an important role in the distribution of oxygen itself. The proper exhalation of CO2 at rest is only about 12 to 15 percent of the total amount of CO2 that enters the lungs. The remaining 85 to 88 percent of CO2 is retained in the blood and is essential for pH.
Regulation
Exhalation of more than this relatively small amount of CO2 results in a CO2 deficit in the blood and other body fluids, i.e., deregulated respiratory chemistry known as hypocapnia. Traditional common sense has led us astray with the assumption that CO2 is toxic. This superstition must be replaced by facts. Hypocapnia is the result of overbreathing behavior, the mismatch of breathing rate and depth. Its consequence is elevated pH or respiratory alkalosis, which can trigger profound immediate and long-term effects, and can cause a variety of emotional, perceptual, cognitive, attentional, behavioral and physical deficits that seriously impair health and performance. Although the fundamental importance of CO2 in the regulation of body chemistry is common knowledge to any pulmonary or acid-base physiologist, it is virtually unknown to most patients, health educators, and respiratory trainers.
Overbreathing behavior
Overbreathing can be bad breathing, and like any behavior, it can be learned. Its effects on body chemistry can cause \”unexplained symptoms\”, or misunderstood performance deficits, or acute and chronic \”stress effects\”, all of which are mistakenly attributed to other causes. Good breathing behaviors, on the other hand, can improve people’s health and quality of life, leading to performance improvements, but also to \”unexplained positive outcomes\” and placebo effects that are often mistakenly easily attributed to a physician’s treatment intervention. Educating people about breathing as a learned behavior personalizes these effects – the good and the bad. In this context, the effects of breathing on health and performance, as well as behavioral consequences, become clear, rather than unexplained clinical symptoms and deficits.Over-breathing behavior is the order of the day. Based on ambulance call surveys, 60 percent of ambulance calls in major U.S. cities are driven as a direct result of symptoms caused by overbreathing. But, for every person who shows up in an emergency, how many more show up in doctors’ offices with unexplained symptoms? How many just keep going to work even though they’re miserable? Not to mention those who report a \”medical symptom\”.
How many are still suffering from unreported performance deficits that have not even been identified as symptoms? Half of the patients attend outpatient clinics run by the UK National Healthcare Services (NHS). There, they are given a diagnosis of \”dysfunction\” with no organic factor identified. And unfortunately, they go from practitioner to practitioner without resolution. Hypocapnia may play an important role in many of these cases if it represents homeostatic deregulation due to stress.
Learn and practice breathing
Millions of people around the world teach and practice breathing behaviors. They all agree that good breathing is the foundation of healthy physiology and psychology. They all claim one success or another and have theories about how, why, when, and where breathing is good or bad. Traditions, culture, personal experience, incomplete knowledge, practical facts, testimonies, misinformation, misunderstandings, myths, and superstitions become diverse \”schools of thought\” including theory and practice, usually identified with an \”innovative\” creator and a supporting philosophy.Unfortunately, however, their knowledge is almost always limited to the mechanics of breathing (such as diaphragmatic breathing) and does not include the underlying physiology and chemistry that cause the most profound effects of the learned breathing behavior.Breathing assessment and training should address breathing as a behavior. People breathe very differently depending on what they are doing, thinking and feeling. Good body chemistry is critical to health and performance and must be regulated despite the breathing acrobatics of speaking, emotional encounters and professional challenges. And it must be maintained – whether you are relaxed or stressed, excited or bored, active or inactive, working or playing, focused or distracted. Insisting on slow breathing and relaxation at these times, for example, is not only unrealistic, but can be counterproductive. To not directly address breathing behavior in relation to body chemistry is to leave out the most basic, practical, and profound factors that account for (1) the far-reaching effects of poor breathing, as well as (2) the surprising benefits of good breathing. Good breathing does not require relaxation or a specific mechanical prescription, except for one thing: the varied melodies of breathing mechanics must ultimately play the music of balanced chemistry.In this article, we review (1) the physiology of hypocapnia and its effects on health and performance, and (2) the behavioral origins, supporting variables, and management of overbreathing behavior. Learning to breathe well works through personal experiential knowledge, not prescriptive expertise. It’s about inside-out personality.Exploration and development, rather than external – in professional diagnosis and treatment helps us set the course for a new era of health and performance awareness, which – in contrast to traditional and alternative health care – emphasizes the psychology of physiology, as well as the role of learning in one’s biology. Breathing behavior is central to moving us through that door. Let’s see why.
External breathing
External respiration is about the mechanics of breathing, the penetration of oxygen into the lungs and its regulation, this ensures its diffusion into the blood. It also involves the proper diffusion of carbon dioxide from the blood to the lungs and its subsequent excretion into the atmosphere. It includes respiratory rate, respiratory depth (volume of air in a single breath), respiratory rhythm (holding, gasping, sighing), respiratory location (chest and diaphragm), respiratory resistance (nose and mouth), and additional muscle activity (muscles other than the diaphragm). The diaphragm is the primary inspiratory muscle. Inspiration, at rest, typically involves only the diaphragm, and the external intercostal muscles. When the diaphragm contracts, the intestines are pushed to the side and the lungs are pulled down. into the abdominal cavity, creating the negative pressure necessary for inhalation. Exhalation, at rest, is passive; no muscle contractions will be involved, only the relaxation of the diaphragm and the external intercostals. Accessories respiratory muscles that support external breathing, include abdominal, chest, back and neck muscles useful in sports, talking, singing, coughing and so on. \”Chest breathing\” refers to the use of accessory muscles, and \”Diaphragmatic breathing\” refers to breathing dominated by the diaphragm and outer intercostal muscles. Chest breathing, at rest, can mean (1) using extra muscles when they are not needed, (2) using extra muscles to do the work of the diaphragm, and worst of all, (3) using extra muscles at the expense of the diaphragm, ie. \”reversed”. Breathe. This, as we will see, increases the likelihood of deregulated respiratory chemistry, disturbed acid-base balance.
Ventilation and its measurement
Gases (air) are measured by the pressures they exert. When gases are mixed, they each contribute to a total of Print. Each gas contributes a partial pressure. Total air pressure at sea level, at 15◦ C and zero humidity, is 760 mmHg (millimeters of mercury). At sea level partial pressure oxygen, written PO2 is 159 mmHg (20.93%), and partial pressure carbon dioxide, written PCO2, is 0.3 mmHg (less than 0.04%).The alveolus is the basic respiratory unit. There are about 300 million alveoli. The alveoli are surrounded by approximately 280 billion pulmonary capillaries. Most of the gas exchange, O2 and CO2, occurs in the alveolar capillary unit. Normal inhalation at sea level increases alveolar PO2 (average PO2 in the alveoli) to about 104 mmHg. Because venous blood entering the pulmonary capillary network contains only about 40 mmHg PO2, rapid diffusion from the alveoli, resulting in an arterial PO2 (PaO2) of about 100 mmHg, most of which (98.5%) is in the tissues due to hemoglobin in the red blood cells. Without pure oxygen (with PO2 = 760 mmHg) or hyperbaric chamber pressure (with PO2 = 600 mmHg), O2 dissolved in blood plasma alone is not essential for life. Carbon dioxide is transported to the lungs, where it is excreted (1) into the alveoli for release into the lungs. atmosphere, and (2) allocated to the body for the proper maintenance of acid-base physiology. Redistribution of CO2 means reflexive coordination of respiratory depth and respiratory rate, with arterial PCO2 (PaCO2), which under normal circumstances is at about 40 mmHg to normalize blood plasma pH (about 7.4). PCO2 in capillary venous blood, at rest, is about 46 to 48 mmHg, whereas inspired atmospheric air contains only about 0.3 mmHg PCO2. Because the lung capillary PCO2 equilibrates with alveolar PCO2 as a result of diffusion, alveolar PCO2 levels must also be continuously maintained at approximately 40 mmHg. Thus, if alveolar PCO2 increases, so does arterial PCO2, and if alveolar PCO2 as due to overbreathing, so does arterial CO2. Poor breathing is when learned breathing behaviors interfere with proper breathing.
Regulation of CO2 allocation
Overbreathing and hypocapnia are measured with a capnograph, an instrument that measures mean alveolar PCO2. In the lungs of a healthy individual, alveolar PCO2 is equivalent to PaCO2. These instruments are used worldwide in emergency.medicine, intensive care, and surgery for gas monitoring and regulation; these are medical applications.This article is about the educational applications of capnometry instrumentation, where it is used for the assessment and management of overbreathing behavior, in particular the educational use of the CapnoTrainer. Overbreathing reduces alveolar PCO2 levels, resulting in local hypocapnia, i.e., reduced CO2 levels in the lungs, which alone may directly increase the likelihood of bronchoconstriction and airway resistance and reduce lung compliance. As a result, breathing can become more labored and a significant contributor both physically and psychologically (e.g., fear of not breathing), to the likelihood of a breathless episode, even an asthma attack.
Acid-base balance, hydrogen ion concentration and pH value
Acid-base balance is about regulating hydrogen ion concentration, written[H+ in body fluids (50% of body) weight) These fluids are both intracellular (fluids inside cells, 32% body weight) and extracellular (fluids outside cells), 18% body weight). Extracellular fluids include blood plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, lymphatic fluid, and interstitial fluid. (fluid in the immediate vicinity of the cells). Maintaining the correct levels of[H+]. Also known as pH, is absolutely critical for healthy physiology, healthy psychology and optimal performance. Because the pH, mathematically speaking, is the negative logarithm of H+ when the pH increases [H+] and when the pH decreases [H+]. increases. The pH of the water is 7.0, but contains an equivalent concentration of hydroxyl ions[OH die den Versatz[H+] balances. and is thus designated as \”neutral\” (buffered). Thus, solutions with a pH below 7.0, where[H+ größer als[OH¯] is. are pissed off. And, solutions with pH values above 7.0, where[OH¯ ist größer als[H+]. are alkaline. The range of extracellular pH values is very limited Blood plasma, for example, is a slightly alkaline aqueous (water) solution with a normal pH range of 7.35 to 7.45. Plasma acidemia is a pH below 7.35 (although it is still alkaline), and plasma acidemia is a pH above 7.45. Plasma pH values below 6.9 and above 7.8 are fatal. Values below 7.35 and above 7.45 can lead to physical complaints, psychological changes and performance deficits. Hydrogen ions are produced by the body through metabolism. Most of these ions are \”utilized\”, which means that they are either \”consumed\” in the synthesis of other body substances, such as glucose, or they are oxidized, converted to CO2 and H2O. Before the use of hydrogen ions or before their excretion, as in the case of protein metabolism, they are replaced by bicarbonates (HCO3). This maintains the pH and prevents metabolic acidosis (lower pH). Examples of metabolic acids are lactic acid, which is produced in its largest amounts during anaerobic metabolism, and keto acids, which are produced by fat metabolism. The hydrogen ions of these acids are continuously utilized and thus the bicarbonates used to buffer them are continuously restored.The Henderson-Hasselbach (H-H) equation, familiar to virtually anyone who has studied basic physiology, tells us that pH in extracellular fluids is regulated by the relationship between the presence of carbon dioxide, PCO2, from respiration and bicarbonate concentration, [HCO3 regulated by the kidneys: pH = [HCO3] ÷ PCO2. Changes in the numerator of the equation, bicarbonate levels, are generally slow (8 hours to 5 days), while changes in the denominator, carbon dioxide, are immediate. This puts breathing at the center of the current acid-base regulation. In the case of blood plasma, a PaCO2 of about 40 mmHg results in a pH of about 7.4. Discharging too much CO2 by breathing deep, or fast, or both, represents an overbreathing behavior that lowers PCO2 below 40 and raises pH above 7.4, making plasma (and other extracellular fluids) too alkaline.In general, PaCO2 values below 35 mmHg represent hypocapnia: 30-35 mmHg is mild to moderate, 25-30 mmHg is severe, and 20-25 mmHg is severe hypocapnia. One of the direct consequences of the CO2 deficit is smooth muscle. Constriction, including with muscles in: (1) the intestines, leading to increased likelihood of spasm, pain, and nausea; (2) the lungs, leading to bronchoconstriction; (3) the placenta, leading to decreased blood flow and nutrient supply to the fetus; and (4) the vasculature, leading to cerebral artery stenosis, coronary stenosis, vasoconstriction. Resistance, vasospasm, and higher blood pressure. Smooth muscle constriction as a result of hypocapnia, depending on the individual, can lead to symptoms of all kinds, including most of the symptoms identified with the \”effects of stress\”.
Reflexive balancing breathing
Basic respiratory reflexes are regulated by spinal cord and brainstem mechanisms. These centers regulate respiration, breath to breath, based on the pH of the surrounding cerebrospinal and interstitial fluids, along with PCO2. surprisingly not PO2. However, in addition to receptor sites in the nervous system, there are also receptor sites in the aorta. and the carotid arteries, which are sensitive not only to arterial CO2 and arterial pH but also to arterial PO2 (PaO2).When the numerator of the H-H equation, bicarbonate concentration, is disturbed by a metabolic state, there is a normally reflexive respiratory compensation, with PCO2, the denominator of the equation, rising or falling to maintain the ratio and thus the pH in the normal range, in the case of blood plasma 7.35 to 7.45. For example, when bicarbonate concentration is reduced by ketoacidosis (diabetes), overbreathing reduces arterial PCO2 and restores extracellular pH. Overbreathing in this case, despite its possible negative side effects, is an adaptive response to ketoacidosis.Another important example of reflexive airway compensation is during heavy exercise. During the transition from aerobic to anaerobic exercise, abnormal amounts of lactic acid are produced. production of hydrogen ions begins to \”outflank” its use, and there may no longer be an adequate bicarbonate reserve, leading to lactic acidosis.Fortunately, lung capacity usually exceeds cardiovascular capacity, so acidosis is possible during strenuous exercise. compensated by overbreathing, PaCO2 reduction. Observing PCO2 levels during exercise, on a stationary bike or on a treadmill, gives sports and fitness enthusiasts a rough indication of their anaerobic threshold: when CO2 levels drop. Compensation of respiration in lactic acidosis has begun.Chemo-regulatory management of brainstem respiration relies mainly on the diaphragm for its control. So, learned use of accessory muscles during stress and challenge, thoracic breathing, can lead to deregulation of brainstem mechanisms that lead to symptoms of hypocapnia, which is usually due to \”stress\” rather than response to challenge, in this case deregulated breathing behavior. Unfortunately, practitioners who do not understand breathing. a behavioral perspective, neither assess the likely behavioral contributions to the deregulated denominator of the H-H equation nor educate their clients/patients about how to manage breathing behaviors and their personal consequences.
Inner breathing
Internal respiration is about transporting oxygen in the blood from the lungs to the cells and transporting metabolic carbon dioxide from the tissue cells into the blood and lungs.
Once CO2 and H2O enter the interstitial fluid (around the cells) as a result of cellular respiration, they diffuse into the plasma of the blood. About 90 percent of the CO2 then diffuses into the red blood cells. The balance of about 10 percent remains dissolved in the plasma, the dissolved PCO2. The presence of CO2 in the red blood cell, as we will see, is critical. for oxygen distribution. Carbon dioxide is hydrated (combined with H2O) to form carbonic acid: CO2 + H2O ↔ H2CO3.Carbonic acid dissociates (decomposes) into hydrogen and bicarbonate ions: H2CO3 ↔ H+HCO3. The increased presence of hydrogen ions, H+ means that the red blood cells become less alkaline, i.e. the pH of the fluid (cytosol) in red.blood cells drop. The bicarbonates, HCO3, diffuse into the blood where they buffer acids, such as lactic acid. The amount of CO2 produced by the tissues determines exactly how much carbonic acid is formed, and thus the pH of the red blood cells, as well as the amount of bicarbonate that enters the plasma. The presence of CO2 gas and the drop in pH inside erythrocytes independently and jointly alter the spatial constitution of hemoglobin, affecting its affinity for oxygen, i.e., it releases its oxygen more readily and increases plasma PO2 levels; this change is called the Bohr effect.Thus, hemoglobin distributes its O2 more readily to the tissues that need it, while buffering hydrogen.Ions to restore normal pH in red blood cells. Reduced pH and increased PCO2 not only predispose hemoglobin to release.
oxygen, but also nitric oxide (a gas), a potent vasodilator. The result is increased blood volume and blood flow,which increases oxygen and glucose supply to cells that produce more CO2.Increased PCO2 levels lead to increased (1) oxygen supply (more blood), (2) glucose supply (more blood), (3) PO2(O2/ml blood) and bicarbonates to buffer acids. Proper PCO2 regulation means that the chemistry of red blood cells the surrounding tissue metabolism. Overbreathing reduces dissolved PCO2 and thus CO2 and carbonic acid in red blood cells. This means reduced hydrogen ion concentration, increased pH in red blood cells. The effect on hemoglobin is twofold: (1) increased affinity for O2 (Bohr effect), reducing the likelihood of release into plasma, and (2) decreased release of nitric oxide, resulting in vasoconstriction. This results in less oxygen (local hypoxia), less glucose (local hypoglycemia), and reduced buffering capacity for the tissues in need. Reduced nitric oxide also increases platelet levels, their aggregation and \”adhesion\” tendency, increasing the likelihood of blood clotting.
Hypocapnia and electrolyte balance
Hypocapnia has a direct effect on the electrolyte balance of extracellular fluids. In the brain, for example, sodium ions in thethe interstitial fluid is exchanged for hydrogen ions in the neurons. This does lower the pH of the interstitial fluid.toward normal, which is desirable, the excess sodium ions increase neuronal excitability, contractility, and metabolism.Even more unfortunate, this increase in metabolism occurs when neurons can least afford it, during a period of reducedCirculation and deficits of oxygen and glucose. This lowers the threshold for anaerobic glycolysis, which increases theLikelihood of lactic acidosis in neurons, which may lead to further physical and mental symptoms; andDeficits. It can also lead to excitotoxin production and antioxidant depletion.Hypocapnia alters the balance of calcium and magnesium in muscles, increasing the likelihood of tetany and spasms,Weakness and fatigue. This includes skeletal muscles with serious consequences for athletes and fitness enthusiasts. And, itincludes smooth muscles in which imbalance can increase or trigger migraine, angina, and electrocardiogram.Anomalies. The transport of sodium and potassium ions into cells in exchange for hydrogen ions may also result.on symptoms and deficiencies associated with sodium and potassium deficiency.Respiration and renal physiologyThe nephron, the basic structural and functional unit of the kidney, is responsible for the purification and filtration of blood.During filtration, bicarbonates leave the blood and become part of the nephron filtrate, including water, electrolytes, glucose,Amino acids, vitamins, small proteins, creatinine and urea. When these substances pass through the nephron, many of them becomeare selectively reabsorbed and returned to the blood, including sodium and bicarbonate ions. Other substances arefrom the surrounding cells and capillaries, such as hydrogen and ammonium ions, are excreted into the filtrate. Carbon dioxideplays a role both in the return of bicarbonates from the filtrate to the blood and in the synthesis of newBicarbonates lost by buffering unused hydrogen ions generated during protein metabolism.Carbon dioxide and H2O, in the filtrate, diffuse into the tubular cells surrounding the filtrate to form carbonic acid: CO2H2O ↔ H2CO3. As with red blood cells, carbonic acid breaks down into hydrogen and bicarbonate ions: H2CO3 ↔ H+HCO3. The bicarbonates in the tubular cells are transported into the surrounding capillaries and are thusfully recovered for general distribution. The hydrogen ions in these cells are transported into the filtrate.Sodium ions Sodium ions in the tubular cells are transported to the capillaries along with the bicarbonate ions, andthus returned to the general cycle. And, the hydrogen ions, now in the filtrate, combine with more bicarbonate ions in theFiltrate to carbonic acid: H+ HCO3 ↔ H2CO3. The carbonic acid contained in the filtrate dehydrates to CO2 and H2O, which arethen diffuse into the same tubular cells, where they again form carbonic acid in the tubular cells, and the cycle begins.anew. An almost identical process, which also requires CO2, allows the synthesis of new bicarbonates to replace the bicarbonates.lost in the buffering of acids produced during protein metabolism. In this case, however, H+ isin the filtrate is combined with sodium phosphate and excreted instead of being used in the formation of H2O, which is reabsorbed by tubular cells.Overbreathing leads to a CO2 deficit in the kidneys, resulting in less bicarbonate being extracted from the filtrate, andno more new bicarbonate is formed. This may mean that bicarbonate ions, which are critical for buffering metabolic acids,such as lactic acid, which is produced during exercise, are depleted. The consequences can be: (1) Impairment of physical performance.endurance in sports and fitness enthusiasts and (2) the incidence of fatigue associated with chronic stress,where adequate buffering of even small amounts of lactic acid is compromised. The exchange of hydrogen ions for sodiumions is also reduced and may contribute to the development of sodium deficiency and associated symptoms.Syndromes, symptoms, and deficits triggered, exacerbated, or caused by overbreathing.The effects of a behavioral change in acid-base physiology can be profound and dramatic.Physiology. For example, it has been common practice in emergency medicine for many years toHypocapnia to reduce bleeding and swelling in the brain. Although it can be life-saving in the event of head trauma, it is anow recommended against because of the potentially dangerous side effects that may outweigh its benefits. Unfortunatelymany of us engage the same \”emergency procedure\” without realizing it when we go to work, face challenges, andcommunicate with others. Hypocapnia can lead to serious changes in brain chemistry, resulting in profound physical and mental changes.psychological changes.
Some effects of hypocapnia
NEUROLOGICAL SYMPTOMS: Epilepsy, ADD, ADHD.COGNITIVE DEFICITS: Attention, learning, thinking, problem solving, memory.PSYCHOMOTOR TROUBLESHOOTING: coordination, response time, integration.EMOTIONAL REACTIVITY: Anger, fear, bad mood, frustration tolerance.PERFORMANCE ANXIETY: public speaking, test recordings, music eveningsPSYCHOLOGICAL SYNDROMS: phobias, panic attacks, anxiety syndromes, depressionsPERSONAL CHANGES: self-esteem, self-confidence, cognitive style, emotional attitude.DEFENSE: denial, self-talk, dissociation, disconnectedness.STRESS SYMPTOMS: fatigue, generalized anxiety, burnout and physical symptoms.CARDIOVASCULAR DISORDERS: angina, myocardial infarction, arrhythmias, nonspecific pain, ECG abnormalities.VASCULAR SYMPTOMS: hypertension, migraine phenomena, digital arterial spasms, ischemia.RESPIRATORY SYMPTOMS: bronchial constriction and spasm, asthma symptoms and seizures.GASTRIC SYMPTOMS: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), nausea, cramps, bloating, non-ulcer dyspepsia.PREGNANCY: fetal health, premature birth, symptoms during pregnancy.MUSCLE COMPROMISES: spasm, hyperreflexia, pain, tetany, weakness, fatigue and stiffness.NEUROMUSCULAR DYSFUNCTIONS: repetitive strain injury (RSI), pain, injury, fibromyalgia.BLUTIRREGULARITIES: red blood cell rigidity (effects of calcium), thrombosis (blood clotting).PHYSICAL DEFICITS: physical endurance, altitude sickness, acute fatigue, chronic fatigue, exertion syndrome.SLEEP DISTURBANCES: Apnea and other disorders
The Henderson-Hasselbach equation rewritten
Physicians are interested in the organic factors that interfere with the numerator of the H-H equation, bicarbonate.Concentration. Breathing, the denominator, is considered a reflexive chemical-physiological compensatory mechanism.which helps to restore the acid-base balance. Integrating behavioral science with the H-H equation,means examining behavioral and psychological variables that interfere with the denominator of the equation. Therefore the equationcan be rewritten as follows: Acid-base regulation (pH) = physiology ÷ behavior (respiration), or even physiology ÷Psychology, where psychology enters through its effects on breathing behavior. The effects are impressive.In reviewing this equation, it is important to note that pH not only has a profound effect on behavior, but also on human behavior.has an immense influence on the pH value. Why is this not common knowledge? Why is the content of this article new to most readers?Why aren’t practitioners everywhere implementing this knowledge? The answers are really very simple: (1) MedicalPractitioners practice what they have learned and provide the services for which they are licensed. They are usually notBehavioral scientists, psychologists, counselors, therapists, teachers, consultants, or breath coaches. Even with the skills,and the time that the health care system does not yet provide well, either philosophically or financially, for patients.Educational Services. And, (2) behavioral practitioners have never heard of the H-H equation. Many of them effectivelyignore physiology and consider anything related to physiology as beyond the scope of their practice and license.Thus, the otherwise obvious applications become hidden and remote, lost in the departments of cultural thought.
Behavioral causes of overbreathing behavior
Why do we learn deregulated breathing behaviors? The answers to this question are no more a mystery than the same thing.Questions about other behavior, adaptive or maladaptive; the same behavioral principles apply. And, like otherbehavior, overbreathing can be learned quickly and easily, and unfortunately, like so many habits, can be difficult todisable, manage, modify or eliminate. Most learning is unconscious. Very little of it is intentional or deliberate.Deregulation of breathing can be learned based on some of the following behavioral principles:Instrumental (operant) conditioning, or learning based on reinforcement, is an underlying biological learning principle.for the acquisition of many behaviors. Access to emotions, such as anger, can serve as defensive reinforcement.\”Gasping for air\” could reinforce and provide a solution to the \”survival metaphor\” for \”drowning\”. A sense of \”control\”.can be achieved through targeted regulation, external manipulation. Intentional use of additional muscles (mistakenly)triggers a feeling of distrust towards the body. \”More air\” gives a (false) sense of security.Secondary gains resulting from unexplained symptoms and deficits can lead to learning the role of \”victimization.” Therespiratory symptoms and deficits become the basis for visiting alternative practitioners and sympathy,Support and attention from family and friends.Classical (Pavlovian) conditioning, also an underlying biological learning principle, can be used to developPhobias about \”breathing” that can develop at an early age or at any time as a result of conditions such as.Asthma. Experiencing the physical sensations of breathing itself can lead to emotional disturbances through classical conditioningAnswers. And overbreathing itself can become a classically conditioned response to certain emotional, social, and physical factors,and even professional experience. Stimulus generalization, fundamental to biological learning, means that although overbreathing under a set ofcircumstances, it can \”generalize\” to similar but different circumstances. This may not only be perceptual, but alsoalso metaphorical, where it can be embedded in seemingly disconnected, comprehensive patterns of coping behavior.Vicious cycle behavior can occur where solving a problem becomes a problem. Emptying buffers byChronic overbreathing, in predisposed individuals, may result in inability to achieve sufficientBuffer reserves for the treatment of lactic acidosis. So even a minimal effort, like walking through a supermarket, can lead to this.Lactic acidosis. The resulting asymmetric H-H equation, where the numerator has now become smaller, requires compensation.Reduction of PCO2 (the denominator) by overbreathing, a solution to another cause.Cognitive learning may play an important role in the development of overbreathing. Misunderstandings, misinformation, personalBeliefs about the biological self, experiential ignorance of breathing, misinterpretation of bodily sensations, distrust of thethe body, defensive thinking, self-talk, and intentional breath manipulation all contribute to setting the stage for learning.
Deregulated breathing behavior
State-dependent learning may be the result of overbreathing, in which radical changes in brain chemistry and associatedStates of consciousness can provide the context for learning new behaviors, as in the case of drug addiction. Alternativecognitive styles, emotional attitudes, and self-feelings can then become dependent on the induced state changes.through breathing behavior. The result can be chronic overbreathing behavior, especially in the case of emotional trauma,where a change of state can create the conditions for learning an alternative personality based on defense and security.Combat flight reflexes may provide the context for learning to overbreathe. Overbreathing can be learned as a defense.Response to specific challenges, such as performing in front of an audience or confronting a distressed partner. It can mediatethrough its immediate and direct effects on brain chemistry, providing dissociation, aGateway to the separation of emotional vulnerability and traumatic memory. Also as a compensatory reflex for acidosisas a result of disease, toxicity and organ failure, overbreathing can be reconfigured through learning and experience, as well asother basic reflexes. Unfavorable physical conditions, e.g. injuries, can be the ideal condition for learning overbreathing.Breathing is a unique behavior. It refers to the inseparability of physiology and behavior, in which respiration plays an important role.role in both homeostasis from a biological perspective and self-regulation from a behavioral perspective. BreatheBehavior plays both an obvious and subtle role in regulating health and performance. The following considerationsattest to their special place in teaching \”unexplained symptoms\”, placebo effects, and the \”effects of stress\”.●Breathing is an \”eternal\” behavior. It appears always and everywhere.●Breathing is necessarily woven into almost every behavioral landscape.●Breathing is a trigger for emotions, memories, thoughts, physical symptoms, self-awareness and personality.●Breathing is a gateway that stages, creates backgrounds of meaning, establishes contexts, and alters states.●Breathing is centrally controlled from different neurophysiological sites.