I do a fair amount of intensive exercise, i.e. running and bicycling, etc., and I wonder whether there’s any physical benefit to taking a really deep breath while doing these things. What I mean is, when you’re running, for instance, you don’t feel like you’re working at peak until you manage to take a deep breath while you’re doing it. Then you feel rejuvenated and healthy and wonderful. So what, if anything, does taking a DB do for you in physical terms?
Stompy
Well, you get a lot of oxygen into your bloodstream to help your tired muscles. I don’t know that it’s any more complicated than that.
Breathing deeply also expands your lungs more fully, utilizing more of the alveoli, and reducing the tendency of portions of the lung to compact themselves, making them unavailable for oxygen exchange. this is called atalectasis by us medical types. So breathing deeply gives you more lung area to exchange CO2 and Oxygen, which I believe is a good thing. Your blood volume also circulates more fully, as lung tissue that is not getting aerated often ends up getting blood flow shunted away from it, and this could keep your overall blood pressure readings lower. Blood pressure rises with exercise, and can rise too high with extreme exertion. Probably someother physiologic benefit fromthis too, but I can’t bring it to mind right now