# Thinking about breathing **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 22, 2002, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-breathing/110203 "2002-05-22T00:35:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chekmate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@Chekmate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chekmate)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2002, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-breathing/110203/1 "2002-05-22T00:35:24Z")
How come whenever I start to think about how I am breathing, I invariably feel like I am not getting enough air, and have to start taking deep breaths? ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2002, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-breathing/110203/2 "2002-05-22T03:12:51Z")
Because your body is designed so as to let your autonomic nervous system take care of all your breathing needs, by itself, and when you start thinking about what your autonomic nervous system is doing, you’re in effect peering over its shoulder, making sure it’s doing a good job, and like all good professionals, it resents this, and slows down on purpose, just to show you who’s in charge. Leave it alone, is my advice. You don’t want it to quit on you, do you? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![stankow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@stankow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stankow)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2002, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-breathing/110203/3 "2002-05-22T03:16:27Z")
Yeah, I have the same thing about blinking. Dammit. Now I’m thinking about blinking. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2002, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-breathing/110203/4 "2002-05-22T03:26:17Z")
Thinking about breathing is the root of meditation. When you think about how the air feels through your nose, and how it runs down into the deepest parts of your lungs, it is hard to think about all the irritating little grumblies that sap your brain energy most of the time. Boy, that was an odd little tangent… ---
**Author:** ![bbeaty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c0e974/32.png) [@bbeaty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbeaty)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2002, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-breathing/110203/5 "2002-05-22T03:30:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by stankow \* > \*\*Yeah, I have the same thing about blinking. > > Dammit. Now I’m thinking about blinking. \*\* That’s OK, but whatever you do, just don’t become Aware Of Your Skull. OOPS, now I’ve done it… Aware of your SKULL [http://amasci.com/brain/](http://amasci.com/brain/) ---
**Author:** ![heresiarch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@heresiarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heresiarch)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2002, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-breathing/110203/6 "2002-05-22T03:54:02Z")
Sometime I tell me autonomic system that I’ll take over the breathing for a while, and then I forget to do it. At least that’s what I think is happening. It’s usually when I wake up on the weekend. I do a big stretch, taking a really deep breath and expanding my ribcage. But after the stretch, when I relax all my muscles, I forget to relax my diaphragm. It’s almost as if it’s locked in place. After about 10 seconds I realize that there’s _something_ I ought to be doing, something important… DUH! exhale. Oh well, if I ever die from it, at least I’ll have the satisfaction of stumping the coroner. 🙂