THE LONGEVITY EFFECT OF BREATH

Research on healthy living and holistic health today has increasingly focused on the concepts of longevity and well-being. Longevity deals with living a long and healthy life, while well-being not only emphasizes health but also suggests ways to enhance one’s overall life satisfaction and sense of well-being. When we examine these two topics, one common factor stands out: breath.

Beyond its spiritual, mental, and physical significance, respiration is, in physiological terms, an oxidizing, aging, and erosive process.

More oxygen means more oxidation. Oxidation, in turn, leads to the release of free radicals, creating inflammation in the body and causing wear and tear, effectively generating an internal burning effect. Inflammation is commonly known as swelling or irritation. Therefore, although it may sound unusual, physiological aging is essentially an internal slow-cooking process.

Since breath and respiration are fundamental elements of our existence, their effects cannot be overlooked. While oxygen nourishes all our cells, it also contributes to their aging. This is why a healthy life is not necessarily about inhaling large amounts of oxygen. Instead, a healthy life is about ensuring that our cells receive the right amount of oxygen.

So, how does the right amount of oxygen reach our cells?

By breathing more and increasing oxygen intake?

Unfortunately, the system doesn’t work that way.

The key to delivering adequate oxygen to our cells is actually maintaining sufficient carbon dioxide levels. Proper breathing habits—such as taking slow, calm breaths and reducing the number of breaths per minute—play a crucial role in this balance. Consequently, the lower our respiratory rate per minute, the more it positively affects our heart rate variability, pulse, and the efficient oxygenation of our cells.

By practicing techniques that reduce our breath rate, we can regulate the body’s oxygen-carbon dioxide balance, facilitating better oxygen transport to our cells. This process slows oxidation, reduces free radical accumulation, and ultimately decelerates the internal burning effect—thereby slowing down the aging process.

For this reason, proper breathing is closely linked to a healthy and long life. There are many parameters to explore and analyze in this regard, but for now, I’d like to briefly explain what proper breathing should be like and share a simple breathing exercise that can help lower your breath rate per minute.

Proper breathing is:

Inhaled through the nose and exhaled through the nose.
A process where the entire body expands like a balloon on inhalation and deflates on exhalation.
Silent, calm, effortless, and natural.

The average number of breaths a person takes per minute in a normal state ranges between 12 and 20. Exercise, physical exertion, stress, and emotions can all influence our breathing rate. Our goal is to reduce our breath rate in normal conditions, allowing it to positively impact heart rate variability and pulse, ultimately helping the body calm down more quickly during stress, exertion, or exercise. This will also support a healthy life and enable us to age gracefully without premature aging.

The practice I’m sharing is a natural remedy. It is safe for all healthy individuals. However, if you have asthma, panic attacks, heart issues, or any chronic or acute medical conditions, please consult a doctor or a professional before practicing. Breathing exercises are meant to support our regular breathing habits and should be done in a controlled manner at specific intervals and durations to ensure safety.

Now, let’s move on to the practice:

Try doing this exercise 1-2 times a day, starting with 3-5 minutes, and gradually increasing the duration over time. You can also incorporate it into your daily routine while performing other tasks.

This breathing exercise:

Reduces the number of breaths you take per minute.
Balances inhalation and exhalation times while increasing breath awareness.
Helps regulate oxygen-carbon dioxide balance and improves carbon dioxide tolerance.
Induces relaxation, lowers brainwave frequency to alpha, activates the vagus nerve, and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system.
Enhances focus and promotes mindfulness.

You can adjust the timing according to your comfort, making the breathing intervals longer or shorter as needed. It can also be practiced while walking, aligning each breath with your steps. It is a simple yet enjoyable practice that can easily be integrated into your daily routine.