Cancerwise

Breathing is not something most of us think about regularly. It’s just something we do, day in and day out, and it happens all the time without us really noticing.

But did you know that if you’re not breathing properly, you could be missing out on a key opportunity to improve your health — especially if you’re a cancer patient?

Keep reading to find out why optimal breathing is so important, how it benefits your mind and body, and three simple steps you can take to correct poor breathing habits in the moment. 

The best way to breathe

Many organs and body systems have optimal (or ideal) and suboptimal (or less than ideal) ways of performing. Your lungs are no exception.

In a perfect world, every breath of air you took would fully inflate all five lung lobes and be pulled in slowly through the nostrils. Each exhalation would be smooth and controlled, and longer than the inhalation. You would also be sitting up straight or standing while this occurred.

Why?

Because inflating your lungs fully:

• improves their capacity
• increases the amount of oxygen in your bloodstream
• strengthens the muscles that control respiration
• stimulates the vagus nerve, the largest and most complex connection between the brain and the organs
• regulates both heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV), or the difference between your highest working heart rate and your lowest resting heart rate.

The natural resistance of nasal breathing also requires a slightly greater effort to move air, which helps to strengthen the respiratory muscles over time. Nasal breathing also produces nitric oxide, which helps widen blood vessels and improve oxygen delivery throughout the body. And, neurons located in the nostrils help regulate the autonomous nervous system, which controls the “fight-or-flight” response that alerts us to danger.

Diaphragmatic breathing has many benefits

This mindful way of breathing — also known as diaphragmatic breathing — can make you feel more centered and improve your concentration. It can even help you achieve an almost meditative state if you’re breathing deeply and slowly enough. That’s why so many traditions use breathing as a prerequisite to meditation. It’s considered an anchoring practice. Ancient yogic practices like pranayama/breath work offer extensive guidance on cultivating such breath patterns.

For cancer patients, diaphragmatic breathing offers another potential benefit: it improves the flow of lymph and reduces the risk of lymphedema. The main duct for emptying lymph passes right through the diaphragm, so any time you breathe deeply, it squeezes that muscle and drains the fluid, especially from your upper body.

Breathing deeply may also help reduce stress, which is linked to both chronic inflammation and some cancers.