Many of those who turn to breathing exercises do so to deal with stress or anxiety. “The claim that asthma is caused by hyperventilation and low carbon dioxide are scientifically untenable.”
“People with asthma don’t over breathe, and we’ve measured CO2 levels in asthmatics before and after retraining and found no relationship whatsoever between severity of asthma and CO2 levels,” he says. Prof Thomas acknowledges that more nose-breathing might help some asthma patients, but rejects the emphasis on either increased oxygen intake or low carbon dioxide levels in the blood as simplistic. “People with asthma don’t overbreathe, and we’ve measured CO 2 levels in asthmatics before and after retraining and found no relationship whatsoever between severity of asthma and CO 2 levels,” he says. While Prof Thomas acknowledges that more nose-breathing might help some asthma patients, he says the Buteyko method’s emphasis on increased oxygen intake and low carbon dioxide levels in the blood is simplistic. It has been suggested that simple breathing exercises can help people with Covid-19 McKeown distances himself from this, saying that while low CO2 plays a role, so too do the cooling and drying of the airways caused by, he says, mouth breathing, and that the resulting wheezing, coughing and breathlessness in some people can be eased by switching to nose and lighter breathing. Buteyko Method teachings have traditionally emphasised the idea that mouth breathing lowers carbon dioxide levels in the blood, which, in turn, causes asthma symptoms. “Right now, breathing is hot.” McKeown believes a range of conditions including asthma are caused or exacerbated by modern human tendencies to mouth breath and over-breathe. Prior to Covid-19 he was booked up 18 months in advance. Patrick McKeown, a Galway-based Buteyko practitioner who advocates mouth-taping during sleep, travels widely to speak at conferences.
Adherents say it can treat sleeping disorders, depression, ADHD, chronic fatigue syndrome, asthma and other respiratory conditions. Thomas’s emphasis on registered therapists relates to the use by some of alternative therapies such as the Buteyko method, a controversial technique which includes taping the mouths of people during sleep to train them to breathe through their noses. “The evidence is strongest for interventions that involve properly trained physiotherapists,” says Mike Thomas, professor of primary care at the University of Southampton, who led the asthma study. Guidelines used by doctors in the UK state that breathing exercises can help reduce asthma symptoms.
#Wim hof method breathing benefits trial
A randomised controlled trial published in 2018 found that quality of life ratings were higher in UK asthma patients who underwent training in deep, slow, nasal and diaphragm breathing. There is good-quality evidence to support the use of breathing exercises for asthma. ‘Ice man’ Wim Hof’s method encourages cycles of controlled hyperventilation, meditation and exposure to cold to trigger positive immune system changes.
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