Breathing is good for you

The healing power of respiration

Feb 09, 2025

Breathing is simple, right? It's literally the first thing we learn to do when we're born. Breathe in, breathe out, repeat until we die. Oxygen in, carbon dioxide out. This enables us to convert glucose to energy and get rid of waste products and regulate blood pH.

But even though we do it about 7.5 million times a year, most of us aren't very good at it. We tend to take short, shallow breaths, which means we're not getting enough oxygen and not getting rid of enough CO2. It's not something we even think about consciously most of the time: breathing is almost completely automatic. Without realizing it, we've slipped into an inefficient breathing pattern, taking in just enough oxygen to avoid triggering a feeling of suffocation.

Breathwork practice focuses on developing conscious, controlled breathing rhythms that increase the flow of both oxygen and CO2. It's a recognized therapeutic technique that can deliver surprising benefits without the need for drugs or other medical interventions. In many cases, it's used as a precursor or adjunct to other treatments, enhancing the benefits of more traditional medical approaches.

“It's the most precise pharmaceutical you could ever give yourself, side effect free.”
- Neuroscientist Prof Ian Robertson.1

When you don't breathe deeply enough, the carbon dioxide levels in your blood begin to rise. This stimulates the locus coeruleus to produce noradrenaline, which causes stress. Deep, slow breaths can counteract that: as your CO2 levels drop, the locus coeruleus reduces production of noradrenaline, which produces feelings of calm and even euphoria.

This can act in both the short term and the long term. It can be used as an immediate threat response: when you’re faced with a stressful situation, a few deep breaths can be sufficient to allow you to take a calm, rational decision instead of lashing out instinctively out of fear or anger. Over time, this reduction in noradrenaline will reduce anxiety, depression, and other chronic conditions.

However, stress reduction is just the start of the benefits of breathwork.

Increased energy levels: more oxygen and less CO2 means more energy. That affects your physical energy, making you more motivated to exercise and more able to perform physical tasks. It also affects your mental energy, making you more alert and more motivated. It can also increase your libido and sexual performance.2
Improving memory and decision-making: slowing down your breathing can help you think more clearly and improve your memory and problem-solving skills. The amygdala and the hippocampus, two brain regions in the limbic system linked to emotion and memory function, are significantly affected by the breathing rhythm. Breathing slowly enables you to focus, and reduces your chances of making errors.3
Improved sleep: slow breathing before bed can help you get to sleep quicker, stay asleep longer, and get higher quality sleep, with more deep sleep and REM sleep, and you’re less prone to keep waking up during the night. By focusing on slow, controlled breaths for 10-15 minutes, you signal your body to transition into a relaxed state.4
Improved digestion: it activates the parasympathetic nervous system and vagus nerve, which stimulates the body's "rest and digest" state. This not only helps with digestion, but can reduce the likelihood or severity of numerous gastro-intestinal conditions such as heartburn, diarrhea, bloating, and so on.5
Lower blood pressure and improved heart health: breathing exercises are an easy way to help strengthen your heart and improve your overall cardiovascular health. The effect is significant after as little as eight weeks.6
Pain management: chronic pain and chronic stress are closely linked, so reducing stress can help with long-term pain. In the short term, slow, controlled breathing can allow you to work through intense pain.7
Substance abuse: breathwork is often used to help people recover from addictions. It’s a great help if you’re trying to cut down on (or quit) tobacco, alcohol, caffeine, OTC sleep medication, painkillers, or other non-prescribed addictive medication.8
Improves self-esteem and self-confidence: controlling your breath can give you the sense that you're in control of your life and your emotions. It's a great way to prepare for potentially stressful situations, such as having to give a presentation.9
Increasing brain size: and here's the cherry on top: controlled breathing may cause a slight increase in brain size, especially in areas that deal with attention and sensory input.10

It's quite astonishing that something as simple as breathing in and out11 can have such profound effects, but the results are well attested. Whether you call it pranayama, raising chi, mindful breathing or therapeutic breathwork, it's a simple, powerful practice that can be literally life-changing.

You’ve got to breathe anyway. You might as well learn how to do it right.

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