How To Tell If Your Breathing Right + 3 Tips To Strengthen It

If you received a low score on the breath test, don’t panic: There’s much you can do to strengthen your respiratory rate. 

“Number one, nose breathe, all the time,” says McKeown.

See, breathing through your nose actually allows you to retain more oxygen, as your sinuses release a huge boost of nitric oxide—a molecule that plays an essential role in increasing circulation and delivering oxygen into cells. Whenever you can, breathe through your nose—even when you’re sleeping, if you’re able. 

“Number two, do all of your physical exercise with the mouth closed,” McKeown continues. Now, this does relate back to point No. 1, but it’s an important point to emphasize in terms of performance. 

“When you do physical exercise with your mouth closed, your muscles are generating carbon dioxide, and carbon dioxide increases in the blood because it cannot leave the body so quickly,” he says. “As carbon dioxide increases, you feel an increased air hunger.” Once your body adapts to the practice (about four to six weeks, says McKeown), your body should adapt to tolerating a higher pressure of carbon dioxide, “and you’ll have less breathlessness during physical exercise.” 

Finally, McKeown suggests breath holding exercises—similar to the testing exercise above. “If you are healthy, you’re not pregnant, and you’ve got no serious medical conditions, do some breath holds,” he says. “For example, you take a normal breath in and out through your nose and pinch your nose and hold. Then start walking with the breath hold and go into a jog. Keep going until the air hunger is quite strong, and then let go.” 

He continues, “What that can do is increase carbon dioxide in the blood, and it can help to reduce your sensitivity to the gas. That’s something we use a lot with athletes.”