{"id":814935,"date":"2024-12-26T03:11:56","date_gmt":"2024-12-26T09:11:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/26\/do-you-sigh-a-lot-its-your-body-telling-you-to-breathe-deeper-and-there-are-health-benefits-to-it\/"},"modified":"2024-12-26T03:11:56","modified_gmt":"2024-12-26T09:11:56","slug":"do-you-sigh-a-lot-its-your-body-telling-you-to-breathe-deeper-and-there-are-health-benefits-to-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/26\/do-you-sigh-a-lot-its-your-body-telling-you-to-breathe-deeper-and-there-are-health-benefits-to-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Do you sigh a lot? It\u2019s your body telling you to breathe deeper and there are health benefits to it"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I don\u2019t know about you but I find myself sighing more and more with every passing birthday. One more candle to muster breath and blow out. Hurrah.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Already, I feel a long exhalation coming on each time I have to stand up, climb the stairs or recall a password. Basically, it\u2019s any task that requires physical exertion and\/or mental acrobatics, which is pretty much all day, every day. Sigh.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Then, I came across an article on CNN<\/a> that sighing is actually good for you and held my breath just a little. People who sigh may be calmer and have a slower heart rate, lower blood pressure and better digestion.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As it turned out, the medulla oblongata in your brain is the respiratory centre that keeps you breathing automatically. This control tower, located in the lowest part of the brain and brainstem, regulates your respiratory rate and \u201cresponds to inputs from sensors in various areas of the body\u201d, said Dr Steve Yang, a respiratory physician and intensivist with Mount Elizabeth Hospital. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\n Illustration showing the medulla oblongata in orange. This is the part of the brain that controls breathing. (Photo: iStock\/libre de droit)
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\u201cThese sensors inform the respiratory centre about changes in the blood carbon dioxide levels, oxygen levels and pH levels,\u201d he explained. The respiratory centre then adjusts your breathing rate accordingly \u201cby sending impulses to the muscles of the respiratory system to adjust the depth and rate of breathing\u201d. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If you aren’t breathing right, your body might make you give out an Eeyore-sized sigh. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

ARE YOU SHALLOW BREATHING?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n

I found out that my propensity to sigh could be my body\u2019s way to snap me out of shallow breathing, which can be brought on by stress, anxiety, fear or just plain old bad habit, according to Jaclyn Chow, the principal physiotherapist with Heart & Lung Physio. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShallow breathing is essentially hypoventilation and it often happens when someone is mouth-breathing,\u201d said Chow. During hypoventilation, carbon dioxide levels in the blood rise, stimulating the respiratory centre to make you breathe deeper than usual to normalise the carbon dioxide levels, she explained. \u201cThis, then, leads to sighing.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Dr Yang also agreed that rapid, shallow breaths aren\u2019t good news. When carbon dioxide levels increase, your body becomes too alkaline and develops alkalosis, which is the reason why you feel dizzy, lightheaded and even tingling in the hands and feet, he said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\n DID YOU KNOW?
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Your normal respiratory rate decreases from birth to adulthood, said Dr Steve Yang, a respiratory physician and intensivist with Mount Elizabeth Hospital:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n