Dear Tim
A Healthy Breathing Education.
The Best Gift To Give Your Child.
Whilst on stroll with my daughter, I met a very friendly man, named Tim, outside Specsavers with a dog and a similar aged child in a pushchair. We ended up standing apart chatting about the age of our toddlers and the conversation went from there to breathing.
He told me that his son, almost 2 years old wasn’t at nursery because he was premature and had a lung condition. Being a breathing coach, I naturally asked him if the doctors had ever told him the importance of how his son breathes as he grows up. He said that they hadn’t. Tim said that they had mentioned he’ll probably develop asthma. I questioned him again, “they never advised to ensure that he breathes through his nose”. No, he was certain, his doctors had never mentioned how to breathe.
I held him back from going into the shop for a moment to let him know I was a breathing coach and that ensuring his child is breathing through his nose for the rest of his life is highly important for his health, especially with a lung condition. He was grateful for the tip and said he’d check out my website for more information. So Tim, if you have indeed found LiNK BREATHING as suggested, here is an article for you and any other parents who have grown up not being told anything about the importance of breathing. The information in this letter is relevant to anyone, not just parents of a child with a lung condition.
I don’t blame the doctors for not telling Tim about the importance of nose breathing for good health, just as I don’t blame my parents, teachers, dentist, orthodontist or other adults of my childhood. I merely want to start raising awareness so that a few more children can avoid unnecessary exacerbated health conditions and a few adults can start to address theirs. With growing awareness, I believe we can improve the health of the entire world starting with the basics. We just need to make passing down this knowledge of utmost importance.
So here goes. I’ve rushed home to write this article, hoping Tim sees it. If Tim doesn’t see it, another parent will. That’ll be worth it.
Letter to the parent of a premature child with lung condition
Dear Tim,
It was lovely to meet you today. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting a friendly person and exchanging a few words in a time where we are so restricted from doing so.
As mentioned, I suggest you do as much research as you can on healthy nose breathing and avoiding dysfunctional breathing for your son.
Whilst I am not here to tell you how to parent, I know that one of the most valuable gifts you can give your son is knowledge and empowerment over his own health. If you manage this, you’ll luckily never know how badly he could have suffered. But you’ll start to notice other children born with similar issues having a very different quality of life.
As with most people I meet you seemed surprised by this concept, I will assume you know nothing at all and describe breathing with that in mind.
The importance of nose breathing vs mouth breathing
Your nose has a huge nasal cavity (image below) behind it. Between the physical nose and nose cavity, the air you breathe is warmed, moistened and filtered for particles, irritants, bacteria and viruses. When you breathe in through your nose, your nose also produces Nitric Oxide (NO), which is known to help kill viruses. Based in studies, there is even a Nitric Oxide spray being trialled which kills Coronavirus (COVID-19). Other viruses trapped in mucous, then slip down your throat into your stomach where stomach acid takes care of them to the best of its ability.
Nasal cavity cross-section view
Mouth breathing is a highway to your lungs for every bit of debris, bacteria and virus around. No filter. Just cold, dry irritating air.
Air volume is also reduced through nose breathing, thereby reducing hyperventilation or over breathing and slowing down the breath to receive a full in breath. When breathing through the nose, you are more likely to breathe using your diaphragm which is what you want for healthy breathing. Babies, when born healthy are born breathing healthily. When you watch them their little noses are doing all the work, sometimes whistling if slightly congested and their little tummies and lower ribs rise on the in breath and fall on the outbreath. Over time many babies lose this natural ability to breathe correctly and start to deteriorate their breathing. When upset or breathing through their mouths, children will start to lift their chest as they breath using what are known as accessory muscles instead of breathing with the diaphragm.
Over time, your child will be subjected to central heating, being dressed too warmly, eating food that doesn’t require much chewing, colds, pet dander, dust, pollen, tight waistbands, hunched posture and watching adults breathe badly high up in their chests. All of these amongst other things will negatively affect your child’s breathing. In the case of your child, their lungs are already susceptible, so ensuring that they nose breathe will limit a number of potential threats to their health.
In addition to the more obvious functions of nose breathing, slower breathing also maintains higher Carbon Dioxide (CO2) levels than mouth breathing or rapid shallow breathing. CO2 and NO dilate the airways, whilst CO2 also dilates blood vessels and ensures more oxygen is released to the brain and tissues via the Bohr Effect. These Carbon Dioxide levels are vital in the ability to take in enough oxygen, get that oxygen via the blood vessels to the brain and other tissues, as well as enable enough oxygen to leave the blood to enter its final destination. When mouth breathing, hyperventilating and through other dysfunctional breathing, the carbon dioxide levels can be reduced and the tolerance to carbon dioxide can be reduced, inducing faster, shallower breathing. This adds to the likelihood of suffering from a number of conditions such as anxiety, asthma, allergies, and a number of other conditions.
If taught correctly, your child will have the tools to overcome mild breathing difficulties when they arise, know what to do relevant to carbon dioxide levels to counteract breathlessness and asthma attacks early. The same goes for anxiety. Once he realises he has control over his nervous system just through his breath, he is on his way to discovering what else his body can do to avoid unnecessary drugs.
I hope you find this helpful and if you’d like more information, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
I don’t want to overwhelm you with information, but I hope this empowers you for your own health as well as your child’s health.
If you do end up reading this and find it helpful I’d love to hear from you. Additionally feel free to share it with other parents.
Kind regards,
Jane Tarrant
(Founder of LiNK BREATHING)
P.S. Please note, I am sharing this knowledge based on my research and with best intentions. You should discuss any breathing strategies with your doctor as part of your treatment plan and although breathing can help avoid the need for inhalers and the onset of an attack, it is not a replacement for them during a severe attack. Any advice you take from this article is based on your own consideration and research.
LiNK BREATHING offers online Breathing & Awareness Coaching. One-to-One, family coaching and corporate coaching are all available. Just book a free call to find out more.
Why LiNK BREATHING? Jane Tarrant, Founder of LiNK BREATHING is passionate about supporting others to feel empowered to improve their own health in a way that is incremental, accessible, habit driven and based on awareness. For many this starts with addressing dysfunctional breathing and general body awareness. Within a short number of weeks, Jane supports her clients to feel more in touch with their own bodies, recognise daily habits which before went unnoticed and start to lay the foundations of a much healthier, happier and kinder (including to themselves) life.
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