Many people think that they breathe in a shallow manner but in fact they are overbreathing. Many people who suffer with asthma, allergies, bronchitis, emphysema and breathlessness say they cannot get enough air, when in fact they are breathing three or more times the normal volume of air.

When we overbreathe or hyperventilate we are losing valuable CO2.

Ask yourself the following questions

• Can you hear yourself breathe ?
• Do you breathe through your mouth ?
• Is your nose continually blocking ?
• Do you often sigh ?
• Do you yawn excessively ?
• Do you wheeze ?
• Do you pant ?
• Do you snore ?
• Do you wake in the morning still feeling tired even though you have slept through the night ?
• Do you have difficulty sleeping ?
• Do you have an irritable cough ?
• Do you blow your nose excessively ?
• Do you clear your throat often ?
• Do you get short of breath ?
• Can you feel the upper chest move when you breathe ?
• Do you get headaches or dizziness ?
• Do you require medication to assist you to breathe comfortably ?
• Are you anxious for no apparent reason ?
• Do you have anxiety attacks ?
• Do you breathe more than 14 times per minute when sitting quietly ?
• Do you get asthma when sleeping ?
• Do you get asthma when exercising ?
• Do you get asthma following a chest infection ?

If you answer yes to 2 or more, you may be hyperventilating.