I hate deep breathing/diaphragm breathing around others, it’s loud enough for them and they always ask if I’m angry, upset etc. How do I breathe quieter while still having it be deep?
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If your normal breathing is really that audible, it might be worth checking with a doctor. You could have something going on, even as simple as a deviated septum or something like that.
Or asthma
Either a deviated septum or nasal polyps.
Depending on how the original poster gets their health care (either by referral or direct outreach), they will want to find a good Otolaryngologist.
I had the same issue. The problem got so bad that I temporarily lost my ability to smell. Two surgeries later and I’m a-ok.
Yeah I have to agree with everyone else. If this is a question you’re actually asking, it’s probably a question for your doctor, because the actual answer should just be “just breathe dude”
See an ear nose and throat specialist. They can have a look up your snoot and see what’s up.
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Some people require surgery to do so.
The issue may be exacerbated by mucus, phlegm, cold symptoms, greasy diet etc.
Most people breathe silently
And don’t think about it. Something’s wrong if someone is conscious of how they’re breathing.
Doesn’t have to be physical either. You can think you’re breathing loudly and annoying everyone and then hyper focus on that while you attempt to breathe quieter.
Coming from someone with a deviated septum, you can’t 😔
I had that after getting hit with a hockey stick as a kid. Got it straightened in my 20’s and it made a big difference.
By doing it slower. The sound comes from breathing quickly not deeply.
I only ask because it’s highly relevant.
Are you overweight, or obese?
Both
Is your nasal septum ok? Maybe it could be deviated (almost all are, but at different degrees) and creates the sound you hear.
How rapidly are you breathing? Are you taking 15 breaths per minute or 50?
If you’re breathing in and out slowly at closer to 15 and it’s audible then something is wonky with your nose. If you’re at 50 just sitting still or casually walking around then you’re probably just out of shape.
Do a complete inhale and exhale over 10-15 seconds. Move a lot of air slowly. The inhale should physically push out your ribs and stomach and the exhale should push in your stomach and you should feel your rib muscles hurt. As a bonus you can freak out people counting your respirations.
Flare your nostrils and breathe in and out slowly. The velocity of the air will affect how loud it is.
If that doesn’t help then yeah, maybe see an ENT doctor.
You let your passive breathing be passive breathing and you actively breathe when you need to actively breathe.
I’ve found my breathing in general has improved since I started trying to institute a 20:80 rule.
since I started trying to institute a 20:80 rule.
A… wut?
Why are you even thinking about your breathing at all? Your body will handle it, that’s why you don’t die when you go to sleep.
You are now manual breathing.
You’re welcome.
Some of us have a little voice that never stops saying that and you need to work on that.
You are now manual breathing.
Um… nope.
Okay Mr cool guy.
Congrats on never losing the game.
It’s an honor to have met a Chosen.
(Smosh reference… in case you don’t get it.)
Some folk like my spouse would randomly take a huge gasping breath. She was, and is, always forgetting to breathe. Since she has started learning to belly breathe and it is starting to become more autonomic her gasps have reduced. That being said she still forgets to breathe.
That seems like a trait that doesn’t tend to pair well with survival.
I think it has a lot to do with her ADHD. Either way she is still alive.
It’s actually pretty normal and you probably do it without realizing it. Occasionally the lungs just need to absorb a little extra oxygen to catch up. You ever watch a dog sleep and every now and then they just take a big inhale? Same thing.
Found this neat source:
“A sigh is a long, deep breath that is often viewed as an expression of stress, sadness, exhaustion or relief. However, the most frequent sighs are unnoticed and occur spontaneously every several minutes, about a dozen times per hour.”
. . .
“The lung is composed of hundreds of millions of alveoli, the gas exchange units at terminal ends of the respiratory tract, each of which is about 200 micrometers in diameter. During normal breathing, alveoli spontaneously collapse, a pathological condition known as atelectasis. A sigh is hypothesized to reverse any alveolar collapse, because it is a large breath that re-expands all alveoli, filling them all with air.”
There’s a big difference between a yawn, or a sigh and a huge gasping breath.
What’s a 20:80 rule in this context?
20% of my day, intentionally breathe strongly and manually. 80% of the day, try not to breathe manually.
Like everyone else’s comments, if it’s actually noisy you should speak to a doctor. But I do deep breathing sometimes when I’m angry/anxious to help me relax, and now my partner is conditioned to spot the very quiet sound of me doing it. I’ve had a chest cold for the last few weeks and he kept asking if I was okay because I was taking deep breaths.
My point is, even if their breathing is quiet, the sound of someone taking slow breaths can be noticeable. Only tip I can think of is to practice breathing smoothly and regularly. When I’m actively trying to take a slow, long breath I notice it can be quite uneven. I breathe in, that breath tails off and I breathe in some more. That leads to an uneven sound that is more noticeable. If I really focus I can breath steadily and smoothly and it’s much less noticeable.
My nose used to be tight and hissy. Then I did a lot of meditation where I put my attention on the feeling of breath in the tip of my nose.
It loosened up good. No more tightness. Almost never get a clogged nose either.
I have since switched to a different meditation technique but my nose remains good.
