18/11/2025
In the context of breathing, the figure in the image below is significant.
This is the average amount of breaths we take every day. Just think about that for a moment.
That equates to more than 7 million breaths a year and over 5 billion breaths in an average lifetime.
Isn't it a little odd, then, that most of us rarely focus on our breathing unless we are feeling out of breath?
That's because breathing is controlled by our autonomic nervous system and we do it without needing to consciously enable it.
But what if our default breathing is a little too fast or if we are breathing in more than our body requires? Overbreathing is becoming ever more common because of the way we are living today, and it's making us feel more anxious and agitated, it's affecting our sleep, and preventing us from performing at our best.
So next time you're feeling stressed and as if life is getting on top of you, tune in to your breathing and take softer and slower breaths. It could make a world of difference.