Breathing shallowly can lead to fatigue. You’re not getting oxygen to tissues, and oxygen deficiency results in impaired energy metabolism, according to WholeLiving.com. Deep breathing can relieve general fatigue and is also used to treat chronic fatigue syndrome. Deep breathing works the lungs and improves the efficiency of transferring oxygen to the bloodstream while clearing away toxins such as carbon dioxide, which contribute to fatigue and CFS. For long-term results, it's important to maintain awareness of your breathing habits to ensure that you're remembering to engage your diaphragm.
Step 1
Sit up straight. Poor posture compresses organs, impairing their function, according to Whole Living. To improve your posture, practice yoga. Using your yoga mat, sit cross-legged and lengthen your spine while you breath deeply. Ongoing yoga practice will help with both sitting up straight and breathing.
Step 2
Determine what kind of breather you are. To do so, lie down on your yoga mat. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen. Take a breath while looking down to see which hand rises, which will indicate whether you are a "chest breather" or are breathing from your abdomen. To get more oxygen, breathe slowly and deeply from your diaphragm, which should expand your abdomen, not your chest.
Step 3
Take a deep breath. Sit comfortably with your hands on your knees and relax your shoulders. Nurse practitioner Marcelle Pick recommends that you exhale again through your nose, counting to five. Tighten your stomach to pull in your diaphragm and force rest of the air out. At the bottom of the breath, pause two counts, then inhale slowly for five counts. Expand your belly as you breathe in. Repeat 10 times.
Step 4
Remind yourself to breathe deeply throughout the day. Write a reminder on sticky notes and placing them around the house, on your desktop, on your steering wheel, or other places you will see them throughout the day, Pick recommends. You can also practice deep breathing every time you are sitting at a stoplight.
Tips and Warnings
- Explore other types of breathing through the practice of yoga, such as the bellows or fire breath or three-part breathing. Maintain a straight posture while walking and sitting, to allow your lungs to expand as much as possible during everyday activity.
- Extreme fatigue can be a symptom of serious illness; don't hesitate to see your doctor if fatigue persists.
Things You'll Need
- Yoga mat
- Sticky notes
