Chronic overbreathing can cause CO2 levels in the blood to drop by 50 percent. Although we are often told that carbon dioxide gas is “waste,” it plays a critical role in many bodily functions. Running too low on this important gas can wreak havoc with the pH balance in your blood. This chemical change results in your sensory and motor nerves becoming more irritable—all because of low CO2.. This means low CO2 could make your sensory nerves more sensitive to irritants, which could, in turn, make you feel more pain than normal. And perhaps if your motor nerves become more jittery it might make you more likely to clench and grind your teeth or tense your muscles. New research links hyperirritable nerves with a multitude of chronic pain conditions, including TMJ disorders. These connections should be researched. Perhaps learning to breathe more slowly and regularly could normalize the CO2 levels and, in turn, calm the nerves, making them less irritable without the use of drugs or surgery... just plain, old healthy breathing. Your breathing is affected by many factors, including temperature, pain, fear, excitement, and happiness. It can also be influenced for good or bad by your fitness level. Healthy high-performance athletes and those who exercise regularly strengthen their breathing muscles and improve their body’s ability to gather and use oxygen and get rid of the right amount of carbon dioxide

always breathe through your nose!