Forgetting to breath
 

I have been noticing that out of nowhere I'll be sitting watching tv and suddenly I'll need to take in this HUGE breath of air because Ive stopped breathing. I do this quite often. My dh has noticed it too. He says I dont do it in my sleep just when Im awake. Its making me nervous. DH wants to get me an O2 tank, but you need an rx for that, and I need to talk to my neuro about this first to get his take on it. Anyone else have this problem? Where you just forget to breath? If it happend in my sleep, Id be saying its sleep apnea, and investing in a cpap just like my dh has, but its only when Im wide awake. Its the strangest thing so far. I want to get off this ride, its not fun!

i suffer with that on a daily basis due to having anxciety, it could be a panic attack because it makes you think you cant breath when in fact you can.. i get the sudden urge to take a big breath.. hope this helps

Hi KittyLady,

As bonbon1993 mentioned, anxiety/panic attacks can cause this to happen.

Forgetting to breath can happen to people who do not have a health issue. Example: When exercising the instructor will usually say "breath in, breath out." This is because sometime we can hold our breath without realizing it.

You might try focusing on your breathing and do breathing exercises. You may also want to check with your doctor for peace of mind ;)

People who are under a lot of stress often tend to hold their breath or forget to breath. Then all of a sudden your body is like "hey I need some air" and you find yourself taking a deep breath. Do you sigh a lot? That can also be a sign that you are holding your breath a lot from stress.

Mindfulness and meditation strategies get you to focus on your breath. In-out. In-out. Even focusing for 5-10 minutes can make you feel a million times better.