CapnoTrainer
Better
Physiology™ developers and
manufacturers of the CapnoTrainer™ has this to say
about breathing:
“Good breathing mechanics rather than good respiratory
physiology have unfortunately become almost the exclusive
focus of breathing training and learning often along with
insistence on tying it to relaxation training regimens
in the context of specific philosophical and/or professional
agenda. As a result it is not surprising then that at
least 50 percent of therapists and trainers who teach
breathing actually deregulate respiratory chemistry by
inducing overbreathing with their instructions to trainees
not realizing that they are inducing system-wide physiological
crisis through the establishment of hypocapnia i.e. carbon
dioxide deficit. Unfortunately based on this kind of thinking
myths and misunderstandings about good breathing often
constitute the working knowledge of professionals and
lay audiences alike.”
Did you know that overbreathing
(CO2 deficiency) can trigger or exacerbate physical and
psychological complaints such as:
•Shortness of breath •
breathlessness • chest tightness/pressure •
chest pain • feelings of suffocation • sweaty
palms • cold hands • tingling of the skin
• numbness • heart palpitations • irregular
heart beat • anxiety • apprehension •
emotional outbursts • stress • tenseness •
fatigue • weakness • exhaustion • dry
mouth • nausea • light-headedness •
dizziness • fainting • black-out • blurred
vision • confusion • disorientation •
attention deficit • poor thinking • poor memory
• poor concentration impaired judgment • problem
solving deficit • reduced pain threshold •
headache • trembling • twitching • shivering
• muscle tension • spasm • stiffness
• abdominal • cramps • bloatedness
Did you know that in predisposed
individuals overbreathing (CO2 deficiency) may trigger
or exacerbate:
Phobias (e.g. public speaking) • migraine phenomena
• hypertension • attention disorder •
asthma attacks • angina attacks • heart attacks
• panic attacks • hypoglycemia • ischemia
(e.g. tissue hypoxia) • depression • epileptic
seizures • sexual dysfunction • sleep disturbances
• allergy • irritable bowel syndrome •
repetitive strain injury • chronic fatigue.
Use the CapnoTrainer for learning
and teaching about respiration (breathing chemistry).
Use it for:
• Detecting deregulated breathing chemistry through
experience
• Developing sensitivity to subtle shifts in breathing
chemistry
• Overbreathing and its effects on attention and
cognition
• Overbreathing and its effects on emotion and stress
• Overbreathing and its effects behavior and physiology
• Overbreathing and its effects on athletic performance
• Shifting breathing chemistry for shifts in consciousness
• Coordinating breathing mechanics for good chemistry
• Achieving and maintaining good respiration
• Evaluating breathing behavior for personalized
training
• Embracing vs. defending through breathing heart
wave training
If you are a trainer or a self-management
coach the CapnoTrainer can serve as an important adjunctive
tool for:
• Peak performance training
• Relaxation training
• Attention training
• Alertness training
• Meditation
• Patient education
• Stress management
• Childbirth training
• Motivational training
• Public speaking
• Learning enhancement
• Anxiety management (e.g. testing)
• Anger management
• Mastering performance challenges (e.g. in aviation)
• Athletic training
• Breathing training of all kinds
OVERBREATHING AND PERFORMANCE
Oxygen concentration and glucose supply in the brain can
be reduced by 50% through decreased blood flow as a result
of CO2 deficit. Further, the blood alkalosis means that
hemoglobin is less inclined to distribute oxygen actually
present in the brain. Thus together the net effect of
reduced blood flow and disinclined hemoglobin is major
reduction in oxygen supply. This dramatic shift in chemistry
can result in the following kinds of performance decrements:
Cognitive deficits: attention, memory,
thinking, problem solving, concentrating, multitasking,
and judgment. Consider for example the impact on attention
deficit disorder (ADD) in children and adults.
Emotional reactions: anger, anxiety,
phobia, fear, apprehension, panic, stress, and depression.
Overbreathing triggers emotions e.g. anger in a challenging
discussion with a significant other.
Personality changes: self-esteem, defensiveness,
withdrawal, and type-A behavior. Overbreathing leads to
state shifting to dissociative shifts much like the effects
of a drug where defensive personality patterns may emerge.
Consciousness shifts: dizziness, feelings
of unreality, confusion, fuzziness, disorientation, and
disconnection. Consider for example the impact of these
effects on listening skills.
Interpersonal skills: communication,
public speaking, romantic encounters, social ease, openness,
and presence. Consider for example the impact of emotional
reactivity and attention deficit on public speaking.
Perceptual-motor skills: coordination,
physical precision, fine motor skills, and balance. Consider
the impact of these effects on precision behavior along
with emotional and cognitive effects in piloting an aircraft.
OVERBREATHING AND HEALTH
A British general practitioner at a conference recently
asked: “Why is it that we physicians don’t
look at physiology for understanding symptoms without
pathology or what we often call ‘unexplained”
symptoms - If we did most of our patients wouldn’t
go off in despair to complementary healthcare practitioners
and we might even earn back their respect.” Overbreathing
leads to a major shift in physiology a shift that can
mediate “unexplained” physical symptoms, emotional
reactivity, and performance decrements!
The New England Journal of Medicine (2002) says:
“…extensive data from a spectrum of physiological
systems indicate that hypocapnia has the potential to
propagate or initiate pathological processes. As a common
aspect of many acute disorders hypocapnia may have a pathogenic
role in the development of systemic diseases” And
then “Increasing evidence suggests that hypocapnia
appears to induce substantial adverse physiological and
medical effects”
In Clinical Acid-Base Balance (1997) a basic
medical textbook the authors say “Hypocapnia-induced
vasospasm is responsible for reduced cerebral blood flow
and neurological symptoms for reduced coronary blood flow
and chest pain for paraesthesiae of limbs and circumoral
pallor.
Vascular system: migraine,
arrhythmias, hypertension, heart attack, angina, stroke.
The New England Journal of Medicine
(2002) says “Hypocapnia has been clearly linked
to the development of arrhythmias.” Studies in Holland
have documented medical savings of 45% over a 5-year period
in heart attack patient’s findings that led to legislation
requiring cardiac rehabilitation centers to offer breathing
training.
Digestive system: nausea, cramping, irritable
bowel syndrome, pain, and bloatedness. Alkalosis triggers
smooth muscle constriction in the gut and thereby triggering
or exacerbating the digestive and related disorders.
Nervous system: headache, “brain
fog”, blurred vision, fatigue, pain threshold, numbness,
and neurological syndromes. Overbreathing is used deliberately
in emergency medicine for controlling cerebral bleeding.
This fact points to the immensity of the impact of hypocapnia
on brain functioning and its implications for triggering
neurological syndromes e.g. epilepsy and ADD.
Respiratory system: asthma attacks, altitude
sickness, shortness of breath, chest pain, and sleep apnea.
For example, according to the New England Journal
of Medicine (2002) “Hypocapnia is a common
finding in patients with sleep apnea and may be pathogenic.”
Overbreathing can trigger asthma attacks and it is the
primary factor in altitude illness (respiratory alkalosis).
Musculoskeletal system: repetitive strain
injury, headache, calcium-magnesium imbalance, and muscle
spasm pain, weakness, and fatigue. According to the American
Journal of Industrial Medicine (2002) hypocapnia
can “…have adverse implications for musculoskeletal
health including increase muscle tension muscle spasm
amplified response to catecholamines and muscle ischemia
and hypoxia.”
Reproductive system: pregnancy, premature
birth, eclampsia, placental perfusion deficiency, erectile
dysfunction. According to the New England Journal
of Medicine (2002) in regard to pregnancy “…further
lowering of the partial pressure of arterial CO2 - even
for a short duration - such as during anesthesia for cesarean
section - may have serious adverse effects on the fetus.”
The CapnoTrainer is excellent for learning and teaching
about respiration and how breathing affects the chemistry
(physiology) of our bodies.
Observe the following physiology:
• CO2 waveform in mmHg: airflow pattern
• Breathing rhythmicity: breath holding gasping
• End-tidal CO2 (ETCO2) in mmHg: overbreathing
• Coordinating breath: rate and depth
• Heart Rate beat to beat calculations: heart rate
variability
• Breathing Heart Wave (BHW): parasympathetic tone
• BHW amplitude in beats per minute: degree of relaxation
• Breathing rate averages in breaths per minute
• Heart Rate (HR) averages (traditional measurement)
• CapnoTrainer software runs on PC desktops and
laptops 750 MHz and higher and is powered through USB
in Windows 98 (second edition) Millennium 2000 NT and
XP (recommended).
Restricted Use: The CapnoTrainer is an educational instrument designed for enhancing performance through learning and/or teaching good respiration. It should NOT be used for medical diagnosis or treatment under any circumstances.