Causes of hyperventilation
Psychological stress
The concept of "stress" can have different meanings. For example, the presence of bacteria and their toxins in the blood is an example of stress to a medical doctor. Such physiological stress, as it was described in section 1.8, produces visible chronic hyperventilation. Similarly, tiny amounts of other toxins in the blood, as a result of, for example, teeth cavities, also cause mild over-breathing, as we will see later.
However, let us consider here only influences due to individual perception of threat, challenge, or other psychological stress. There are numerous physiological changes generated by anxiety states, fear, fight-or-flight situations, or other situations accompanied by strong emotions. How do these states and factors influence breathing?
An early paper "Some physical phenomena associated with the anxiety states and their relation to hyperventilation" (Kerr et al, 1937) included a chart showing physiological changes caused by these states. Hyperventilation is the main factor causing many of the other consequences described.
According to Professor Lum, "Most authors, with the exception of Rice (1950), have described the clinical presentation of hyperventilation as a manifestation of, and secondary to, an underlying anxiety state" (p.197, Lum 1976).
Dr. Magarian wrote one of the large hyperventilation reviews, published in "Medicine" (Magarian, 1982), choosing the following title for his paper "Hyperventilation syndromes: infrequently recognized common expression of anxiety and stress".
A more recent study "Fear-relevant images as conditioned stimuli for somatic complaints, respiratory behaviour, and reduced end-tidal pCO2" (Stegen et al., 1999) discusses psychological and physiological effects providing numerous references in this area.
Dozens, if not hundreds, of professional physiological and medical studies suggest that hyperventilation is a normal outcome of stress and anxiety.
Authors of the article "Emotions and respiratory patterns: review and critical analysis" (Boiten et al, 1994) suggested, that "...normo-ventilatory responses (which are identified by stable end-tidal CO2 levels that remain within the normal range) seem to be characteristic for behavioural conditions that may either involve withdrawal from the environment, relaxation or active coping...Thus, hyperventilation appears to signify an unsuccessful outcome of the coping process" (p.121).
Researchers from the University of Oxford found that during voluntary over-breathing “subjects in the positive interpretation condition experienced hyperventilation as pleasant, and subjects in the negative interpretation condition experienced hyperventilation as unpleasant …" (Salkovskis & Clark, 1990).
Therefore, not only negative emotions and states, but also many positive strong emotions (e.g., delight, excitement, exhilaration, thrill, etc.) produce hyperventilation.
Stress, according to TV, radio, newspapers and magazine news about medical studies, contributes to the development of most modern health problems.
On the other hand, stress-triggering physiological changes had obvious usefulness in terms of evolutionary survival of our species.
For example, during the fight or flight response, the diversion of the blood from internal organs and the brain to large skeletal muscles prepares the body for possible vigorous physical activity. Increased nervous excitability helped our ancestors to give different psychological interpretations to the surrounding stimuli and events (“it is me who is in danger now”). Higher blood sugar values and increased concentrations of numerous hormones (e.g., well-known adrenalin rush) were useful for active physical response.
Indeed, during peaceful periods, an objective perception of the world, coupled with quiet and thoughtful relationships with nature and with other tribal members, proved to be advantageous. At other times (e.g., during hunting, fight-or-flight responses, group conflicts, or mating), subjective perception, in terms of seeing the world in the light of personal needs, was more beneficial to the specie’s survival.
Do we have more stress now? From an objective viewpoint, our ancestors living 1, 5 or more thousands of years ago, often had daily life-threatening situations and challenges. Hence, the level of stress and the likelihood of mortality were much higher in the past. Why then, do modern people chronically hyperventilate and get sick because of stress, while our ancestors mostly died from other, more natural causes (like, infectious diseases, accidents, and conflicts)?
A part of the answer lies in breathing. The objective perception of the world for people who suffer from chronic hyperventilation can be difficult and fearful. That predisposes them to strong emotions, excitement, and tendencies to exaggerate, justify, negate, distort, and misinterpret events.
Another part of the answer is what happens after one experiences stress in modern society. Our ancestors hunted, struggled, or ran away under stressful conditions. All these are active coping strategies involving physical exercise. These are also responses of healthy wild animals.
For the list of the quoted references click here