Talking Too Much or Excessive Talkativeness: Health Effects

(Causes of Hyperventilation and Poor Health)

Talking women Can too much talking or excessive talkativeness undermine our health? Normal people, as one Western study found, breathe twice as much air when they speak. That reduces their brain CO2 and O2 stores. Long conversations and excessive talkativeness can thereby lead to dizziness, light-headedness, loss of concentration, emotional instability, muscular tension, abnormal posture and other negative effects.

Furthermore, even 10-20 minutes of continuous speaking resets the breathing center to lower arterial and brain CO2 levels promoting hyperventilation, tissue hypoxia and chronic diseases

Effects of overbreathing on brain oxygen levels A study conducted by National Center for Neurogenic Communication Disorders and Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, The University of Arizona (Tucson, USA) entitled Influence of continuous speaking on ventilation revealed that the average ventilation increased from resting 7 l/min to almost 14 l/min during speeches (Hoit & Lohmeier, 2000). Average initial end-tidal CO2 pressure of these healthy young American men was almost 38 mm Hg. After 10 minutes of speaking it dropped to about 31 mm Hg.

A quick calculation shows that their average initial CP (body oxygen test - see below) was about 29 s, after 10 min public speaking their average CP was correspondent to 14 s. Hence, 10 min of speaking reduced their brain oxygenation about two times. For most subjects even many minutes of recovery were not enough to completely restore initial CO2 and O2 levels.

Hence, excessive talkativeness or talking too much produces devastating health effects and promotes any chronic disease: cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and many others. Furthermore, additional negative effects of modern speaking skills include mouth breathing (for inhalations) and thoracic breathing (using the upper chest). Both these factors further reduce oxygen delivery to body cells.

During lectures and public speeches, or when just talking, it is important not to take deep inhalations between phrases (Buteyko, 1969). Dr. Buteyko and his colleagues developed other ideas related to the Correct Public Speaking Skills, as a part of the Buteyko breathing method.

Questions. What can you say about breathing, emotions, and postures of these talking women? Is this picture typical for modern times?

References: CO2 Effects Web Pages
Vasodilation: CO2 expands arteries and arterioles facilitating perfusion (or blood supply) to all vital organs
The Bohr effect How and why oxygen is released by red blood cells in tissues
Cell Oxygen Levels and oxygen transport are controlled by alveolar CO2 and breathing
Oxygen Transport depends on breathing and these two effects (Vasoconstriction-Vasodilation and the Bohr effect) are parts of two diagrams that summarize influences of hypocapnia (low CO2 content in the blood and cells) on circulation and O2 delivery
Free Radical Generation takes place due to anaerobic cell respiration caused by cell hypoxia. Hence, antioxidant defenses of the human body are also regulated by CO2 and breathing
Inflammatory Response is controlled by breathing since hypoxia leads to or intensifies chronic inflammation through over-expression of the hypoxia-inducible factor 1, while normal breathing reduces these processes
Nerve stabilization takes place due to calmative or sedative effects of carbon dioxide in neurons or nerve cells
Muscle relaxation or relaxation of muscle cells is normal at high CO2, while hypocapnia causes muscular tension, poor posture and, sometimes, aggression and violence
Brochodilation - dilation of airways (bronchi and bronchioles) by carbon dioxide, and their constriction due to hypocapnia
CO2: Best Natural Cough Suppressant and "home remedy" since it calms urge-to-cough nerve receptors located in the tracheobronchial tree and larynx
Blood pH regulation and regulation of other bodily fluids
CO2: Lung Damage Healer: Elevated carbon dioxide prevents injury and promotes healing of lung tissues
CO2: Skin and Tissue Healer
Synthesis of Glutamine in the Brain, CO2 fixation, and other chemical reactions
CO2 myth "CO2 is a toxic waste gas" myth
Breathing control How is our breathing regulated? Why hypocapnia makes breathing uneven and erratic?

Reference Web Pages: Breathing norms, Medical Graphs and Tables about Breathing Rates (Minute Ventilation) and Body Oxygen in Healthy, Normal and Sick People
Breathing norms Parameters, graph, and description of the normal breathing pattern
6 breathing myths 6 myths about breathing and body oxygenation (prevalence: over 90%)
Hyperventilation Definitions of hyperventilation: their advantages and weak points
Hyperventilation Syndrome in the Sick. Table 1. Western scientific evidence about prevalence of CHV (chronic hyperventilation) in patients with various chronic conditions (34 medical studies)
Normal Minute Ventilation in Healthy Subjects: Easy and Light Breathing (14 Studies)
Hyperventilation Prevalence Present in Over 90% of Normal People (24 medical publications)
HV and hypoxia How and why deep breathing reduces oxygenation of cells and tissues of all vital organs
Body oxygen test How to measure your own breathing and body oxygenation (a simple DIY test)
Body oxygen in healthy Table 4. CP (body oxygen level) in healthy people (27 medical studies)
Body oxygen in sick Table 5. CP (body oxygen level) in sick people (14 medical studies)
Buteyko Table of Health Zones with clinical description of most common zones
Morning HV Morning hyperventilation effect or how and why critically ill people are most likely to die during early morning hours

References
Buteyko KP, Lecture in the Moscow State University, Soviet national journal Nauka i zshizn'; [Science and life], Moscow, issue 10, October 1977.

Hoit JD & Lohmeier HL, Influence of continuous speaking on ventilation, J Speech Lang Hear Res 2000 Oct; 43(5): 1240-1251.

HTML Comment Box is loading comments...

Go back to Hyperventilation Causes

* Illustrations by Victor Lunn-Rockliffe