Cell Oxygen Level and Brain Oxygenation Depend on Breathing
How can we increase cell oxygenation or cell oxygen levels? What is the ideal
breathing pattern that provides vital organs (the brain, heart, kidneys, liver
and so on) with maximum oxygen levels? How should we breathe day and night for
higher brain oxygenation?
When we breathe more
than the norm (and this is a case for over 90% of modern people - see
the Homepage for the graph with 24 medical studies), cell
oxygen level is reduced and we suffer from cell hypoxia. Indeed, during
normal breathing, our arterial blood has nearly maximum oxygen
saturation.
Hence, the prime effect of overbreathing is reduced CO2 content in the
lungs, blood and other body cells and tissues. Medical
studies have found that hyperventilation reduces cell oxygen level
in the following vital organs:
- brain (Brown, 1953; Kennealy et al, 1980; Liem et al, 1995;
Lum, 1975; Lum, 1982; Macey et al, 2007; Litchfield, 2003; Santiago
& Edelman, 1986; Skippen et al, 1997; Starling &
Evans, 1968; Tsuda et al, 1987)
- heart (Foëx et al, 1979; Karlsson et
al, 1994; Okazaki et al, 1991; Okazaki et al, 1992; Wexels et al, 1985)
- liver (Fujita et al, 1989; Hughes et al, 1979; Okazaki, 1989)
- kidneys (Karlsson et al, 1994; Okazaki, 1989)
- spleen (Karlsson et al, 1994)
- colon (Guzman et al, 1999)
- systemic or body tissues in general (Laffey & Kavanagh, 2002;
Nunn, 1987).
For most people, low cell oxygen levels are produced due to 2 effects that we considered before: constriction of arteries and arterioles (since CO2 is a most potent vasodilator) and the suppressed Bohr effect (less oxygen is released in tissues due to increased affinity of oxygen to red blood cells caused by hypocapnia). These are the main effects leading to reduced cell oxygen content mentioned by many physiologists and doctors (see the quotes and references below). In particular, hyperventilation reduces brain oxygenation.
Effects of costal breathing on cell oxygen levels
There is one additional effect that is common in modern people leading to cell hypoxia. Modern people are chest breathers (you can easily notice this). Costal breathing (or upper chest breathing) reduces arterial blood oxygen content and contributes to lowered brain and cell oxygen levels. For more information and solutions (how to develop diaphragmatic breathing 24/7), visit Effects of Chest Breathing.
Can Low Cell Oxygen Levels Appear During Hypercapnia (Abnormally High CO2)
Those people who have lung pathologies develop more severe ventilation-perfusion mismatch that leads to critically low arterial blood oxygen levels. This effect takes place due to the ability of CO2 to dilate airways (bronchi and bronchioles). Greatly reduced blood oxygenation makes cell oxygen level low as well. Hence, these people also develop problems with tissue and brain oxygenation.
Conclusion. Whatever the level of carbon dioxide in the arterial blood, hyperventilation leads to reduced cell oxygen level and low brain oxygenation.
Reference pages: Breathing norms and medical facts:
-
Breathing
norms: Parameters, graph, and description of the normal
breathing pattern
- 6 breathing myths: Myths and superstitions about breathing
and body oxygenation (prevalence: over 90%)
- Hyperventilation: Definitions of
hyperventilation: their advantages and weak points
- Hyperventilation syndrome:
Western scientific evidence about prevalence of chronic hyperventilation in patients with chronic conditions
(37 medical studies)
- Normal minute ventilation: Small and
slow
breathing at rest is enjoyed by healthy subjects (14 studies)
- Hyperventilation prevalence: Present in
over 90% of
normal people (24 medical studies)
- HV and hypoxia:
How and why deep breathing reduces oxygenation of cells and tissues of
all vital organs
- Body-oxygen test (CP test)
: How to measure your own breathing and body oxygenation (two in one) using a simple DIY test
- Body oxygen in healthy:
Results for the body-oxygen test for healthy people (27 medical
studies)
- Body oxygen in sick
: Results for the body-oxygen test for sick people (14 medical studies)
- Buteyko
Table of Health Zones: Clinical description and ranges for breathing zones:
from the critically ill (severely sick) up to super healthy people
with maximum possible body oxygenation
- Morning hyperventilation: Why people feel
worse and critically ill people are most
likely to die during early morning hours
References: pages about CO2 effect:
- 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: How alveolar CO2 influences
oxygen transport
- Oxygen transport: O2 transport is controlled by
vasoconstriction-vasodilation and the Bohr effects, both of which rely on CO2
- Free radical generation:
Reactive oxygen species are produced within cells due to anaerobic cell respiration caused by cell hypoxia
- Inflammatory response: Chronic inflammation
in fueled by the hypoxia-inducible factor 1, while normal breathing reduces
and eliminates inflammation
- Nerve stabilization: People remain calm due to calmative or
sedative effects of carbon dioxide in neurons or nerve cells
- Muscle relaxation: Relaxation of muscle cells
is normal at high CO2, while hypocapnia causes muscular tension, poor posture
and, sometimes, aggression and violence
- Bronchodilation: Dilation of
airways (bronchi and bronchioles) is caused by carbon dioxide, and their constriction
by hypocapnia (low CO2)
- Blood
pH: Regulation of blood pH due to breathing and regulation of other bodily fluids
- CO2: lung damage: Elevated carbon
dioxide prevents lung injury and promotes healing of lung tissues
- CO2: Topical carbon dioxide can heal skin and tissues
- Synthesis of glutamine
in the brain, CO2 fixation, and other chemical reactions
- Deep breathing myth:
Ignorant and naive people promote the idea that deep breathing and breathing
more air at rest is beneficial for health
- Breathing control: How is our
breathing regulated? Why hypocapnia makes breathing uneven, irregular and erratic.
References and quotes (Cells Oxygen and Hyperventilation/Hypocapnia)
Section "Physiologic and Biochemical Consequences"
"There is a decrease in cerebral oxygen tension on the basis of
both the Bohr effect and the decreased cerebral blood flow."
Brashear RE, Hyperventilation Syndrome, Lung, 1983, 161: p.
257-273.
Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine,
University Hospital, Indianapolis, Indiana 46223, USA
Section "Neurologic Effects of Hypocapnia"
"Systemic hypocapnia results in cerebrospinal fluid alkalosis,
which decreases cerebral blood flow, cerebral oxygen delivery, and to a
lesser extent, cerebral blood volume."
Laffey JG & Kavanagh BP, Hypocapnia, New England
Journal of Medicine 2002, 347(1) 43-53.
"Because both hypocapnia and alkalosis cause a leftward shift of
the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve, off-loading of oxygen at the
tissue level is restricted. In addition, hypocapnia causes systemic
arterial vasoconstriction, decreasing the global and regional oxygen
supply and compounding the reduction in the delivery of oxygen to
tissue."
Laffey JG & Kavanagh BP, Hypocapnia, New England
Journal of Medicine 2002, 347(1) 43-53.
"First consider the immediate effects of hypocapnia. The most
striking direct effect is on the cerebral circulation. Carbon dioxide
is the most important regulator of cerebral vascular tone. Hypocapnia
causes immediate vasoconstriction leading to cerebral hypoxia."
Lum LC, Hyperventilation: The Tip and the Iceberg, Journal
of Psychosomatic Research, 1975, Vol. 19, pp. 375-383.
"Furthermore, carbon dioxide controls the calibre of cerebral
arteries. Hypocarbia causes vasoconstriction, and hence cerebral
hypoxia. This hypoxia is augmented by a shift to the left of the
hemoglobin dissociation curve for oxygen (Bohr effect), which
diminishes both the amount and the rate of transfer of oxygen to
tissues."
Lum LC, Hyperventilation and Anxiety State, Journal of the Royal
Society of Medicine, 1981 (74) 1-4.
References
Brown EB, Physiological effects of hyperventilation 1953, PhysioI Rev 33:445-471.
Foëx P, Ryder WA, Effect of CO2 on the systemic and coronary circulations and on coronary sinus blood gas tensions, Bulletin of European Physiopathology and Respirology, 1979 Jul-Aug; 15(4): p.625-638.
Fujita Y, Sakai T, Ohsumi A, Takaori M, Effects of hypocapnia and hypercapnia on splanchnic circulation and hepatic function in the beagle, Anesthesia and Analgesia, 1989 Aug; 69(2): p. 152-157.
Guzman JA, Kruse JA. Gut mucosal-arterial PCO2 gradient as an indicator of splanchnic perfusion during systemic hypo- and hypercapnia, Crit Care Med 1999; 27: p. 2760-2765.
Hashimoto K, Okazaki K, Okutsu Y, The effects of hypocapnia and hypercapnia on tissue surface PO2 in hemorrhaged dogs [Article in Japanese], Masui, 1989 Oct; 38(10): p. 1271-1274.
Hughes RL, Mathie RT, Fitch W, Campbell D, Liver blood flow and oxygen consumption during hypocapnia and IPPV in the greyhound, Journal of Applied Physiology, 1979 Aug; 47(2): p. 290-295.
Kennealy JA, McLennan JE, Loudon RG, McLaurin RL, Hyperventilation-induced cerebral hypoxia, Am Rev Respir Dis 1980, 122: p. 407-412.
Laffey JG & Kavanagh BP, Hypocapnia, New England Journal of Medicine 2002, 347(1) 43-53.
Liem KD, Kollée LA, Hopman JC, De Haan AF, Oeseburg B, The influence of arterial carbon dioxide on cerebral oxygenation and hemodynamics during ECMO in normoxaemic and hypoxaemic piglets, Acta Anaesthesiolica Scandanavica Supplement, 1995; 107: p.157-164.
Litchfield PM, A brief overview of the chemistry of respiration and the breathing heart wave, California Biofeedback, 2003 Spring, 19(1).
Lum LC, Hyperventilation: The Tip and the Iceberg, Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 1975, Vol. 19, pp. 375-383.
Lum LC, Hyperventilation and Anxiety State, Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 1981 (74) 1-4.
Macey PM, Woo MA, Harper RM, Hyperoxic brain effects are normalized by addition of CO2, PLoS Medicine, 2007 May; 4(5): p. e173.
Nunn JF. Applied respiratory physiology, 1987, 3rd ed. London: Butterworths.
Okazaki K, Okutsu Y, Fukunaga A, Effect of carbon dioxide (hypocapnia and hypercapnia) on tissue blood flow and oxygenation of liver, kidneys and skeletal muscle in the dog, Masui, 1989 Apr, 38 (4): p. 457-464.
Okazaki K, Hashimoto K, Okutsu Y, Okumura F, Effect of arterial carbon dioxide tension on regional myocardial tissue oxygen tension in the dog [Article in Japanese], Masui, 1991 Nov; 40(11): p. 1620-1624.
Okazaki K, Hashimoto K, Okutsu Y, Okumura F, Effect of carbon dioxide (hypocapnia and hypercapnia) on regional myocardial tissue oxygen tension in dogs with coronary stenosis [Article in Japanese], Masui, 1992 Feb; 41(2): p. 221-224.
Skippen P, Seear M, Poskitt K, et al. Effect of hyperventilation on regional cerebral blood flow in head-injured children. Crit Care Med 1997, 25: p. 1402-1409.
Tsuda Y, Kimura K, Yoneda S, Hartmann A, Etani H, Hashikawa K, Kamada T, Effect of hypocapnia on cerebral oxygen metabolism and blood flow in ischemic cerebrovascular disorders, Eur Neurol. 1987; 27(3): p.155-163.
Wexels JC, Myhre ES, Mjøs OD, Effects of carbon dioxide and pH on myocardial blood-flow and metabolism in the dog, Clin Physiol. 1985 Dec; 5(6): p.575-588.
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