Watch this video clip below (from www.GoogleVideo.com) about the paradox of breathing. Click in the window to learn about scientific and practical evidence connecting the index of oxygenation (stress-free breath holding time after exhalation with no stress) and minute ventilation of people in various health states. Video clip "Breathing patterns" (it will open in a new window).

If you have healthy friends or relatives, you can easily observe that their breathing is regular, nasal only, diaphragmatic, invisible (no chest or belly movements), and inaudible (no panting, no wheezing, no sighing, no yawning, no sneezing, no coughing, no deep inhalations or exhalations). They take small inhalations and then relax for the exhalation.

The durations of inhalations and exhalations, breathing rate, amount of air inhaled per breath and other parameters are individual. Many healthy people can have the following parameters of the breathing cycle: inhalation (about 2 s); exhalation (2-3 s); automatic pause or period of almost no breathing (1 s); the depth of inhalation is about 500-600 ml; and breathing rate is about 10-12 times per minute. The international physiological norm for the breathing rate is 6 l/min (for a 70-kg man).

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