Normal Respiratory Rate, Volume, Chart, ...
Normal respiratory rate in adults is 12 breaths/min. Normal breathing, as we discussed, is strictly nasal (in and out), mainly diaphragmatic (i.e., abdominal), slow (in frequency) and imperceptible (or small/shallow in its volume).
The physiological and medical norm for respiratory minute
ventilation at rest is 6 liters per minute for a 70 kg man (see references for
textbooks below: Guyton, 1984; Ganong, 1995; Straub, 1998; Castro,
2000; etc.). These textbooks also provide the following
numbers for normal breathing:
- normal TV (tidal volume or air volume breathed in during a single breath): 500 ml;
- normal Rf (respiratory frequency or respiratory rate): 12 breaths per minute;
- inspiration: about 1.5-2 seconds;
- normal exhalation is 1.5-2 seconds, followed by an automatic pause (no breathing for 1-2 seconds).
Respiratory Rate Chart (Graph)
This graph represents the normal-breathing pattern at rest or the dynamic of the lungs' volume as a function of time. You can see that it corresponds to the normal breathing rate of 12 breaths/minute.
Warning.
We cannot measure our own breathing frequency or
respiratory rate since our breathing
immediately changes once we pay attention to it. We breathe slower and deeper.
Your result can be 2-3 times smaller than your real number during your basal-breathing
pattern at rest (e.g., you will count 7 breaths/min, while your actual
breathing rate is about 18-20 breaths/min). Hence, you can breathe faster
than the normal respiratory rate, but your test can show that you breathe
slower than the normal respiratory rate (12 breaths/min). This is a common
mistake.
Other parameters of normal breathing
“If a person breath-holds after a normal exhale, it takes about 40 s before breathing commences” (McArdle et al, 2000). Hence, the normal breath-holding number (immediately after usual exhalation and after an exhale) is around 40 s. This indicates normal oxygenation of cells and tissues.
The current medical norm for CO2 pressure in the alveoli of the
lungs or arterial blood is 40 mm Hg. This number was
established about one century ago by famous British
physiologists Charles G. Douglas and John S. Haldane (Oxford University). Their
results were published in 1909 in their article "The regulation of
normal breathing", Journal of Physiology (Douglas & Haldane,
1909).
What is known about other parameters of normal breathing? It is invisible (no chest or belly movements), regular, and inaudible (no panting, no wheezing, no sighing, no yawning, no sneezing, no coughing, no deep inhalations or exhalations).
Pediatric Respiratory Rate Chart
(Newborn, Toddlers, Infants, and Children)
(the source for this chart: Normal respiratory rate for children; source: health.msn.com)
| Groups and ages | Normal respiratory rates |
| Newborns to 6 months old | 30-60 breaths/min |
| 6 to 12 months old | 24–30 breaths/min |
| 1 to 5 years old | 20–30 breaths/min |
| 6 to 12 years old | 12–20 breaths/min |
Important note. Clinical evidence suggests that respiratory rates
in healthy children are near the lower limits or even below it.
How to measure one's own breathing?
In order to define your breathing pattern, measure your body oxygenation or breath-holding time after your usual exhalation, but only until the first stress or discomfort. After doing this CP test, one can define their health state using the Buteyko Table of Health Zones.
The person with normal breathing is going to have about 40 s for the body oxygen test. In the case of chronic overbreathing, breath holding time becomes shorter (see links to Tables and studies below).
Sick people have deep and fast breathing 24/7 and reduced body oxygenation (usually about 10-20 s of oxygen in tissues). In the severely sick and critically ill patients, body oxygenation is below 10 s.
Dr. Buteyko, based on his studies of thousands of healthy and
sick people, suggested different norms for breathing (e.g., Buteyko,
1991). What are his norms? For example, his normal respiratory rate
is only 8 breaths/min. Here are his numbers for normal breathing:
- normal minute ventilation: 4 l/min;
- normal tidal volume (air volume breathed in during a single
breath):
500 ml;
- normal breathing rate or frequency: 8 breaths per minute;
- inspiration: about 1.5 seconds;
- exhalation: 2 seconds;
- automatic pause (or period of no breathing after
exhalation): 4 seconds;
- breath holding time (after usual exhalation and without any
stress
at the end of the test): 60 seconds;
- CO2 concentrations in the alveoli or arterial blood – 6.5%
or about 46 mm Hg (at sea level).
Both norms (official and Buteyko's) and other related values can be found in the Buteyko Table of Health Zones.
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
Buteyko KP, Method of voluntary elimination of deep breathing, Buteyko method [in Russian], in Buteyko method. Its application in medical practice, ed. by K.P. Buteyko, 2nd ed., 1991, Titul, Odessa, p.148-165.
Castro M. Control of breathing. In: Physiology, Berne RM, Levy MN (eds), 4-th edition, Mosby, St. Louis, 1998.
Douglas CG, Haldane JS, The regulation of normal breathing, Journal of Physiology 1909; 38: p. 420–440.
Ganong WF, Review of medical physiology, 15-th ed., 1995, Prentice Hall Int., London.
Guyton AC, Physiology of the human body, 6-th ed., 1984, Suanders College Publ., Philadelphia.
McArdle W.D., Katch F.I., Katch V.L., Essentials of exercise physiology (2nd edition); Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, London 2000.
Straub NC, Section V, The Respiratory System, in Physiology, eds. RM Berne & MN Levy, 4-th edition, Mosby, St. Louis, 1998.
Summary of values useful in pulmonary physiology: man. Section: Respiration and Circulation, ed. by P.L. Altman & D.S. Dittmer, 1971, Bethesda, Maryland (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology).
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