Breathing, everything you need to know to take care of it.

Improving the way we breathe can have a huge impact on our health and well-being. Learn how Monticelli Spa offers natural and effective solutions to improve the quality of breathing and prevent airway disorders.

There are about 16 per minute in a healthy adult subject: each breath is the basis of cellular nourishment processes.
Between the way we breathe and the quality of our lives there is a deep connection.
It is the first thing we do when we come into the world, and it is the last thing we do before we leave it, an activity we often take for granted, mistakenly.

Breathing is an art, and if we discover how to improve it, we harness the potential of a natural medicine that increases the quality of our lives.
There are studies that have shown how conscious, deep breathing can bring enormous benefits to our bodies, a bridge between body, senses and mind.
Yet most of us breathe incorrectly.

If our mind drives the breath, the breath at the same time is able to influence the brain and its functions: the production of neurotransmitters and hormones, blood pressure, the neurovegetative system, heart rhythm, and the function of the immune system.

Inhaling and exhaling: ventilation

“Ventilation is the mechanical process that allows air to enter the airways and lungs (inhalation) and exit the same organs (exhalation),” explains Dr. Gianfranco Beltrami, Health Director of Terme di Monticelli.
“Air enters through the nose or mouth and travels through the upper airways (nasal cavities, pharynx and larynx) and lower airways (trachea and bronchi) until it reaches the lungs.”

How many types of breathing exist?

“We know of three modes of breathing: one called clavicular in which air is encompassed in the upper chest, the thoracic mode called middle, and finally the abdominal mode, which is the deepest.”

Clavicular or high breathing is the most superficial and certainly the most incorrect from a physiological point of view.
During inhalation, the shoulders, chest and clavicles are raised due to the contraction of the cervical and high intercostal muscles, abnormally and exaggeratedly stressing the neck, shoulders and sternal area.
A minimal amount of air is introduced and only into the upper part of the lungs.
Thoracic or middle breathing during which the rib cage is dilated with the middle intercostal muscles.
It is better than the previous one in that it is deeper, but not optimal.
Abdominal breathing is the most appropriate.
It brings air to the lower and, therefore, wide part of the lungs.
Breathing is slow and deep, and the muscle that is used is the one that is appointed to breathe regularly 24 hours a day, namely the diaphragm.

Nose or mouth?

“Breathing should be performed through the nose,” Beltrami continued.
“Inhaling through the mouth is wrong. In fact, the air enters directly into the throat, without being warmed, humidified and purified as it is in the nose. Many colds and bronchitis could be avoided if only nasal breathing were used.”
That is why it is important to keep the airways clear and healthy.

“It is possible to improve and prevent the main pathologies of the upper respiratory tract such as rhinitis, pharyngitis or sinusitis (even chronic) with an effective natural method free of contraindications: water from the Monticelli Spa.
Thanks to its remineralizing and anti-inflammatory properties, it acts directly on the mucous membranes by decongesting them.
In this regard, the Terme’s scientific medical team has devised the Breathing Pathway which includes, among other things, 36 inhalation treatment sessions (3 per day) including inhalation, aerosol, nebulization, humage, pulverization and nasal shower.

Focus on the breath.

Scientific studies have shown that there is a deep connection between breath and moods.
Deep breathing exercises, therefore, can help people relax the body and mind, maintain health and well-being, and reduce stress and anxiety.
Not only that.
TheAmerican Sleep Association reports that focusing on the breath may be able to help induce sleep for people who struggle to fall asleep.

To begin, simply stop in a comfortable position for a few minutes, closing your eyes.
At that point you start breathing and observing the rhythm of the breath, paying attention to what is happening to your body.
For example, your chest and abdomen expanding and retracting, the sound of air coming out.
You should make the exhalation last twice as long as the inhalation, using the abdominal mode.
Little by little, the muscles relax and tension is released.
It is a simple exercise that can be done anywhere, even in the office.
Even better if in the midst of nature, like at the Terme di Monticelli park among Parma’s largest green lungs.
Silence, old trees, shady avenues and rustling leaves is the perfect size.

Alsoread .

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17 May 2024