On my menopause journey I have learned so much about how our hormones are intertwined with everything. Here’s a fact you may not have been aware of. Did you know that your hormones affect the way you breathe, and how you breathe massively affects your health and wellbeing – from sleep quality, to brain fog, to immunity and weight control?
Before lockdown I developed something called ‘dysfunctional breathing’. Basically I found myself breathless in the morning, yawning alot to try and regulate my breathing, alongside waking up now and again gasping, which really freaked me out.
My GP diagnosed ‘air hunger’ or ‘dysfunctional breathing’ but she never linked it to hormones and menopause. After a few sessions with an amazing NHS breathing physio, I got this more or less under control and have been doing a lot of my own research on this lesser known symptom of menopause, as well as a lot more reading about breathing in general.
I’m still working on my nasal breathing, trying to reduce mouth breathing especially during exercise and at night; but if this is something that you have noticed yourself, definitely read up on it.
Not all GPs have menopause specialists, so check out the following recommendations. A few years ago I bought ‘Breathe’ by James Nestor and more recently ‘Oxygen Advantage’ by Patrick McKeown, these are utterly fascinating, you can listen to podcasts too if reading isn’t your thing.
Also check out Dr Louise Newson’s Balance website and her podcast with Dr Louise Oliver a GP and breathing specialist, there are loads of tips there to help you:https://www.balance-menopause.com/menopause-library/the-importance-of-breathing-efficiently-with-dr-louise-oliver/
I would love to know if this has been helpful, I wish I had known about this a few years ago! Knowledge is Power my friends
