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 | Retirement Talk for Boomers, Seniors, and Retirees |
Episode 156 Breathing
Problems – Screen Apnea?
The librarian shook her head and left us in the small
magazine room. I had just squatted down and took three deep breaths and then
stood and blew hard on my thumb. I passed out; my second time. We were just playing;
seeing what would happen. I was a senior in high school.
This is Retirement Talk. I'm Del Lowery.
The first time I passed out was in eighth grade during the
winter Christmas show. We were all dressed in white shirts buttoned at the
collar. I was just singing my heart out and then I remember feeling funny. Next
thing I knew Coach Miller was hovering over me with smelling salts. I was
laying back stage behind the singing choir. I had forgotten to bend my knees
and breathe; passed right out.
I know, breathing is natural. We do it without thinking, but sometimes - we
forget. It seems that when we look at computer screens or television screens we
change our ordinary breathing patterns. It is called screen apnea. I heard this
story on SPARK a CBC radio program. You can find a podcast of the show on the
Internet.
We don’t breathe out. We are becoming a nation, or world, of
shallow breathers. My granddaughter has been having some breathing
problems. During exercise she finds
herself unable to breath. She has to stop exercising and wait impatiently until
she can continue. Why does this happen? No one seems to know. Perhaps screen
apnea is the answer. She uses computers a lot and read a whole lot. Maybe she
has conditioned herself into not breathing out.
I had one other breathing problem that may be related to this
phenomenon. I was teaching a class in philosophy at the time and during out of
work hours was being audited by the IRS. Nietzsche was the topic in philosophy;
“Living dangerous’ “Stepping out on the tight rope”, that kind of stuff. Outside
of class the IRS was not accepting some claimed expenses. I was young and
couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t just take my word for it.
One day while teaching I started to get short on breath. I
asked the students about the temperature in the room. “Its fine” they replied.
I told them I need to get some air and walked outside. I still had trouble
breathing. A student came out and walked me down to the nurse’s office. My
chest was tight and my hands and feet, then arms and legs became numb. I knew
that I was dying. Then I was gone. Next thing I heard was the voice of a
paramedic soothingly telling me that I was alright over and over again. I
wasn’t dead. Quiet a moment.
I was wired for an EKG. It showed my heart to be good. “Hyperventilation”,
the medic said. “Symptoms are similar to heart attack. You just forgot to
exhale." If diagnosed early enough you just breathe into a paper bag. That
cuts down on the oxygen you are inhaling. Balance is returned to your system
and there is no problem. So there can be a problem not breathing in and
sometimes the problem is not breathing out.
Every morning I do Tai Chi. One point of focus is breathing.
Breathe in deeply and exhale completely. It is repeated over and over. It is
not taken for granted. It is not assumed that you will be breathing correctly
without conscious effort. It is a daily ritual. The hope is that it will become
part of your life on a breath by breath basis.
Yoga also emphasizes this. And when one is an athlete breathing
is always a consideration. Coaches are always telling their athletes to take a
few deep breaths and let them out completely. It helps with relaxations and
focus. Correct breathing becomes part of an athlete’s life without them giving
it much thought.
For those that do not do aerobic exercise on a daily basis,
do not practice the art of breathing correctly, breathing problems can become a
life problem.
Screen apnea now appears on our radar. I wonder just how
widespread it is? Perhaps most of us have it or are developing it. It is hard
to take a deep breath when one is sitting bent over a screen or book. The body
just doesn’t work that way. We are built for walking across the savanna with
our head up and our eyes wide open. Time to take a deep breath and exhale
completely.
This is Retirement Talk.