Breathing is how our bodies get oxygen and release CO2. Breathing helps regulate the blood flow by releasing hormones like epinephrine and dopamine. There are a number of reasons why you might want to measure your breathing rate, such as high blood pressure or sleep apnea.
How to monitor breathing rate
The first step when measuring your breathing rate is to find a comfortable position that you can both sit in and breathe comfortably. Make sure that your back is supported, that your legs are bent, and don’t wear anything tight around the chest or stomach.
Breathing rate is measured by counting the number of breaths one takes over a certain amount of time. This number can be multiplied by 4 to get the rate in breaths per minute.
The main reason for measuring breathing rate is to ensure that you have healthy lungs. Many illnesses will result in abnormal breathing rates as well as other symptoms that you can use to diagnose illness.
The following experiment lets you find out what your normal breathing rate should be and also will demonstrate how you can measure your own breathing rate using a metronome and a watch.
By measuring your breathing rate, you can find out if you have a medical condition that may affect your breathing rate.
Normal Breathing Rate Experiment
Variables In this experiment, there are five experimental conditions: Number of breaths taken (x1) All 5 breathing rates in breaths per minute (x5) Average rate of breathing per minute: x= 12 breaths/minute The two variables that will be manipulated are the number of breaths taken and the average rate of breathing per minute. Each one-minute section will be broken into 10 seconds, with a “0” indicating that the participant is sitting or standing still.
Importance of Measuring Breathing Rate
Your breathing rate is important to measure because it can affect how your body functions. Hyperventilation will give you the feeling of being short of breath, but it is not actually lung-related, but rather a sudden drop in CO2 and an increase in blood acidity. If you breathe too quickly when exercising, you may also have a decreased blood oxygen level, which is something that athletes try to avoid.
When your breathing rate goes down below normal, it may indicate that you are having a health issue. If your breathing rate is too slow, you may experience a decrease in heart rate and in oxygen delivery to the cell.
When you are training for your next big competition or crossfit event, measuring your breathing rate can be very helpful in getting an idea of how aerobically fit you are. As scientists have noticed, certain people really can breathe really well for extended periods of time.
Your breathing rate is a good way to monitor your health and fitness levels. If your breathing rate seems very slow or fast, you should consult a medical professional and get tested. The experiment in this article demonstrates how to use a metronome and a stopwatch to measure your breathing rate. Hopefully this article has been informative, and will give you an idea of how to measure your own personal breathing rate.