Why Your Breathing Might Be Fuelling Your Anxiety with Patrick McKeown

About this episode

Dermot Whelan discusses the impact of breathing on anxiety and overall health with Patrick McKeown.

In this episode, I sit down with Patrick McKeown to explore something we all think we’ve mastered - breathing. Turns out, many of us have been doing it wrong our entire lives! We dive into the surprising idea that breathing more can actually deliver less oxygen, and why carbon dioxide might not be the enemy we thought it was. Patrick explains how your breath acts as a remote control for your nervous system, and how simple shifts - like nasal breathing - can improve sleep, focus, and reduce anxiety. This one really hit home for me. Looking back, I can see how my own anxiety, poor sleep, and even negative thinking were tied to dysfunctional breathing patterns I never questioned. The good news? You don’t need anything complicated. Just awareness, small changes, and a willingness to retrain something you’ve been doing since birth. For more information on Patrick’s work check out oxygenadvantage.com (Including the Nasal 5K Running Challenge, Free Breathing App, 3-Day Immersive Certification Training, Free Resource Hub, which includes guided audios, podcasts, blogs and more!) and buteykoclinic.com for health-related issues (e.g.asthma, anxiety/panic disorder, sleep). You can also find…

People in this episode

Host: Dermot Whelan

Guest: Patrick McKeown

Topics covered

• breathing
• anxiety
• health
• sleep
• focus
• wellness

Keywords

• breathing
• anxiety
• carbon dioxide
• nasal breathing
• sleep improvement
• focus enhancement
• Dysfunctional breathing

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: oxygenadvantage.com, buteykoclinic.com

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