Mask Wearing

A client recently asked:
“I’m wondering if you could give me any advice around mask wearing and good breathing?

She asked because like many she was finding wearing a mask difficult.

My response to her was as follows: There are many variables which make mask wearing more or less difficult. Ease and tolerance will depend on things like:

• Whether you able to nose breathe while wearing a mask
• Whether your breathing rate increases when wearing a mask
• How long you have to wear the mask for at any one time, and how often it can be removed
• The kind of fabric the mask is made of – how thick and how breathable it is
• How well the mask is fitted and being worn
• Cleanliness of the mask
• Age of the person
• State of health of the individual

In other words there is not an easy one-size-fits-all answer.

The first two points are the most important ones in terms of the effect on breathing health. Our noses provide the best natural viral filters preventing direct inhalation of pathogens into the lungs. They also help to prevent viral spread to others in comparison to mouth breathing.

If you can both wear a mask and nose breathe without increasing your breathing rate, then this will likely be the best way to maintain breathing health whenever mask wearing is required.

The best way to ensure you can do this is to first become aware of how you breathe at rest (baseline breathing) and when doing your regular daytime activities (AOL) without a mask on.

Check out the TIPS listed at the end of this article and if you need help or would like to know how your baseline breathing is doing, book in for a Breathing Assessment or phone the Breathe Free Clinic for a free 20 minute phone consult.

If your baseline (normal) breathing is dysfunctional, then even wearing a mask for short periods of time may prove challenging.

Usually this is because your tolerance for carbon dioxide (CO₂) is low, which means your brain and body will not be used to the higher levels of CO₂ which you will be inhaling as a result of wearing a mask.

In fact, the respiratory center in your brain may think that you are starving for air and you may feel a rise in anxiety or even panic. Usually the consequence is hyperventilation or over-breathing which makes things worse.

Unfortunately as a result of the Bohr Effect ^{2 & 3}, the bioavailability of oxygen (O2) is reduced when breathing faster and bigger volumes of air than is healthy. (See article on Overwhelm and Stress)

The only way to properly combat this is to retrain your breathing – start getting used to more CO₂ – unfortunately there isn’t a quick fix.

IS YOUR CO₂ TOLERANCE LOW?

Find out by booking a Capnography Assessment

There is now more and more evidence coming out to indicate that mask wearing is in fact encouraging people to mouth breathe1. Check it out for yourself – what are you doing right now, with or without a mask as you read this?

Again in case you missed it, nose breathing is one of the most important and useful things people can do to protect themselves against viruses because of the natural filters and infection fighting gases in the sinuses.

On a positive front, short term use of masks can potentially improve your mental state by lifting the carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels that you’re inhaling which then results in the release of more oxygen (O2). It is not so simple however when you have to wear a mask for long and regular periods.

Wearing a mask for short periods, on and off again as recommended in the first tip below, will start to lift tolerance for CO₂ – even within a week if consistently practiced each day. This is similar to climbing to a higher elevation for short periods and has also been likened to intermittent hypoxic training (IHT) which can be beneficial to health overall for those already in good health. IHT is used by some athletes in their training regimes combined with exercise.

Some of the health benefits of intermittent hypoxic training include:

• an improved immune system
• calming of the mind and body
• improved anaerobic and aerobic capacity (through hypercapnia and hypoxia)
• potential activation of the diaphragm
• improved respiratory muscle strength

NOTE: Unfortunately, this is not the case for those who are in poor health and Breathe Free Clinic recommends that you discuss the possibility of a mask exemption with your health professional if you are in a job that requires mask wearing for long periods and you believe your health is being put at risk.

Below is a list of some recommendations which may help your mask tolerance.