Most People Are Breathing Wrong | Patrick McKeown Explains

Breathing plays a critical role in mental health, stress, and anxiety. In this talk for IMMH, Patrick McKeown, founder of the Buteyko Clinic, explains why up to 75% of people with anxiety and panic disorders experience dysfunctional breathing patterns.

Patrick explores how chronic stress leads to over-breathing, mouth breathing, and irregular breathing habits that can trigger the body’s fight-or-flight response. He explains the role of the brain’s pre-Bötzinger complex in regulating breathing and how fast, shallow breathing can negatively impact the nervous system, sleep quality, focus, and emotional regulation.

You’ll learn why generic breathing advice doesn’t work for everyone, and how Buteyko breathing techniques—including nose breathing, reduced breathing, and gentle breath holds—can help retrain your breathing for better mental performance, calmer states, and improved sleep.

This evidence-based presentation includes:

- The link between breathing dysfunction and anxiety

- How breathing affects the default mode network

- Why nose breathing is essential for mental health

- Practical Buteyko Clinic breathing exercises to reduce stress

- How to improve breathing patterns for long-term wellbeing

Whether you’re struggling with stress, panic attacks, poor sleep, or simply want to improve your breathing efficiency, this talk offers practical tools to help you breathe better and live better.

👉 Learn more about the Buteyko Method and breathing for mental health at Buteyko Clinic

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