Email Apnea - Cousin of Sleep Apnea
The way you breathe at your day job is likely mimicking the affects of snoring!
You don’t need more coffee. You need to stop suffocating yourself every time you check your emails!!
One in five American employees work from home regularly while 41% work in office.
Others of you who are reading this may be self employed but still stay locked into your desk for hours on end each day. Did you know, most of us are unconsciously holding our breath while we are focusing on our work? How can you tell if you are?
Sound Familiar?
Rapid energy fade as the day goes on
Brain fog throughout work day
Difficulty digesting
Elevated average stress/anxiety levels
These are all by products of holding your breath unconsciously. The code name for this is “Email Apnea”. (My friends who snore, does this sound familiar to you??? It should because it produces similar problems in the body as snoring!)
Knowledge: “Apnea” means temporary cessation of breath.
So if you are someone who snores at night and you also mirror snoring problems in your waking day? You are getting 1-2 punched by Breath Tyson….
You know when we unconsciously hold our breath a lot? When we are locked into our screens. Shocking, right?
Whether in the office or at home doomscrolling on X/TikTok/IG you are likely holding your breath/breathing very shallowly into your chest.
After a few hours you may notice your neck is bothering you, or your back. I mean it’s only natural because of that slouch we often take when we get locked in like that. The poor posture is making our breathing even more shallow…
Simple fixes:
First & foremost the main thing we need to do is just simply be more aware. This is ESPECIALLY true when it comes to our screen usage.
If you notice yourself sitting with a craned neck down towards your phone, correct yourself. Put the phone down and take a few breaths through your nose.
Correct yourself as often as you notice. (This is true for any habit you are trying to correct btw)
Do the same thing with your breathing. If you notice yourself holding your breath or mouth breathing or just shallowly breathing, correct yourself. Bring yourself back to your nose breathing.
Correct yourself as often as you notice! (REMEMBER - good breathing begets good breathing. Building the habit consciously builds the habit for our unconscious breathing too)
During your work day set timers on your phone to remind you to get up and move your body and separate yourself from your screen for a moment. Don’t switch from your computer screen to your phone screen!
Go for a walk, go do some pushups, something away from screens where you are in good posture and nose breathing maybe!!!
You could always learn how to do “Resonant Breathing” and practice for 3-5 mins at your desk every once in a while too. Sitting down and consciously building your breath will boost your focus, enhance your mood and energy and promote better sleep later that night.
Look I get it, we all get locked into what we are doing. I do the same thing! When we are so locked in that our breathing is suffering we are sewing thorn bush seeds in our body basically! The effects of poor breathing health are often seen downstream. They accumulate over time.
We don’t have a choice but to lock in (& often clock in) on the work we must do. But the way we breath is clocking us into cashing paychecks of bad health!
One of the best things you can do for yourself is to learn how to use your nose to breathe - as nature intended!
You don’t need to overcomplicate it or learn anything intricate. Rest assured, you can start by simply building the habit of sitting down from five to ten minutes a day. If you are feeling zealous? An extra five minutes at night.
Don’t know where to start and want to learn WHY we need to use our nose? Tap into Beginning Breath
Nearly an hour of video instruction
30 day plan to follow for building your first breathing practice
Simple and digestible - even children can do it at home with you!
Learn a proven technique for promoting airway health and longevity