This is the first installment in a three-part article series accompanying the video How To Get Through Air Hunger, with Simon Spire (available on the LNB homepage). This first article covers the causes of air hunger, a condition that is sometimes also referred to as chronic breathing tension, hyperventilation syndrome, breathlessness, shortness of breath, pseudo-dyspnea, or chronic sighing. We provide these introductory articles to raise awareness for and understanding around this condition. Our online course, Liberating the Natural Breath, is what we recommend for those who want to get through air hunger.
What Causes Air Hunger and Chronic Breathing Tension?
What causes non-medical air hunger? I think a full answer needs to address three facets of this condition. First, what is happening in our body when we develop chronic breathing tension and experience air hunger? Second, what triggers the onset of these dysfunctional breathing patterns? And third, what makes our breathing vulnerable to these triggers such that we end up developing chronic breathing tension? In this article, I’ll seek to address these three aspects of the onset of air hunger.
What is happening in your body when you experience air hunger?
Let’s start by understanding what’s happening when you experience non-medical air hunger, which I often refer to as chronic breathing tension. Just to ensure we’re on the same page, this is the ongoing experience of feeling that you can’t get a full breath and that you constantly have to struggle to try and take in more air, often reaching with the chest and over time building up a lot of tension in your upper body but only very rarely, if ever, being able to get a satisfying breath—other than the occasional forced breath or forced yawn, or perhaps some easier breaths that happen when you’re not thinking about it. To many people, this sense of not being able to get enough air can feel like a daily form of torture. This dysfunctional breathing pattern can either build up over time or get triggered suddenly, and once it gets established in a person’s system, it can often stubbornly remain in place until it’s intentionally addressed.
I think the most accurate way to understand air hunger is to recognize that it’s the result of the disruption of your natural, easy breathing, which in a healthy state happens automatically, without your conscious involvement. Ordinarily or optimally, breathing happens naturally and efficiently and automatically. So it’s essentially unconscious, but it’s also very intricate: It involves the involuntary movement of the diaphragm and the coordinated movement of supporting muscles throughout the torso—including the chest, back, and ribs—and all of this is orchestrated in a rhythm of easeful movement that’s free of your own conscious interference.
When your natural breathing starts to get restricted, which can happen for a variety of reasons, one thing that can occur is that you instinctively try to compensate for this restriction by reaching for a full breath with your chest. At first, sometimes this seems to help, but the more you use effort to reach for a full breath, the more tension and interference you introduce into your breathing. As you do, your natural breathing gets increasingly disrupted, which then pushes you to reach with your chest even more. This creates a self-reinforcing cycle of effortful breathing in which you’re over-breathing with your chest in an attempt to compensate for the restricted movement of the rest of your breathing mechanism. It also usually creates a kind of addiction to an artificial sense of what a full breath feels like. So you’re now under-breathing with your natural movement, and over-breathing with your chest or some other compensatory muscles, while also becoming dependent on a distorted sense of what a full breath feels like. And this is why you feel you can’t get a satisfying breath—because that’s not how the body breathes effectively. This dysfunctional breathing pattern can also generate various other symptoms, such as rib aches and pains, jaw discomfort, neck pain, and imbalanced oxygen vs. carbon dioxide levels.
One question you may be asking is, how does our natural breathing get disrupted in the first place? I’ll cover this in the next section of the article. Before we get there, one thing to keep in mind is that, whether the onset of air hunger for you was rapid—such as being triggered by a sudden trauma, illness, or panic attack—or whether it crept up on you over a longer period, our experience with people over the years is that, in either case, most people who develop air hunger likely already had restricted or interfered with breathing for a longer period of time—probably years—and usually in ways that were not obvious. What can happen is that this underlying interference makes your breathing vulnerable to triggers—such as stress or trauma or physical demands—and eventually reaches a tipping point, which is when it becomes air hunger.
So, what causes air hunger? The short answer is it’s the result of accumulated habitual tension and interference with your natural breathing, which causes you to get stuck in a self-reinforcing pattern of trying to compensate with effortful chest-breathing or with some other variation of tense and dysfunctional breathing.
Contributing Factors and Triggers
With this understanding of the workings of chronic breathing tension and air hunger, let’s explore the various paths that lead people to develop this condition. I’ll frame this in terms of contributing factors and triggers.
Contributing factors are the aspects of our breathing interference or tension that we develop over time and that compromise the inherent ease and efficiency of our natural breathing. For example, a tendency to hold our breath due to anxiety, to tighten our body due to stress or uncomfortable emotional experience, to operate in a degree of fight-or-flight or with a dysregulated nervous system, or to habitually slouch at a computer all day will all restrict and disrupt the inherent movement of our breathing. Over time, this decreases the resilience of our natural breathing. It also predisposes us to developing further interference and tension as we unconsciously seek to compensate for this restricted movement with more interference and effort.
Triggers are the precipitating factors that push our compromised breathing beyond a certain threshold, at which point it spirals into chronic breathing tension and air hunger. Examples include an illness, a surgery, a panic attack, a period of pronounced stress or grief or anxiety or depression, or a period of strenuous physical activity. These experiences may trigger either (a) increased restriction or interference in our breathing that pushes us into reaching with our chest and developing air hunger; or (b) increased demand on our breathing, which—due to our existing interference and the limited capacity of our compromised breathing—leads to our meeting this increased air demand with effortful compensation; or both (a) and (b) simultaneously.
It's possible for long-term contributing factors to generate air hunger without a precipitating trigger, as in the case of those whose postural habits or exercise habits cause growing breathing restriction and interference that one day reaches a tipping point, spiraling toward air hunger. It’s also possible for abrupt triggers, such as a panic attack or a surgery that impacts one’s breathing, to generate air hunger without the presence of significant long-term contributing factors. In a majority of cases, however, we believe that a combination of the two is at play in the onset of air hunger.
One important point to understand is that once chronic breathing tension gets established in our system, it’s often not enough to only address the immediate triggers. Rather, the dysfunctional air hunger breathing pattern itself typically must be attended to and unwound. The contributing factors may well also need attention. The triggers, which are typically the most visible aspect of the situation, may actually be the least pivotal in terms of freeing yourself from air hunger.
For example, let’s say you developed compromised breathing through years of interference and tension that was then triggered into air hunger by a panic attack, a strong respiratory virus such as Covid, or a major life stressor. Once you’ve gotten through the initial trigger, e.g., the life stressor, the main issue becomes addressing the dysfunctional breathing pattern you’ve developed, which may also involve addressing some degree of the contributing factors that compromised your breathing over the preceding years. The triggers themselves—the panic attack, virus, or stress—can and should be dealt with to the extent that they still appear, and this may be important for restoring your breathing. But there can be a tendency to pin all of the blame on the trigger, which can often lead to frustration. People spend a lot of time, for instance, addressing their anxiety, but their breathing remains stuck, primarily due to the air hunger pattern they’ve developed, and secondarily due to the contributing factors that have previously compromised their breathing. In order to be free again, it’s typically necessary to not only address or manage the immediate triggers of your air hunger, but also to restore your natural and resilient breathing. In fact, it’s usually addressing the dysfunctional breathing patterns themselves rather the triggers that enables us to free ourselves from air hunger, since once we’ve become aware of and addressed our unconscious breathing interference, we usually become much more capable of handling whatever triggers may arise without unconsciously falling into dysfunctional breathing.
In Liberating the Natural Breath, we discuss this in terms of the four domains of change. The aim is to restore your natural breathing by unwinding the tension and interference that keep your dysfunctional breathing in place. These four domains take into account the potential impact of triggers and contributing factors, in addition to the primary issue of the dysfunctional breathing pattern itself.
Let’s briefly explore some common contributing factors and triggers that we’ve frequently witnessed in our years working with air hunger sufferers. Many of the experiences below can act either as contributing factors or triggers or both.
Anxiety, stress, trauma, and panic attacks
Anxiety, stress, and trauma in their many guises can cause shallow breathing, tense breathing, held breathing, an accelerated pace in our system, and physical tension. These symptoms can arise as a direct response to anxiety, stress, and trauma or via the activation of our nervous system due to the presence of anxiety, stress, and trauma.
Panic attacks are a common cause of sudden-onset air hunger. A typical aspect of our response to the experience of a panic attack is a pronounced activation of the sympathetic nervous system, which can throw us into heightened physical tension and panicked chest-breathing. Once we fall into this pattern of panicked chest-breathing—which cuts us off from our more functional breathing and may generate significant tension and restriction in our back, chest, and elsewhere—we may get stuck there and struggle to find our way out of the pattern.
We believe that breathing that has already been compromised by contributing factors may, in some cases, also play a role in precipitating panic attacks, since the experience of not being able to get enough air may act to trigger a rapid spiral of anxiety and further compromised breathing that is experienced as a panic attack. Thus, in some cases of panic attack-triggered air hunger, the direction of causation may not be clear, or there may be a circular chicken-and-egg dynamic at play.
In the above scenarios, what’s usually required is not just working through our anxiety in an effective way with the right support, but also addressing the dysfunctional breathing pattern that has been established, which will continue to feed the underlying anxiety until it’s addressed.
Illnesses, surgeries, physical disruptions, and physical demands
It’s not uncommon for a significant illness such as a strong virus, Covid, or a period of bed rest to act as a trigger. This can especially be the case if there is a respiratory element to the illness that impedes our normal breathing. The feeling of not being able to get enough air can cause us to begin compensating and to get dependent on tense breathing.
Surgeries and other significant physiological shocks can generate significant muscular tension or significant shifts in our physical alignment and posture as we cope with pain or limitations. Although often temporary, such changes can disrupt our normal breathing and set in motion increasing compensation and breathing tension that takes on a trajectory of its own.
The increased demands placed on our air intake by heightened physical activity, such as demanding cardiovascular training, may cause us to respond with increased breathing tension, especially if our breathing is already compromised. Weight-training can, for some people, cause postural misalignment and restriction in areas of the torso that would ordinarily facilitate easy breathing movement.
Restoring one’s breathing in the above situations typically requires managing any ongoing impact from these triggers while also addressing the dysfunctional breathing pattern that has been established.
Airway issues
Anything that restricts the easy flow of air through the nose, mouth, throat, trachea, and other airways may limit our capacity for a natural, easy inhalation. This alone can cause us to develop chronic breathing tension as we seek to compensate for the restricted airflow. Or it may be that only during times when we require a higher intake of air does this restriction in our natural breathing push us toward escalating compensation patterns. In either case, we can develop air hunger as a result.
We’ve spoken with people who developed breathing difficulties after suffering a broken nose, lung issues, having orthodontic braces, or in the presence of various other nasal or oral obstructions such as habitual tension or collapse in the soft palate or tongue. It’s easy to develop tension in one’s jaw, tongue, neck, or throat as a result of oral or airway challenges, and this can further complicate airflow.
Some have developed chronic breathing tension after experiencing exposure to industrial smoke or wildfire smoke, either as a response to the impaired breathing experienced during that time or as a result of panicked breathing triggered by concern about the toxicity of what’s being inhaled.
Restoring one’s breathing in the above situations requires addressing the dysfunctional breathing patterns that have been established, which may include releasing tension and habits around the tongue, jaw, and throat that developed in response to airway restriction. (The above examples reference temporary or habitual airway restrictions, rather than restrictions generated by an ongoing medical condition.)
Psychological and nervous system disposition and disruption
Prolonged states of sympathetic nervous system activation can generate muscle tension, restricted breathing, disrupted breathing patterns, and an increased demand for air intake. This can be the case with an ongoing state of fight-or-flight, stress, overwhelm, or constant busyness; it can result from trauma, social anxiety, chronic pain, addiction, mental health challenges, or experiences with drug use (several people we’ve spoken with developed air hunger after intense experiences with substances); it can arise from ongoing lack of sleep; or it can simply be the result of having a sensitive nervous system that is prone to activation or excitement.
In order to restore natural breathing in these scenarios, it’s usually necessary to work toward establishing a more settled baseline nervous system state while also addressing the primary issue of dysfunctional breathing patterns. Typically, the two reinforce one another, so addressing them simultaneously is beneficial.
Postural, speech, and physical habits
It may be fair to say that most people in the world carry some degree of excess physical tension or misalignment in their overall muscular-skeletal system, but it doesn’t usually reach the level of triggering noticeable breathing dysfunction. For some, however, these habitual patterns may develop to the point of contributing to or triggering chronic breathing tension.
An entire book could be written on this one topic (and what a thrill it would be to read…). Suffice it to say, tension patterns and misalignment can develop over years for a variety of reasons. Some of these habits may be directly related to breathing, and many more may impact our alignment and coordination in ways that have secondary impacts on our breathing. Whatever the case, the resulting restrictions in our coordinated breathing movement decrease the resilience of our natural breathing and make us more susceptible to triggers.
Speech patterns can be a source of breathing tension. If we speak fast, reaching forward with our head and neck or perhaps not allowing sufficient opportunity within our speech patterns for our natural breathing rhythms, we can build up tension and habits of interference that impact our breathing.
It’s also possible for anatomical and structural factors to play a role in the development of dysfunctional breathing. No two bodies are identical, and some of us have anatomies—particularly in the bone structure of our chest, ribs, neck, and jaw—that render our easeful breathing more delicate or more susceptible to tension and interference than the average person.
In cases where the above factors are at play, improved awareness around these habits will likely need to be incorporated into one’s process of breathing restoration.
Medical issues vs. non-medical air hunger
What about medical conditions? Can air hunger result from medical issues rather than chronic breathing tension?
To be clear, this article is not about medical conditions. Obviously, there are many potential medical causes of breathing difficulties, and it is certainly possible to experience some symptoms similar to those discussed in this article from medical conditions. But what we’re discussing here is the kind of air hunger that, no matter how many medical tests you get or doctors you see, they all basically say there’s nothing medically wrong with you—or at least nothing they can really do for you. So we’re not talking about asthma or hypoxia; we’re not talking about reflux or GERD. We’re talking here about non-medical air hunger or Chronic Breathing Tension.
Most people who join Liberating the Natural Breath (LNB) do so because they recognize their own experience in our videos and written descriptions. They recognize that their problem is likely due to accumulated breathing interference and tension. We encourage people who have this kind of experience with our videos or articles to join the program; the program is designed to help people with non-medical air hunger and non-medical breathing dysfunction.
Many of those who join LNB have already been searching for help for months or years. During this search, they’ve often come to the realization that their issues are probably not of a medical nature. Some spend months consulting health professionals and conducting every possible test available. In our optional opening questionnaire, we frequently see similar answers regarding the avenues people have already pursued in search of relief before coming to the course. Here’s a sample of some typical responses:
Urgent care, ER, psychiatrist, general practitioner, cardiologist, GI, ENT, allergist, pulmonologist; medications for anxiety, GI, allergies, and asthma, none of which seemed to make a difference
Blood tests, chest x-ray, upper GI test, thyroid ultrasound, heart tests through a cardiologist
Pulmonary function test, videostroboscopy, speech therapist, low acid diet, counseling, affirmations, chiropractor, acupuncture, EFT/tapping, a variety of breathing exercises, massage, reiki, craniosacral, supplements, essential oils, dietary changes, asthma inhaler
Psychologist, respiratory specialist, meditation, breathing books, podcasts, exercises, yoga
Physical therapy, functional medicine, massage medicine, chiropractic
Electrocardiogram, x-rays, antihistamines, inhalers, psychotherapy, massage, naturopath, allergy doctor, clairvoyant, ayurvedic treatment
Acid reflux medications, esophagus surgery, asthma inhalers and steroid shots, ENT, pulmonologist, breathing tests
The above list is by no means intended to suggest that such tests and treatments are never beneficial for air hunger symptoms. Indeed, we sometimes recommend that people complement the breathing process they’re in through Liberating the Natural Breath with some in-person, hands-on work with a somatic practitioner to help release some of the accumulated muscular and fascial tension restricting their breathing. Some people may find some support or benefit from various treatments, and it’s always well-advised to conduct whichever medical tests your doctor recommends. Needless to say, where there are medical issues, we strongly encourage people to seek medical help.
But it’s also important not to overlook the simple possibility right under your nose. In cases of non-medical air hunger, people can get very demoralized spending months or years pursuing various treatment options without ever getting the support they need to methodically work through the central issue by undoing the dysfunctional breathing patterns they’ve developed and restoring their natural breathing.
We find information such as the above sampling of questionnaire responses to be consistent with the understanding that there is certainly such a thing as non-medical air hunger or chronic breathing tension, a condition that is typically produced by a combination of long-term contributing factors and short-term triggers generating a self-reinforcing cycle of effortful and dysfunctional breathing to compensate for the disruptions in one’s natural breathing. While we fully support people exploring and ruling out medical possibilities, we also care about raising awareness and understanding for non-medical air hunger, which is a very real condition, and one that needs to be recognized for what it truly is in order to help people get through the profound suffering it causes.
Conclusion
The aim of this article is not to create an overwhelming list of possibilities for what may have contributed to your air hunger. Rather, by covering a range of possibilities, we hope to assist you in understanding the “why” of your air hunger, so that you can find some degree of peace in understanding what is happening, how it developed, and how you can now most effectively respond to it.
The purpose of delineating these three different levels of air hunger causation is to help you see the way forward. It’s important to acknowledge and address whatever triggers and contributing factors are most likely at play in your situation, and it’s also important to address the dysfunctional breathing pattern that you’ve now fallen into. Recognizing one of these sides of the equation while ignoring the other is likely to result in frustration. Responding to both the dysfunctional breathing pattern that’s been established on the one hand and—to whatever degree makes sense for your particular situation—the contributing factors and triggers on the other hand is the most reliable path to freedom. Liberating the Natural Breath is designed to support people with air hunger in doing just that.
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Learn more about our resources, including Liberating the Natural Breath, on our breathing homepage.
Continue reading with the second article in the series here.
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The materials on this page and the associated online course are not intended to address medical conditions or mental health conditions. These materials and any associated services are for informational purposes only and are not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice, examination, diagnosis, or treatment. Emergent Inquiry, LLC recommends that you consult your physician regarding the applicability of any information to your individual situation and utilize the guidance contained in the course Liberating the Natural Breath before attempting to apply these principles to your own breathing. Full terms of service can be viewed here.