Yesterday we looked at how to move more Oxygen throughout the body. But, equally important is making sure we are able to use the Oxygen when it gets to our cells. (Just a reminder we use Oxygen to create energy and power our cells so it’s kind of a big deal!)
This is where Carbon Dioxide comes in. Most people think we just exhale CO2 without really using it, but that’s not the case.
We have to have CO2 in our bodies to use Oxygen!
Christian Bohr proved that the more CO2 you have in your body the easier it is for the Oxygen you breathe to be used in your organs and tissues. He showed that even if you bring Oxygen to your cells when it gets there it will stay with the blood cell that brought it there unless there is Carbon Dioxide present. If there is CO2 then the blood releases the Oxygen and the cell gets to use it.
How to Keep CO2?
Try to become more tolerant to higher amounts of CO2. This will keep more of it in your system instead of leading you to breathe more out.
If you happen to feel or hear yourself sigh try holding your breath for a few seconds afterwards. This will rebuild the amount of CO2 after just breathing extra out.
