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> Screen apnea is a manifestation of our body’s stress response, said Stephen Porges, a professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hi

> Screen apnea is a manifestation of our body’s stress response, said Stephen Porges, a professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who specializes in the autonomic nervous system. Is it really though? I have noticed that I do this a lot -- all the time when I am in a relaxed state. For example, I've observed this when I'm driving, reading, watching a movie, thinking, etc. Wouldn't my body signal if I wasn't getting enough oxygen?

appplication 3y ago
I would challenge this as well. I grew up swimming competitively. Regularly holding my breath feels maybe oddly comforting. But maybe that’s somehow bad for me?
- dumpsterlid 3y ago
  [dead]
- LaGrange 3y ago
  (a dead response) > I doubt you would feel good if your brain wasn’t getting enough oxygen. Without getting into _too much detail_, I have decent amounts of experience telling me that, for a lot of people, it would in fact feel rather good. Not to me, but I also dislike (in a sensory way, not moral) alcohol and many other things that make the brain feel a bit "fuzzy," which I think might be the more uncommon thing, actually.
- cafeinux 3y ago
  I was scubadiving when I was young, and so trained myself to hold my breath for long periods of time underwater (multiple minutes). In parallel, I was taking improv classes and had a lot of breathing exercises to focus and relax. As a result today, every breath I take is unconsciously a deep and long breath, so much that the noise of the air going through my nose sometimes bothers my wife, but also when I'm falling asleep, I sometimes unconsciously hold my breath for up to one minute and it relaxes me and helps me falling asleep... I also suffer from sleep apnea and have had a CPAP for a few months now, but that at least isn't linked to any of this. What I guess I mean is that as far as I know, I breath healthily, don't suffer from anxiety (not more than any other dude at least), and unconscious apneas are for me a way to relax.
mannykannot 3y ago
Surprisingly, the body does not signal a low-oxygen state, and the urge to breathe is stimulated by a rising carbon dioxide level. This works fine for healthy individuals in the environment we have evolved to live in, but it makes hypoxia an insidious killer in an environment where the oxygen partial pressure is substantially less than it normally is, as the victim does not notice that anything is amiss.
Night_Thastus 3y ago
One thing everyone will do regardless is a physiological sigh, about every 5 minutes. That may be what you're noticing. That's completely natural.
tonymillion 3y ago
I believe it’s less related to stress and more related to a predatory response. Halting breathing is a great way to avoid movement when intently focusing on prey (look at cats who do the same thing, although they do have to wobble their heads a little to develop a 3d distance) I know a lot of people want to dismiss our predatory past but it’s there, and I’m sure reading (especially emails, comments etc) specifically looking for information to “prey” on triggers that same response.
iamwpj 3y ago
I tend to fall to this side. If you have anxiety while reading emails, you might also have anxiety while not reading emails. If your anxiety causes breathless-ness, you should focus on treating anxiety. Really smacks of the you should be drink x amount of water per day, when in reality you should drink water when you're not thirsty or if you have a craving.

appplication 3y ago

I would challenge this as well. I grew up swimming competitively. Regularly holding my breath feels maybe oddly comforting. But maybe that’s somehow bad for me?

dumpsterlid 3y ago
[dead]
LaGrange 3y ago
(a dead response) > I doubt you would feel good if your brain wasn’t getting enough oxygen. Without getting into _too much detail_, I have decent amounts of experience telling me that, for a lot of people, it would in fact feel rather good. Not to me, but I also dislike (in a sensory way, not moral) alcohol and many other things that make the brain feel a bit "fuzzy," which I think might be the more uncommon thing, actually.
cafeinux 3y ago
I was scubadiving when I was young, and so trained myself to hold my breath for long periods of time underwater (multiple minutes). In parallel, I was taking improv classes and had a lot of breathing exercises to focus and relax. As a result today, every breath I take is unconsciously a deep and long breath, so much that the noise of the air going through my nose sometimes bothers my wife, but also when I'm falling asleep, I sometimes unconsciously hold my breath for up to one minute and it relaxes me and helps me falling asleep... I also suffer from sleep apnea and have had a CPAP for a few months now, but that at least isn't linked to any of this. What I guess I mean is that as far as I know, I breath healthily, don't suffer from anxiety (not more than any other dude at least), and unconscious apneas are for me a way to relax.

mannykannot 3y ago

Surprisingly, the body does not signal a low-oxygen state, and the urge to breathe is stimulated by a rising carbon dioxide level. This works fine for healthy individuals in the environment we have evolved to live in, but it makes hypoxia an insidious killer in an environment where the oxygen partial pressure is substantially less than it normally is, as the victim does not notice that anything is amiss.

Night_Thastus 3y ago

One thing everyone will do regardless is a physiological sigh, about every 5 minutes. That may be what you're noticing. That's completely natural.

tonymillion 3y ago

I believe it’s less related to stress and more related to a predatory response. Halting breathing is a great way to avoid movement when intently focusing on prey (look at cats who do the same thing, although they do have to wobble their heads a little to develop a 3d distance) I know a lot of people want to dismiss our predatory past but it’s there, and I’m sure reading (especially emails, comments etc) specifically looking for information to “prey” on triggers that same response.

iamwpj 3y ago

I tend to fall to this side. If you have anxiety while reading emails, you might also have anxiety while not reading emails. If your anxiety causes breathless-ness, you should focus on treating anxiety. Really smacks of the you should be drink x amount of water per day, when in reality you should drink water when you're not thirsty or if you have a craving.