The Power of a Deep Breath: Your Body’s Secret Superhero
Breathing should be the most natural thing in the world—I mean, we’re born doing it! So why can it sometimes feel so hard? And what do physios have to do with it?
Before I became a physio (like most people), I had no idea what respiratory physio even was. You can imagine how confused my classmates and I were when, one day at uni, we suddenly sat down to study the lungs. I remember thinking, what do breathing and lungs have to do with physio?
Quite a lot, as it turns out.
This blog explores how breathing affects the whole body, what makes it go off track, and how physiotherapy can help when your child’s breathing doesn’t seem quite right.
What Is Respiratory Physiotherapy?
Respiratory physiotherapy has been around for decades. You’ll find us in intensive care units, hospital wards, and community clinics. We help people clear mucus from their lungs, regain strength after illness, and learn to breathe more efficiently.
In outpatient settings, especially with children, our role is often about understanding how someone breathes—and helping them breathe if it’s become inefficient, uncomfortable, or connected to anxiety or stress. Breathing isn’t just about the lungs. The muscles, bones, and nervous system all have a part to play. That’s why physiotherapists have an important role in helping breathing function at its best.
We breathe around 10–20 times a minute—that’s over 20,000 breaths a day! Even though breathing is automatic, a lot is going on behind the scenes.
Muscles like the diaphragm and intercostals (between your ribs) expand the chest, allowing air to flow in. Air travels through your nose and mouth down to tiny air sacs in the lungs, where oxygen is exchanged for carbon dioxide.
The speed of your breathing naturally changes—slower during sleep, faster during exercise. But when breathing becomes fast or shallow at rest, the brain can misinterpret this as a sign of danger, activating the sympathetic nervous system—your body’s “fight or flight” mode.
This is a clever survival mechanism, but if it’s always switched on, it can lead to fatigue, stress, and health issues over time.
How the Nervous System Affects Breathing
Your child’s breathing isn’t just physical—it’s deeply connected to their nervous system, particularly two key systems:
The sympathetic nervous system (the “fight or flight” response)
The parasympathetic nervous system (the “rest and digest” response)
When the sympathetic nervous system is activated—like before a test, sports event, or scary situation—the body prepares for action. Breathing speeds up, muscles tense, and energy is diverted away from normal functions like digestion or immunity.
You might notice:
A racing heart
Fast or shallow breathing
Needing to wee “nervously”
A dry mouth or tummy ache
Feeling extra hungry or tired afterwards
This is your child’s body doing its job—keeping them alert and ready. But if they’re always in this state of stress, it becomes exhausting. And long-term, it can have an impact on physical and emotional health.
Chronic stress in children has been linked to:
Asthma
Viral infections
Tummy troubles
Poor sleep
Low mood or anxiety
Diaphragmatic Breathing (DB)
One of the most effective things we teach is diaphragmatic breathing (DB)—taking slow, deep breaths using the diaphragm (the main muscle involved in breathing).
Many children breathe through their mouths or take short, shallow breaths using only the top of their chest. DB helps them slow down and take fuller, deeper breaths that fill the lungs more efficiently and allow better gas exchange.
Even more importantly, this technique activates the parasympathetic nervous system—the part of the nervous system responsible for calmness, digestion, healing, and rest. It helps shift the body out of stress mode.
When the parasympathetic system is active, the body can:
Digest food properly
Fight off infections
Regulate emotions
Think clearly
Sleep more soundly
It’s a reset button—and it’s already built into your child’s body.
Why This Matters More Than Ever
Since the pandemic, we’ve seen a steep rise in stress and anxiety among children and adolescents. According to the UNICEF Innocenti Report Card 19, New Zealand ranked last out of 36 wealthy countries for youth mental health. Our youth suicide rate is now the highest in the developed world.
This doesn’t mean every child is unwell—but it does mean many are carrying a heavier mental load than we might expect. Breathing is one of the simplest, quickest ways to support a child’s nervous system—and their wellbeing.
The Benefits of Diaphragmatic Breathing
Research has shown that diaphragmatic breathing can:
Lower blood pressure
Improve heart rate regulation
Reduce stress and anxiety
Increase oxygen uptake in the lungs
Improve mental clarity and emotional regulation
And for children? It’s a gentle, accessible tool they can carry with them for life.
Try It at Home
If your child is feeling overwhelmed, having a hard time settling down, or just needs a moment of calm, try this simple exercise:
Lie down somewhere comfortable.
Place a small toy (like a teddy) or your hands on your belly.
Inhale slowly through your nose, feeling your belly rise and the toy move up.
Exhale gently through your mouth, watching the belly fall.
Repeat slowly for a few minutes.
You can join in too—breathing together is a powerful way to connect and co-regulate.
When to Get Help
If your child is ever struggling to breathe at rest, turning blue around the lips, or unable to speak in full sentences—seek medical help immediately.
But if they seem to breathe differently, often feel anxious, or get breathless in ways that don’t quite add up, it might not be a serious illness—it might be something that can be gently supported and improved.
Respiratory physiotherapy offers safe, non-invasive strategies that can make a real difference to how your child breathes, feels, and copes.
References
Andrews, E., 2025. ‘More needs to be done’ to reverse dire well‑being ranking. RNZ News [online]. Available at: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/561137/more-needs-to-be-done-to-reverse-dire-well-being-ranking?utm_source=chatgpt.com [Accessed 14 Jul. 2025].
Costa, H.T.J., 2021. Effect of Short-Term Practice of Breathing Exercises on the Breathing Capacity of School-Aged Children. Current Investigations in Clinical and Medical Research [online], 1(2). Available at: https://www.stephypublishers.com/cicmr/pdf/CICMR.MS.ID.000508.pdf [Accessed 14 Jul. 2025].
Mana Mokopuna, 2025. New Zealand ranked 32nd out of 36 countries for child wellbeing – is unacceptable? [online] Available at: https://www.manamokopuna.org.nz/publications/media-releases/new-zealand-ranked-32nd-out-of-36-countries-for-child-wellbeing-is-unacceptable/?utm_source=chatgpt.com [Accessed 14 Jul. 2025].
Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission, 2025. UNICEF report: Low ranking for NZ child and youth mental health and wellbeing. [online] MHWC. Available at: https://www.mhwc.govt.nz/news-and-resources/unicef-report-low-ranking-for-nz-child-and-youth-mental-health-and-wellbeing/?utm_source=chatgpt.com [Accessed 14 Jul. 2025].
Physiotherapy New Zealand, n.d. How physio helps: Breathing. [online] Available at: https://physio.org.nz/how-physio-helps/breathing [Accessed 14 Jul. 2025].
Rowley, C.A., 2018. Diaphragmatic breathing training with young children: A feasibility study. Master's thesis, California State University, Fullerton. Available at: https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/downloads/8910jv25s [Accessed 14 Jul. 2025].
Tsakona, P., Kitsatis, I., Apostolou, T., Papadopoulou, O. and Hristara‑Papadopoulou, A., 2025. The Effect of Diaphragmatic Breathing as a Complementary Therapeutic Strategy in Stress of Children and Teenagers 6–18 Years Old. Children, 12(1), p.59. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/children12010059 [Accessed 14 Jul. 2025].
UNICEF Innocenti, 2025. Report Card 19: Fragile Gains – Child Wellbeing at Risk in an Unpredictable World. Florence: UNICEF Innocenti. Available at: https://www.unicef.org/innocenti/media/11111/file/UNICEF-Innocenti-Report-Card-19-Child-Wellbeing-Unpredictable-World-2025.pdf [Accessed 14 Jul. 2025].