Managing breathlessness

Diaphragmatic breathing involves using your diaphragm, a large, dome-shaped muscle at the base of the lungs, to help get air into the bottom of your lungs. This helps to trigger the body’s parasympathetic nervous system, which helps the body to relax, lower your heart rate, and reduce feelings of breathlessness.

How to do

• Settle into a comfortable position, ideally lying down if able to do so
• Place your hands on your stomach
• Relax your shoulders and upper chest
• Breathe in gently through your nose, feeling your stomach rise and expand
• Breathe out gently through your nose, letting the air go rather than forcing it out
• Take a slight pause after each breath out, before taking your next breath in

Continue doing this for a few minutes, letting go of any tension you feel in your body.

Paced breathing means timing your breathing to your activities, which helps to maintain control of your breathing throughout your activity and delay the onset of breathlessness.

For repetitive activities (such as climbing stairs or walking uphill)

Try breathing in for 1 to 2 steps, then out for 2 to 3 steps

For one-off activities (such as lifting or bending)

Trying breathing in before making the effort, then breathe out as you make the effort

Pursed lip breathing helps to slow and calm your breathing during activity.

To do this:

• breathe in through your nose as normal
• make an ‘O’ shape with your lips
• breathe out through your mouth slowly

Your breathe out should be slow and relaxed. If you were blowing on a candle, you would want the flame to move but not go out

Here are some positions that can also help to recover from breathlessness quicker when used with breathing control

Forward lean sitting

Sitting on a chair, leaning forwards with your forearms resting on your thighs

Relaxed sitting

Sitting upright in a supportive chair, with shoulders and arms relaxed

Forward lean standing

Standing with a forward lean, with your arms resting on a solid object (back of chair, trolley and window ledge)

Backward lean standing

Standing with a backward lean, with your back against a wall, lamp post or closed door. Stand with your feet slightly forwards