'The Oxygen Advantage' by Patrick McKeown - Book Impressions

About the author: 

Patrick McKeown is the author of the best-selling book ‘The Oxygen Advantage’. He is a specialist in breathing techniques to help improve sports performance and health. In addition, he is a sleep expert. He is the CEO and Director of Education and Training at Oxygen Advantage and Buteyko Clinic International. 

My impressions:

I heard about this book on Dr Chatterjee’s Podcast. I was intrigued by the concepts discussed and therefore selected it for my book club read. 

This book is based on Patrick’s current area of work with athletes, adults, and children and also his own childhood experiences with mouth breathing and exercise-induced asthma.

The book is about bringing the principles of correct breathing into the lives of everyone by using The Oxygen Advantage program.

I found the content informative and thorough. The style of writing made it easy to read and jargon was kept to the minimum – with explanations when it was used.

However, there was a lot of repetition of information throughout the book. Also, information related to a particular idea or concept was not always in one place but scattered throughout the book – which at times was frustrating. 

I would also have liked a clearer distinction between the words fatigue v. tired. They are clinically very different but seem to be used interchangeably in the book.

I enjoyed working out my BOLT score. The book has exercises and advice to support the reader tailored to their BOLT score. I plan to follow the program now that I have completed the book.

This book made me aware of the correct way to breathe. In addition, why telling someone to ‘take some deep breaths’ isn’t always the best advice. I have taken away practices that I can use in my own life when out walking; before doing a run; and during my normal daily activities.

I think this book would be beneficial for anyone who is a mouth breather; for individuals who want to increase their overall health; for those who want to get more out of their exercise regimes; and may be used in clinics by respiratory clinicians. 

I think in the future I may refer back to this book as a reference source. However, I am unlikely to read it again from cover to cover.

10 key learning points

1. The Oxygen Advantage Programme is a structured program of breathing exercises and practices to develop exercise performance and health. Where you start on the program is based on your first BOLT score.
2. BOLT(Body Oxygen Level Test) score is a measure of the amount of time before the body has a reaction to raised carbon dioxide levels (‘air hunger’) rather than how long you can hold your breath using willpower! 
3. The Bohr Effect refers to the release of oxygen from red blood cells in the presence of CO2. If CO2 is reduced due to poor breathing practices then less O2 is available for muscles, organs, and tissues, and the resultant symptoms.
4. Normal breathing should be quiet, effortless, steady, invisible, nasal, mouth closed, diaphragm involved (rather than just upper airways), with a gentle pause at the end of expiration.
5. Children who are mouth breathers develop: crooked teeth; orthodontic problems; elongated faces; sunken cheekbones; cavities (due to dry mouth); narrowed nasal airways; poorly formed jaws; narrowed facial structure; and reduced respiratory strength.
6. Mouth breathing causes: a dry mouth; snoring; sleep apnea; imsonia; gum disease and cavities; bad breath; poor concentration; brain fog on waking; headaches; reduced exercise tolerance; nasal polyps; nasal congestion; respiratory tract complaints.
7. Reduce mouth breathing at night by: not eating 2 hours before bed; taping the mouth; not sleeping on your back; cool and airy bedroom (but not cold); and using the Breath Light to Breath Right Exercise from the Programme.
8. The Buteyko Method is a type of breath retraining that can help with respiratory problems, such as asthma. This method is one of the foundations of the Oxygen Advantage Programme and is used personally by the author for his problems.
9. The benefits of nasal breathing include: improved O2 uptake; warmed humidified air; reduced germs and bacteria due to nasal filtration; VO2 max is increased; access to the nitric oxide in the nasal cavity; and reduced heart rate during physical activity. 
10. We can control the balance between free radicals and antioxidants to reduce oxidative stress caused by intense aerobic training such as marathon running. This can be done by improving the BOLT score using the Oxygen Advantage Programme.

My favourite quotes:

“It is quite a striking example of evolutionary balance and beauty that the trees around us that give off oxygen and the trees in our lungs that absorb it share a similar structure.” (p.22) 

“.... the area of contact between your alveoli and blood capillaries is equivalent to the size of a tennis court.” (p.23)

“Noses are for breathing, mouths are for eating.” (p.57)

“Breathe light to breathe right.” (p. 74)

“The zone is nothing more than performing in the absence of thought.”

“...... gadget addiction [screens and devices] has the potential to isolate people from the world around them, subduing social interaction and increasing mind activity.” (ie. an overactive mind resulting in problems with concentration and focus)

“Do not spend your entire life, as most of humanity, with all of your attention stuck in your head.” (p.176)

“Practice running with your entire body instead of just your head. Imagine running without a head. Be headless for the duration of your run.” (p. 178)

[On running] “Merge with the movement and become one with it. Bringing a feeling of relaxation throughout your body while you exercise allows you to go with the flow and enter the zone.” (p.178)

“....observe negative or recurrent thought patterns and make a conscious decision to step away from thinking about things that you have no control over.” (p.180)

If you enjoyed this, you may enjoy my other book impressions.

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