Читать книгу Asthma-Free Naturally: Everything you need to know about taking control of your asthma - Patrick McKeown - Страница 27

The control pause is a measure of the level of carbon dioxide in the alveoli based on a comfortable breath hold. The control pause and pulse are used together to monitor asthma.

Over time, paying attention to the breathing pattern, your carbon dioxide threshold will adjust to a higher and healthier level. As a result the body becomes less sensitive to carbon dioxide accumulation, which will result in a gradual improvement in the length of time a person can hold their breath. By reducing the volume of breathing, carbon dioxide levels increase and therefore the control pause will increase.

Through overbreathing, the carbon dioxide level will decrease and therefore the control pause will decrease. The control pause will also decrease if medication is reduced too drastically.

The control pause is consistent and is a very good indicator of progress and of the current condition of the asthma, because of this it is essential to learn how to measure it correctly. Bear in mind that the control pause is only a measure; it is not an exercise to increase the level of your carbon dioxide.

The control pause enables the measurement of carbon dioxide in the alveoli without the need for any equipment other than a stopwatch or a watch/clock with a second hand.