The article mentions that the device is used during the inhale. Doesn't clarify if it's also used during the exhale or not.
(I just rolled-up my fist and breathed through it. And it provided lots of resistance. So it looks like I might be able to make this work with just my fist.)
If anyone knows, please hit reply and let me know.
When I was working out in the gym in the summer in pandemic season with masks on, I noticed my breathlessness, the movement of the mask amplifies the visual and it was easy to draw a comparison in this way with my surrounding gym peers, and indeed I realized my lungs were in much worse shape than I'd expected, so I'm going to give this thing a try.
Edit: model featured in YouTube is not the same one the study used but close ‘nuff to get the idea.
Don't know for sure but from skimming the paper it looks like it's inhalation only. "Inspiratory muscle strength training (IMST) is an alternative form of physical training that uses the diaphragm and accessory respiratory muscles to repeatedly inhale against resistance." The words "exhale," "expire," and their various inflected forms don't appear anywhere in the paper.
The point is to breathe in and out as strongly/deeply and slowly as possible. You don't "do" anything aside from breathing and increasing the difficulty mode as your strength improves (over e.g. weeks).
If you breathe out quickly you're losing a large amount of the benefit of the exercise.
PS - I own a POWERBREATHE Sport, no relation to the company or this study.
The article mentioned what to do during the "inhale" but didn't mention "exhale", so I wasn't sure if one still does the restricted breathing during exhale or not.
Powerbreathe seems like an unnecessary uni-tasking gadget conforming to western sensibilities.
Zen and the Brain by James Austin details his study of Zen monks brains which revealed this breathing-stress connection scientifically decades ago.
If I remember correctly, the exhale is especially important to triggering certain relaxation states; brains of monks who were especially focused on long exhales were appreciably different from other monks.
> Powerbreathe seems like an unnecessary uni-tasking gadget conforming to western sensibilities.
This is an incredibly elitist and exclusive observation.
The use of a tool that provides positive health benefits to assist those unfamiliar with zen breathing techniques should be applauded. Meditation is ‘easy’ to those who are open and have time to commit to it, and it’s not for everyone. To some it might even be outside their own cultural or personal comfort zone, and that is entirely OK.
And what on earth is the problem with a ‘uni-tasking gadget’? My garage, bathroom and kitchen drawers are all full of these things. In fact, with the obvious exception of the smart phone, it’s the multi-tasking gadgets that should be derided (the outdoors industry is full of these, as epitomised by the ‘axesaw’).
I won’t get drawn in to free speech / whatever argument.
The tool offers a cheap shortcut to a positive health outcome. The alternatives could be medication, or a guided practice - both of which require financial and time commitments. Why would you dismiss it on some ideological grounds?
In the video on the webpage at 0:14 the patient is using the device only for inhaling, not for exhaling. I tried breathing through my fist and it worked really well. Since I am not interested in another device that I have to clean and carry with me on travels I will try the fist method in the next weeks.
(I just rolled-up my fist and breathed through it. And it provided lots of resistance. So it looks like I might be able to make this work with just my fist.)
If anyone knows, please hit reply and let me know.