Counterintuitively, breathing more does not increase oxygen delivery to your tissues. Most people at rest already have blood oxygen saturation above 95%, meaning their hemoglobin is nearly fully loaded. The limiting factor in tissue oxygenation is actually carbon dioxide — the Bohr effect dictates that hemoglobin releases oxygen more readily in the presence of adequate CO2. This means that the common habit of overbreathing actually reduces oxygen delivery despite moving more air.
Efficient breathing exercises focus on optimizing the balance between oxygen uptake and CO2 retention. Techniques like reduced-volume breathing and extended exhale patterns allow CO2 to rise to levels that maximize the Bohr effect, ensuring that the oxygen in your blood actually reaches the cells that need it. This is why trained breathwork practitioners often perform better athletically despite breathing less during exercise.
For those concerned about blood oxygen levels — whether for altitude preparation, post-COVID recovery, or general health — the path forward is paradoxical: breathe less, not more. By training your body to tolerate slightly higher CO2 levels through progressive breath-hold exercises and slow breathing patterns, you improve both the efficiency of gas exchange in your lungs and the delivery of oxygen from blood to tissues.