If you need to inhale at a slower rate than most people, is your body using oxygen more efficiently, or do you just have abnormally large lungs or something?

Question

i.e. Non-athlete having a resting breathing rate of 5-10 in comparison to the standard 12-20.

In: Biology

Answer 1

Or you’re just using your lungs more efficiently.

For example musicians who play wind instruments (trumpet, trombone, tuba, sax, clarinet, flutes etc) tend to have extremely efficient breathing, but not super great VO2max values. It’s about being able to utilize diaphragmatic breathing effectively.

If you hold a hand over your belly, can you feel yourself breathing? If so you’re using, at least to some extent, diaphragmatic breathing. A lot of people don’t, and use mainly intercostal breathing (expanding the chest cage) leading to shallower breaths.