Why is it that we don’t often breath to our full capacity, we take shallow breathes and rarely take full breath

Question

Why is it that we don’t often breath to our full capacity, we take shallow breathes and rarely take full breath

In: 680

Answer 1

There’s a difference between capacity and necessity.

Under normal, non-stressed circumstances, our body doesn’t require us to breathe at max capacity in order to function. So we don’t breathe at max capacity.

When engaged in strenuous exercise, like running, our body requires more oxygen, so we breathe heavier/deeper.

Same goes for eating. We eat what we need to provide our bodies with fuel, but we don’t (or shouldn’t) eat until we’re totally stuffed (Thanksgiving excluded). We have the capacity to eat a lot, but we really don’t need to.