Exercise-induced Asthma Management via AYO Breathing Trainer – Part 3

由 admin | 1 月 10, 2023 | Asthma Management

Previous Post:
Exercise-induced Asthma Management via AYO Breathing Trainer – Part 1
Exercise-induced Asthma Management via AYO Breathing Trainer – Part 2

In this post, It will show you how to use the AYO BT+ breathing measurement device to gain data metrics for advanced asthma monitoring and symptom prevention.

Essentially, AYO BT+ is AYO BT plus Breathing Measurement. Key measurements include:

Breath per minute (BPM)
Minute ventilation (MV)
Tidal volume
Inhalation and exhalation time
Power of breath and work of breath
Vital lung capacity
Breath-hold time
Realtime breathing waveforms

For asthmatics, BPM and MV are two important parameters to monitor first.

They are effective metrics for how much air you breathe and how fast you breathe in a minute. You might recall from my earlier post that the effective strategy for preventing Exercise-induced Asthma is to limit air intake in the first place, as too much fast-moving cold and dry air is most likely the culprit for Exercise-induced Asthma.

You may wonder how much you should limit the air intake. You could of course use your experience or gut feeling, which may not be right at times. AYO BT+ can provide your BPM and MV in your training with instrument-grade accuracy.

Here is a protocol as a reference:

Start with a known intensity of exercise that has been proven to cause no asthma symptoms to you.
Wear AYO BT+ during the exercise to monitor your BPM and MV.
Breathe by your diaphragm through your nose only – Shut your mouth!
Record them as your safe baseline.
To increase the intensity once you feel comfortable, restrain your desire to breathe faster, instead try to increase each inhalation by pushing your diaphragm down deeper and pause a bit at the end of it, then exhale smoothly bringing your belly in further at the end of it.
Frequently monitor your BPM and MV to make sure they are not over your safe baseline.
If you feel much fitter and have no signs of any symptoms after weeks of training, you could cautiously increase the baseline BPM and MV by 10% and use them as a new baseline.
Always try to restrain your desire to breathe faster.

Exercise-induced asthma is often a temporary condition in which your airways narrow and swell after an intensive exercise. However, at most rest times, you could appear perfectly normal.

This narrowed airway condition can be effectively measured by a type of medical device called a spirometer, which measures Vital Lung Capacity (FVC), Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF), and Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV1), plus the FEV1/FVC ratio.

When your airways are narrowed, your PEF and FEV1 will be lower than normal, thus the FEV1/FVC will be lower than normal too.

Here is a guideline for early warning of asthma symptoms and what you should do:

If your FEV1/FVC is less than 75% before any exercise, do not do any intensive exercise.
if your FEV1 and PEF after each exercise are lower than those before the exercise by 15% or FEV1/FVC is less than 75%, you should reduce the exercise intensity next time.

The BT+ APP can measure FVC, PEF, FEV1 and the FEV1/FVC ratio. See image on the right showing the result after you perform the spirometry testing on the app.

In the meantime, stay fit and asthma-free everyone!

Spirometry Testing – An Effective Metric Testing for Asthmatics

Introducing AYO BT and BT+ Breathing Trainers

由 admin | 11 月 30, 2022 | Uncategorized

The Tools to Help Your Breathing Training Easier

Do you know that a large portion of modern people has a chronic over-breathing habit, which is at least in part responsible for a range of harmful chronic diseases, such as asthma, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc.?

Buteyko Breathing is a science-based systematic breathing method that has been proven to help reduce over-breathing and achieve normal breathing, thus it has been a popular choice by ever-increasing followers. However, changing the over-breathing habit formed over many years may not be easy, especially if the habit has been consolidated by your every breath since a very young age! So if you are one of the people who want to normalise your breathing, are you frustrated sometimes by your slow progress in breathing training feeling not going anywhere?

Don’t worry, try our exciting training respirators to enjoy the much-needed assistance to elevate your breathing to the next level!

AYO BT is an entry-level breathing trainer, and it works by controlling the air inlet to add resistance to reduce your breathing, such that it makes your inhalation slow and long and activates your diaphragm which is the main breathing muscle you must use to achieve normal breathing. Using AYO BT over a period of time will train you to use your diaphragm naturally without having to focus on your breathing all the time, thus allowing you to normalise your breathing easier.

AYO BT+ is an advanced breathing trainer consisting of an AYO BT plus two breathing measurement modules to work in conjunction with a mobile phone. It is the world’s first training respirator that combines resistance breathing training with breathing measurement – a major innovation in breathing training.

What Separates AYO BT from other breathing training tools

Designed with a flair for medical respiratory products, AYO BT is easy, comfortable, and enjoyable to use. The silicone mask has a skin-friendly cushion that greatly reduces the red mark on the face after each long use, and it is also suitable for quick daily washes – a must if frequent use of the mask involves high-intensity sports training or exercises. The mask is also highly transparent, providing a cool and futuristic looking.

AYO BT Key benefits includes:

Develop diaphragmatic breathing naturally.
Prevent exercise-induced Asthma.
Limit hyperventilation.
Strengthen breathing muscles.
More natural, healthy and user-friendly to train breathing through the nose than a ‘Bite-on’ alternative through mouth breathing.

The Highlights and Benefits of Using AYO BT+

A modular structure equipped with Aimwell’ patent-pending Push-fit & Twist-release connection allows the AYO BT+ to reuse the entire AYO BT, a cost-effective and user-friendly approach for users who wish to upgrade from their existing AYO BT bought earlier. It also allows AYO BT+ to AYO BT frequent changeover very easily according to the user’s need. The Clip-on electronics within the breathing measurement modules allow connecting to and detaching from the breathing measurement airpath hassle-free with crisp precision, thus facilitating easy washing of the airpath. AYO BT+ is beautifully designed – a delightful engineering masterpiece to own for your breathing health. More details of AYO BT+ here.

Key measurements include:

Breath per minute
Minute ventilation
Tidal volume
Inhalation and exhalation time
Power of breathing and work of breathing (data to show how efficient or how hard your breathing is)
Vital lung capacity
Breath-hold time (Control Pause)
Realtime breathing waveforms

AYO BT+ Key benefits include:

Provide measured insights on your breathing health and capacity.
Add depth and effectiveness to your breathing training.
Allows you to see your progress like never before and motivates you to work towards your optimal breathing – a great tool for Buteyko breathing.
Help shorten the time and effort to improve your breathing more effectively.
Wearable while doing your sports training.

About Us

Aimwell has years of experience in breathing product design and manufacturing. This expertise combined with our passion for sports and breathing health inspired the creation of AYO BT and BT+.

We strive to deliver world-class and affordable breathing products through continuous innovation in design and manufacturing while providing uncompromising customer service.

Please visit www.aimwellbreathing.com for more information.

How to Use AYO BT as an Alternative to Alternate Nostril Breathing

由 admin | 11 月 22, 2022 | Uncategorized

Alternate Nostril Breathing and its Benefits

Alternate Nostril Breathing is a type of breathing exercise where one nostril is used to breathe at any one time before changing to the other nostril in a cycle, and this cycle is to be repeated for a few minutes or longer.

Originally, alternate nostril breathing is a yogic breath control or pranayama practice and can be practised as part of a yoga or meditation session.

Key benefits include:
• relax your body and mind
• reduce anxiety
• promote overall well-being

Typical Steps of Practice

Typical steps of practice may look like follows:
• use right thumb to close right nostril.
• Inhale through left nostril and then close left nostril with your ring finger.
• Open right nostril and exhale through it.
• Inhale through right nostril and then close it.
• Open left nostril and exhale through it.
• This is one cycle.
• Repeat the cycle to the duration of your choice, typically a few minutes.

AYO BT Alternative

There are a number of variations for alternate nostril breathing, most require using fingers to pinch the nostrils alternately.
In a nutshell, alternate nostril breathing is a type of reduced breathing exercise where instead of using two nostrils to breathe, it uses one nostril only at any one time.

From an engineering point of view, there are easier and better ways to achieve the effect of reduced breathing from alternate nostril breathing.

AYO BT is essentially a reduced breathing training tool and thus lends itself perfectly to provide a much better solution than nose pinching.
The adjustment module BTi of AYO BT has 11 adjustable settings, and the following table shows each setting’s opening in relation to the size of a typical nostril:

Setting	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
Equivalent Nostrils	1/6	1/3	1/2	2/3	1	1+1/3	1+1/2	2	2+1/2	3	3+1/2	4

It can be seen that setting 4 is equivalent to one nostril. So once Setting 4 is selected, put on AYO BT then just breathe, and you will breathe in a similar way as in alternate nostril breathing, as far as air volume is concerned.

Furthermore, it can achieve even less reduced breathing down to 1/6 of a nostril consistently and effortlessly!

The benefits of practicing reduced breathing with AYO BT include:

• Free up your hand, just breathe effortlessly.
• Achieve even less reduced breathing than alternate nostril breathing.
• Improve CO2 tolerance, reduce breathlessness and enhance calmness.

How to Boost the Quality and Benefits of Meditation with AYO BT+

由 admin | 11 月 8, 2022 | Uncategorized

Typical Benefits of Meditation

Breathing Meditation is a popular health exercise that many of us enjoy doing regularly.

Typical benefits include:

• Stress release.
• Restoring calm and inner peace.
• Focusing on the present.
• Reliving anxiety.
• Reducing negative emotions.
• Lowering resting heart rate.
• Lowering resting blood pressure.
• Improving sleep quality.

Breathing and Meditation

Breathing is one of the key elements in meditation, as slow breathing stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system which is responsible to relax the mind and body.

Good breathing during meditation would also help your mind to concentrate on breathing and shut down those stressful thoughts you might have, thus resulting in a better quality of meditation.

Better still, if you practice diaphragmatic breathing, it will further enhance the health benefits such as:

Makes you calm and relaxed.
Lower your heart rate.
Lower your blood pressure.
Maintain a good posture and core stability.
Help achieve effective lymphatic drainage for improving your immune system.

AYO BT+ is particularly suited to help achieve advanced diaphragmatic breathing in meditation.

Here is a summary of the reasons:

To gain more benefits from diaphragmatic breathing, one would need to drive the diaphragm in a reasonably large movement. However, in the meditation state when the body’s energy consumption is very low, a large diaphragm movement would normally result in hyperventilation, which would reduce the benefits of the meditation. The air inlet adjustment function of AYO BT+ from the BTi of the device will limit the air intake while allowing a larger beneficial diaphragm movement without you suffering from hyperventilation.
The breathing measurement function of the AYO BT+ from the BT+ L and BT+ E modules can capture your real-time breathing waveform while you are doing the meditation, and the waveform can be used as a constant checkpoint about how well your breathing is in terms of cycle time, flow amplitude, inhalation flow shape and pause, and exhalation flow shape and pause.
The breathing measurement function of the AYO BT+ from the BT+ L and BT+ E modules can provide a summary of breathing data, such as Breath Per Minute (BPM) and Minute Ventilation (MV), which are critical metrics to guide you to breathe towards your optimal breathing.

A Reference Breathing Pattern for Meditation

From an energy consumption point of view, meditation is a consistent resting state, where the body’s energy consumption is kept to a minimum so that the variations of breathing patterns for adults, such as BPM and MV could be minimum among age, gender, height, and weight than otherwise if we do physical exercises. Therefore, a common breathing pattern reference could be used by most people as a guide to practice.

A reference breathing pattern is shown below:

BPM: 5-6 L/Min.
MV: 5-6 Litres.
Small and gentle inhalation with a pause.
Small and relaxed exhalation with a pause.
The Ratio between Inhalation to Exhalation: 1:>=2.

Note:

If you can comfortably achieve the above, your breathing is regarded as in line with the physiological norm.
Both the Inhalation and the Exhalation include pause time.
Lower BPM and MV are even better, such as BPM of 2-3, and MV of 2-3. However, only a small number of advanced breathers could achieve them.

AYO BT+ Assisted Breathing During Meditation

To boost the quality and benefits of your meditation, here is a sequence of steps you may follow or use as a reference:

Find a quiet and comfortable place.
Ideally, do meditation before your sleep each night.
Sit with a straight back, either sit on a floor with legs crossed on each other or sit on a chair, with both feet flat on the floor.
Get your AYO BT+ respirator and adjust the BTi to a low setting, such as 2 to 4.
Wake up the BT+ modules and run the App.
Run the Meditation exercise.
Place your mobile phone in front of you at a height that allows you to look straight ahead and maintain a straight back.
When inhaling, push the diaphragm down then hold it still until you feel like exhaling.
At the start of exhaling, simply relax the diaphragm and let it return to its resting position by itself without you driving it.
Keep in that position until you have a slight air hunger and feel like inhaling.
Repeat the breathing cycle, pay attention to the following:
- Relax your full body all the time, especially keep your shoulder low and relaxed.
- Observe your breathing waveform periodically, and try to make each inhalation small and gentle, and exhalation small and relaxed.
Repeat the breathing cycle, imaging the following:
- Let go of everything except your calm and relaxing breathing, in and out.
- No more responsibility whatsoever, just enjoy the moment alone by yourself.
- You are so free, so relaxed, think nothing, do nothing, just breathe lightly and gently, in and out.
- You are so free, free as a bird and soaring in the sky.
- You are so free, no worries, weightless, floating in the universe, just breathe lightly and gently, in and out.

Wishing you a satisfactory meditation with AYO BT+ every day and getting the most out of it!

Click Here To Explore More Breathing Exercises

AYO BT+ Uses Cases for Elite Athletes

由 admin | 11 月 4, 2022 | Diaphragmatic Breathing

About AYO BT+

AYO BT+ is the world’s first modular measurement respirator for breathing retraining. It fills a significant gap that, before its release, no such device could provide breathing data while people were performing sports and fitness training.

The possible applications with AYO BT+ are extensive, and in this document, we focus on its use cases for elite athletes.

Train for Diaphragmatic Breathing

Diaphragmatic breathing via the nose is widely recognised as the most efficient, surpassing other techniques like chest breathing through the mouth. However, many elite athletes rely on chest breathing during their sports activities, unknowingly limiting their potential for superior performance, particularly in endurance-based sports that demand exceptional aerobic capabilities.

Enter AYO BT+: the ultimate tool for training diaphragmatic breathing and unlocking the true potential of elite athletes. This innovative device combines the AYO BT with measurement modules, offering a comprehensive solution for optimising breathing techniques.

The AYO BT+ utilises a unique mechanism to enhance diaphragmatic breathing. Controlling the air inlet and adding resistance effectively slows down and elongates the inhalation process, activating the diaphragm, the primary muscle responsible for efficient breathing.

Transitioning from chest to diaphragmatic breathing can be challenging, especially for athletes who have relied exclusively on chest breathing throughout their careers. However, with consistent use of AYO BT+ over time, athletes can train their bodies to naturally engage the diaphragm, laying a solid foundation for reaching new heights in their respective sports.

By incorporating AYO BT+ into their training routine, elite athletes can experience many benefits. Improved diaphragmatic breathing enhances oxygen intake, endurance, stamina, and overall aerobic capacity. This technique also promotes better relaxation, reducing muscle tension and facilitating quicker recovery between workouts or events.

Measure the Loading to the Breathing Muscles

Most resistance-based training masks provide adjustable air inlet resistance to load the breathing muscles. However, the accurate resistance loading varies with the actual breathing effort. For example, even if a small inlet setting is selected, the resistance may only be high enough if the athlete puts on enough effort.

This is where AYO BT+ can come in, where it measures the Power of Breath cycle by cycle and the Work of Breath for the entire training session. The highly repeatable data provides more accurate loading metrics that a coach would prescribe than just a gut feeling that may vary and not be reliable.

Train for Breathing Efficiency

The flip side of Power of Breath and Work of Breath can be used to assess breathing efficiency. For example, for running the same distance with similar intensity, if the Power of Breath and Work of Breath is lower than before, it would indicate that breathing efficiency is improved.

Gain More Insights into the Effectiveness of Training Programs

Apart from going to a sports test lab, the physiological data that can be conveniently and accurately measured is limited to heart rate only. This is surprising, given the advances in general technology in the past 50 years.

We know that, technically, the heart rate indicates how fast the heart is pumping blood.

The key reason to measure heart rate in sports training is to assess:

The fitness level of an athlete
The loading of the training to the athlete
The recovery of the athlete

However, the blood is primarily used to transport oxygen to the body tissues and cells, where the oxygen reacts with carbohydrates and fats to produce the energy the body needs during cellular respiration. Yet, as part of the process, the oxygen needs to enter the bloodstream in the first place via gas exchange during breathing, and then before the oxygen reaches the tissues, it needs to be released from the red blood cells.

How the air is breathed in and out may affect the gas exchange and the release of oxygen from the blood to the tissues so that the oxygen may not diffuse from the lung into the blood efficiently. Once in the blood, it may not be efficiently used.

Understanding the oxygen delivery process to tissues and cells reveals that the heart’s role in pumping blood is just one step in the overall mechanism. It is crucial to recognise how oxygen enters the bloodstream and is released to the tissues to obtain a comprehensive understanding. Relying solely on heart rate for assessing athlete fitness or training program effectiveness is insufficient and may lead to inaccurate conclusions.

For instance, a higher-than-normal heart rate does not necessarily indicate intense training or low fitness levels. It could result from hyperventilation, which prevents oxygen from effectively reaching the tissues and cells, despite the increased heart rate.

The Bohr Effect, a scientific principle, influences efficient oxygen transportation in the blood. Hyperventilation leads to lower levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the blood, causing oxygen (O2) to remain bound to hemoglobin in the red blood cells when it should be released to the body tissues.

Consequently, inadequate oxygen supply to the body tissues triggers signals for the heart to pump faster. In such cases, attempts to improve training performance through heart muscle strengthening alone will not be effective. To identify and address this issue, a valuable tool for measuring breathing patterns and data, such as AYO BT+, can provide critical insights.

By utilising AYO BT+, athletes can gain valuable information about their breathing patterns and identify weaknesses in their oxygen delivery process. This data allows for a more comprehensive assessment of fitness levels and training effectiveness. By incorporating breathing analysis alongside heart rate monitoring, athletes can optimise their performance and make informed adjustments to their training routines.

Recognising the integral role of breathing in assessing fitness and training effectiveness unveils a more accurate and complete picture. AYO BT+ empowers athletes to unlock their potential by providing valuable breathing data, enabling targeted improvements in oxygen delivery and overall performance.

Embrace the science of breathing and maximise your training potential with AYO BT+. Discover the transformative impact of comprehensive fitness assessments and elevate your athletic performance to new heights.

See Training Result Before the Athlete Can Feel It

With multiple breathing data measured by AYO BT+, such as:

Breath per minute
Minute ventilation
Tidal volume
Vital lung capacity
Power of breathing
Work of breathing

The coach and athlete can see minor but continued improvements from a given training program that the result can’t be felt or sensed yet. This will encourage the athlete to stick to a potentially good training program and keep the program the same.

Create a Benchmark for Key Breathing Data Among Elite Athletes to Assist Sports Training

Measuring critical breathing data shown above among elite athletes with AYO BT+ for various sports, grouped by gender, age, height, and weight, will help many athletes to use these data as a benchmark to train towards.

Combination of Heart Rate with Respiratory Rate and Volume

Since the cardiovascular and respiratory systems combine to deliver O2 to and remove CO2 from all body tissues, adding breathing data such as respiratory rate and volume will add further dimensions and depth. This will complement the heart rate in assessing an athlete’s fitness level and performance. Doing so may revolutionise the way of sports training.

With AYO BT+, elite athletes gain the advantage of harnessing their breath as a powerful tool for performance enhancement. By embracing diaphragmatic breathing as the foundation of their training, athletes can unlock their full potential and propel themselves to new levels of success in their chosen sports.

Discover the transformative power of AYO BT+ and make diaphragmatic breathing an integral part of your athletic journey. Prepare to revolutionise your performance and excel like never before.