Pursed-lip breathing is a simple method of controlling sudden shortness of breath that helps you slow down your breathing and get more oxygen into your lungs.
“This is one of the most effective and accessible techniques for managing acute breathlessness,” says Jamie Garfield, MD, a medical spokesperson for the American Lung Association and a professor of thoracic medicine and surgery at the Temple Lung Center at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia.
“Exhaling through pursed lips creates a gentle back pressure inside the airways that acts like an internal splint, keeping the small airways open longer, so that otherwise-trapped air can escape more completely before the next breath,” she says. Each new breath can then bring in fresh, oxygen-rich air.
Jamie Lederer, the outreach director for clinical affairs at the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, explains step by step how to do it:
- Relax your neck and shoulder muscles.
- Slowly inhale through your nose with your mouth closed for two seconds.
- Pucker (or purse) your lips — like you’re blowing out a candle.
- Breathe out slowly through your pursed lips for four seconds.
- Repeat this pattern.
Pursed-lip breathing might feel a little uncomfortable or awkward the first few times you try it, but it does get easier with regular practice. To prepare for when you need it, practice a few times every day for 5 to 10 minutes, until the technique feels natural.
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