The Body Oxygen Level Test (BOLT) and the Bohr Effect

Surprise! You're a dysfunctional breather! For 90% of the population, this is what they find out after taking the Body Oxygen Level Test (BOLT). This test measures one's chemo sensitivity to carbon dioxide -- that is, how much CO2 can fill one's lungs before another breath is necessary.

Carbon dioxide has a bad reputation. We all have seen the news; climate change is an issue because of rising carbon dioxide levels in earth's atmosphere. But when breathing, our bodies need more carbon dioxide than we think we do.

In 1904, Danish physicist Niels Bohr discovered what we now call the "Bohr Effect." This Nobel Prize winning discovery, in its simplest form, is the discovery that you do not need more oxygen to breathe at a higher capacity; rather, you need more carbon dioxide. This is because, as oxygen is picked up by hemoglobin, a protein in the bloodstream, and travels through your body, it needs to infiltrate the mitochondria of various cells. It cannot do this however, without some sort of energy transfer, in the form of carbon dioxide. If the mitochondria does not sense enough carbon dioxide present, this transfer cannot happen, and all the extra oxygen is lost, nothing gained. Yet, when carbon dioxide is present, the mitochondria's process of transferring oxygen works at an accelerated rate.

When taking the BOLT test, 10-20 seconds of breath holding before needed to breath yields a response: "dysfunctional breathing." This simply means that one is not well accustomed enough to carbon dioxide in their blood stream. By increasing interaction with CO2, through tailored exercises to expand lung capacity, one will be able to hold breath for longer periods of time, without stress. Finally, the functional breathing label does not seem so far away. Check out the "exercises" page for breathing exercises to increase lung capacity!

Take the BOLT test!

1. Inhale and Exhale as normal, through your nose.

2. After the exhale, pinch your nostrils, blocking the airflow, and hold your breath.

3. Start a stopwatch as soon as you do this, and time yourself.

4. At the first sign of breath constriction, take a breath as normal, and stop the timer!

What Your Scores Mean

0-10: You likely have some sort of diagnosed trouble breathing (think asthma, congestion, sickness related).

10-20: You are a dysfunctional breather (maybe not enough nose-breathing, too many breaths, shallow breathing often).

20-30: The sweet spot for functional breathing (usually only nose-breathing, lower and deeper breaths, not as sensitive to carbon dioxide).