When you have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), breathing exercises are an important way to maintain your quality of life, extend your ability to exercise, and stay calm during an acute exacerbation.
With COPD, breathing can be a challenge for the following reasons:
- Over-production of mucus in the airways
- Chronic coughing
- Airway inflammation leading to wheezing
- Retention of stale air in the lungs
- Over-production of mucus in the airways
- Chronic cough
- Airway inflammation leading to wheezing
- Retention of stale air in the lungs
These challenges can be affected by various factors such as air pollutants, pollen, dust, viruses, smoke, and other irritating particulates in the air. When your breathing becomes more difficult and you’re waiting for your rescue medication to begin, utilizing COPD breathing exercises can help you to find immediate relief.
Breathing Exercises COPD – Gain Control Over Your Breathing
1. Pursed-Lip Breathing
Pursed-lip breathing is an excellent way to slow down your breaths and release any trapped air in your lungs. This breathing exercise works well for COPD because it prevents the small airways in your lungs from collapsing prematurely, and will help you expel excess air from your lungs. This will give you more room to take in air during your next breath.
Here’s how to do it:
Step 1. Inhale through your nose for 1-2 seconds.
Step 2. Pucker your lips like you are trying to whistle.
Step 3. Exhale slowly in a controlled manner over 5-7 seconds.
Step 4. Repeat until your breathing feels comfortable again.
This video will show you how to perform pursed-lip breathing:
2. Diaphragmatic Breathing
Diaphragmatic breathing is another way to optimize the proper use of your respiratory system for breathing. When you’re feeling shortness of breath, your body starts to compensate for the difficulty by using other respiratory muscles in your back, shoulders, and chest. This makes breathing less efficient and ultimately makes your shortness of breath worse.
Diaphragmatic breathing helps you use the correct muscles so you can optimize your body’s natural mode of breathing.
Here’s how to do it:
Step 1. Place your hand on the upper half of your stomach
Step 2. Inhale normally through your nose
Step 3. Make sure your stomach is moving outwards with every breath
Step 4. Keep your shoulders and chest as neutral as possible (not moving up or down)
Step 5. Exhale through pursed-lips
Step 6. Make sure your stomach moves inward during exhalation
Here’s a quick video on how to do this in an upright position:
3. Coordinated Breathing
Coordinated breathing is an excellent method for breathing while exercising or performing strenuous activity. The basic idea is to coordinate your breathing with intervals of tension and relaxation during exercise.
While you’re performing the active part of an exercise (lifting a dumbbell or standing up during a squat); exhale through pursed-lips for the entire action. Then, when you’re in the relaxation part of the exercise (lowering the dumbbell or lowering yourself down during a squat), inhale through your nose.
Here’s a great video demonstrating this breathing exercise:
4. Short Breath-Hold Breathing
Holding your breath provides a number of benefits such as mental focus, calmness, overcoming stress, and resilience. However, COPD patients will need to modify this exercise to achieve only about 5 seconds of breath-hold between breaths.
The process for breath-hold breathing is almost the same as pursed-lip breathing, except between inhalation and exhalation, which is where you’ll hold your breath for about 5 seconds.
Here’s the process:
Step 1. Inhale through your nose for 1-2 seconds
Step 2. When you have inhaled fully, **hold your breath for 1-5 seconds**
Step 3. Pucker your lips like you’re trying to whistle
Step 4. Exhale slowly in a controlled manner over 5-7 seconds
Step 5. Repeat until your breathing feels comfortable again
5. Huff Cough
The huff cough is a technique to help remove excess mucus from your lungs during a COPD exacerbation. This is a great way to get enough air behind the mucus in your lungs, so there’s enough momentum to bring it up.
Here’s a demonstration:
These five COPD Breathing Exercises and Techniques will help you regain control of your breathing and help you feel calm during an exacerbation. By practicing these exercises at least once a day, you’ll prepare your mind and body to use them when you need them most.
Related COPD Information
The information on this page is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. For more information about asthma, talk to your doctor or primary care provider.
Updated: February 8, 2024
Published: May 17, 2017
Ryan Anthony, BS, RRT is a registered respiratory therapist and content writer and medical blogger currently located in Los Angeles, California. As a Respiratory Therapist, he performs a wide range of hospital duties including adult and neonatal intensive care, nitric oxide therapy, high-frequency oscillatory ventilation, conventional mechanical ventilation, noninvasive ventilation, BiPAP, CPAP, intubation assistance, bronchoscopy assistance, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, chest physiotherapy, and nebulizer therapy.
THank You for the useful information,I have tried the Huffing but nothing ever comes up?i have been on Oxygen for 9yrs now,does that have anything to do with it?
I have tried the huff cough an nothing comes up I’m on oxygen an just quit smoking 8 months ago ! Does it take time to cough it up ? An I don’t cough any more since I quit smoking so I can’t cough any mucus up
Congratulations on being smoke-free for 8 months. We recommend consulting with your doctor before starting an exercise regimen.
I looked up this web site hoping to make my breathing better. I quit smoking in 2012. I hope this will aid me in relaxing and make my breathing easier. Is there alternative solutions to repair the lungs from cigarettes.
We recommend talking with your doctor – unfortunately, we cannot provide medical advice.
It takes time. The fact that you quit smoking is great. And that you have less mucus now. Sometimes I feel like I have a frog in my throat but it clears eventually. I have been smoke free for 2 years,and 10 months now. Keep up the good work.
We’re glad to hear that you have quit smoking and are experiencing health benefits. Quitting smoking is a great achievement, and it can improve overall health in numerous ways, including reducing mucus buildup in the throat.
Thanks for your informative blog. I find that reading inquires from people and your replies are always helpful.
One breathing related issue I did not see however is how increased humidity can impact people on O2.
I’ve found that putting a simple handkerchief-draped over nose and mouth decreases the moisture long enough to get to the next spot where I can breathe freely again. Usually one or two minutes away.
Thank you for your kind words, and I’m glad to hear that you find the information here helpful.
You bring up a great point about the impact of increased humidity on people using oxygen. While oxygen therapy can be very beneficial, it can sometimes lead to dryness and irritation in the nasal passages and throat. This is because the flow of oxygen can dry out the mucous membranes.
Using a handkerchief or a small piece of cloth to trap some of the moisture from your breath can indeed help alleviate this dryness. However, it’s important to do this in a way that doesn’t interfere with your oxygen therapy.
I’d like to suggest the following two blog posts we have on this topic. You can click on the titles below to read them:
1. How to Prevent Dry Nose, Throat and Mouth Due to Oxygen Therapy
2. COPD and Cold Weather: How to Prepare Yourself for the Winter
I have a very severe case of COPD an have found the breathing exercises to be of great help. Please keep up the good work
Nice article. It really helped me to understand the right technique for breathing. I’ve shared this article to my cousin who is suffering from COPD, and hence she took advice from her doctor too. Now, she is practicing the 3 techniques mentioned in this article to manage her breathing. I felt so happy that the article I shared had helped my cousin.
All the credit goes to this blog.
I have been on oxygen for over 12 years. My doctor told me about these breathing exercises. They helped some. My pastor told me to start singing. So I sing along at church and at my home. To sing you have to learn when to breathe and when to exhale. It has helped me more.
Breathing is going okay, having trouble with my nose. I it antibiotic in every am but clots still buildup.
Thank U for sharing this information, it was very helpful to again review this information.
Joseph T. Zeoli
You’re welcome, Joseph! I’m glad we could assist you. If you have any more questions or concerns, feel free to ask.
I have a hard time breathing through my nose. It just doesn’t work. Is there some exercise I can do to help my COPD?
I’m not a doctor, but I can offer some general suggestions that may help improve breathing and manage symptoms of COPD. However, it’s essential to consult with your healthcare provider before starting any new exercise or breathing techniques, as they can provide guidance tailored to your specific condition.
Walking: Walking is an excellent low-impact exercise that can help improve cardiovascular fitness and lung function. Start with short walks and gradually increase your duration as your fitness level improves.
Chair Yoga: Yoga can help improve breathing, flexibility, and relaxation. Chair yoga is a modified form of yoga that can be done while seated, making it suitable for individuals with limited mobility.
Stay Hydrated: Drinking enough water keeps mucus in the airways thinner and more manageable, making it easier to cough up when necessary.