英文新聞
When we are healthy, breathing happens naturally and easily. Without much effect on our part, the human respiratory system works hard. Experts say we take about 20,000 breaths1 every day.
One such expert is James Hoyt, a doctor at the University of Colorado’s Health Pulmonology Clinic, also called UCHealth. Hoyt is a pulmonologist — a specialist on respiratory disorders2.
On the UCHealth website, he notes that our “respiratory muscles are working every minute of the day, every day of our lives.”
A muscle called the diaphragm separates the chest and abdominal cavities. As3 we breathe in4, the diaphragm tightens. The chest cavity opens, and the lungs expand. When we breathe out4, the diaphragm relaxes and moves upward, pushing air out.
Deep breathing
When you breathe deeply, the air coming in through your nose fully fills your lungs, and the lower belly rises. On its website, Harvard Medical School notes that deep breathing may slow the heartbeat, lower blood pressure and lower stress. Deep breaths help your body fully exchange incoming oxygen with outgoing carbon dioxide.
However, many people do the opposite of deep breathing. They take short breaths and have shallow breathing. Experts call this “chest breathing.”
Shallow breathing limits the expansion of the diaphragm and its movement. The lowest part of the lungs does not get a full share of oxygenated air. This can make you feel short of breath and worried, or anxious.
The American Lung Association notes that shallow breathing, over time, leaves old, stale5 air in the lungs. This leaves less room for the diaphragm to bring in fresh oxygen. And that means lower oxygen levels and less oxygen for exercise and activity.
中文翻譯
當我們身體健康的時候,呼吸自然地發生且很容易。人體呼吸系統在不太影響我們的情況下努力運作。專家說,我們每天大概會呼吸20000次。
其中一位專家是詹姆士霍伊特,一位科羅拉多大學健康中心(又稱UCHealth)的胸腔內科診所醫生。霍伊特是一位胸腔學家─呼吸失調的專家。
在UCHealth網站上,他指出:我們呼吸的肌肉在每日的每一分鐘以及生命中的每一天都不停地運作。
一條稱作「橫膈膜」的肌肉把胸腔和腹腔分開。當我們吸氣時,會使橫膈膜拉緊。胸腔會打開來,而肺也會膨脹。當我們吐氣時,橫膈膜放鬆,並往上移動,將空氣推出去。
深呼吸
當你深呼吸時,空氣從鼻子進入,完整地充滿肺部,下腹部也隆起。在哈佛醫學院的網站上指出,深呼吸會使心跳變慢、降低血壓以及減輕壓力。深呼吸幫助身體完整地交換吸入的氧氣與吐出的二氧化碳。
然而,許多人做的與深呼吸相反。他們呼吸較短促,並淺層呼吸。專家稱這樣的呼吸為「胸式呼吸」。
淺層呼吸限制了橫膈膜的擴張和活動。肺部最底層的部分並未得到完整的帶氧空氣。這可能會讓你感到呼吸急促、擔心或焦慮。
美國肺部協會指出,淺層呼吸隨著時間會將舊的、不新鮮的空氣留在肺中。這會讓橫膈膜沒有空間帶進更多的氧氣。而這意味著從事運動或活動時,會有較低的氧氣量或氧氣供給。
單字學習
英文單字 | 詞性 | 中文 |
---|---|---|
respiratory | (adj.) | 呼吸的 |
expert | (n.) | 專家;行家 |
specialist | (n.) | 專家;專業人員 |
disorder | (n.) | 混亂;失調 |
separate | (v.) | 使……分開 |
chest | (n.) | 胸部;胸腔 |
abdominal | (adj.) | 腹部的 |
cavity | (n.) | 身體內的腔室 |
tighten | (v.) | 使……變緊 |
stress | (n.) | 壓力 |
oxygen | (n.) | 氧氣 |
carbon dioxide | (n.) | 二氧化碳 |
shallow | (adj.) | 淺的 |
anxious | (adj.) | 焦慮的 |
stale | (adj.) | (通常指因久放)不新鮮的 |
片語及其他用語
英文 | 中文 |
---|---|
the opposite of | ……的相反 |
a share of | 一(部)份的…… |
short of breath | 呼吸急促 |
重點解析
- take breaths 在這邊指的是呼吸,單數為take a breath,也就是breathe的意思。Take a breath也可以表示「歇一下/休息一下」。而take a deep breath則是「深吸一口氣」的意思。
- disorder一般來說就是混亂、凌亂的意思,但在醫學領域中則表示某紊亂或失調的病症,例如:mental disorder 精神疾病;hormonal disorder 賀爾蒙失調。
- as若後方接著一個句子時,做連接詞用,意思近於「when當……的時候」;若後方接著一個名詞或身分,則是一個介係詞,表示「身為/擔任」的意思。
- breathe in/breathe out是吸氣及吐氣,兩個片語分別可以對應兩個重要單字:inhale/exhale。
- stale這個詞的意思指的是因為放了很久而不新鮮的意思。如果一個房間長時間不開窗,又悶又怪的空氣也可以稱做stale air,或是隔夜的麵包也可以說stale bread。
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