Why do we need to breathe?

Question

Anyone else thing how horrifying it is that we have to constantly breathe or we just die?!?!?!

Answer 1

oxygen in needed during the chemical reactions that happen in our body to extract energy from the things we eat

very simply put, that's why you need to breathe, because otherwise you wouldn't be able to carry out your bodily functions anymore

Answer 2

Because Biochemistry :)

Our bodies use oxygen in aerobic respiration. We break down glucose, fatty acids, and other biomolecules to form energy (ATP). Oxygen is the final electron acceptor in the last step of aerobic respiration (called the electron transport chain). without oxygen, we couldn't make ATP, the energy used in a myriad of cellular processes.

Carbon dioxide is a waste product of aerobic respiration and other cellular processes. Too much CO2 is toxic; it leads to a decrease in blood pH which is problematic for our sensitive cells. It also interferes with proper oxygenation of tissues, since hemoglobin (a protein that carries oxygen) only functions correctly in specific blood pH range (7.35-7.45)

Answer 3

When I awoke from my coma, I was bedridden,  couldn't talk, walk or even see.  During my coma,  I was on a ventilator because my nerves were so dead that my involuntary actions weren't working. 

A few days after waking up,  I was laying in the hospital bed and looking at the dark half-shape of the clock on the wall when I suddenly realized that about 4+min had gone by and I had not taken a breath!

It indeed was worrisome to have to remember to breathe,  swallow, even beat my heart (only twice).

To answer your questions,  we must breathe so as to gain oxygen AND to expell carbon dioxide.   Your breathing reflex is about the carbon dioxide,  not the gaining of oxygen. 

Breathing in feels good...because we are rewarded with a small dopamine spike.   I had no such spike and THAT was the most disconcerting part of my story about breathing. 

Stay tuned for the story about sitting up!  

It's a tear-jerker;)

Answer 4

Yes breath and 🧘 

Answer 5

It would be scary if it were not an involuntary response. 

Answer 6

Because that's how God designed us. 

Source(s): Genesis 2:7