How Stress Causes Low Oxygen Levels
Stress can affect all systems of the body — even leading to lower oxygen levels in the blood and body.
If you sometimes feel short of breath when you’re stressed or anxious, you are not alone. This is a common symptom of anxiety.
When your body and mind are under stress the airway between your nose and lung can constrict, which can leave you with unpleasant symptoms like dizziness or rapid heart rate.
The amount of oxygen passed from the lungs to red blood cells — and then carried to the rest of the body — is called the blood oxygen saturation level. Feeling stressed and breathing rapidly can lower your blood oxygen level.
If you experience breathing problems from stress, there are a few ways to naturally increase oxygen levels and leave you feeling calmer.
How does stress affect your oxygen levels?
When you’re breathing normally, your body naturally regulates the amount of oxygen in your blood. But when a situation makes you feel anxious or stressed your body releases stress hormones and engages your fight, flight, or freeze response. This response prepares your body to react to possible danger.
The flight, flight, or freeze response can lead your body to tense, your heart to race, and your respiratory rate to increase. In some cases, you may hyperventilate (breathing very rapidly) or it can become a panic attack.
Breathing in a rapid way means that you’re not getting as much oxygen from the breath, and you’re not breathing out as much carbon dioxide. This can make you feel short of breath.
A 2014 study reported that people who experienced anxiety and depression were more likely to report breathlessness, wheezing, and nighttime respiratory symptoms (breathlessness or chest tightness at night) than people without anxiety or depression.
How can you tell if your oxygen levels are low?
You may have lower oxygen levels if you are noticing the following symptoms:
- shortness of breath
- having trouble catching your breath
- a headache
- a rapid heartbeat
- chest pain
- blue coloring on your face, lips, or nails
- feeling restless
You can also tell if your oxygen is low by measuring your blood oxygen level. A pulse oximeter is a small device that reads your oxygen level when clipped on your fingertip. It shows how well oxygen is reaching the furthest points from your heart, like your toes and fingers.
Most people need an oxygen saturation level of 89% or higher to keep their cells healthy. If you have a respiratory or heart condition, you might be aiming for a different level, so you may wish to work with a doctor to understand what levels are safe for you.
If you’re concerned about your pulse oximeter reading or your symptoms are getting worse, consider contacting your doctor.
