THE BODY OXYGEN LEVEL TEST (BOLT)

(SOURCE: THE OXYGEN ADVANTAGE: PATRICK McKEOWN)

BOLT is simple, safe , involves no sophisticated equipment and can be applied at any time. 

Holding the breath until you feel the first natural desire to breathe provides useful information on how soon the first sensations of breathlessness take place and is a very useful tool for the evaluation of breathlessness. Other breath hold tests tend to focus on the maximum time you can hold your breath, but this measurement is not objective as it can be influenced by willpower and determination.

To obtain an accurate measurement, it's best to rest for 10 minutes before measuring your BOLT score.

Read the instructions carefully first and have a timer on hand.

1. Take a normal breath in through your nose and allow a normal breath out through your nose.
   
2. Hold your nose with your fingers to prevent air from entering your lungs.
   
3. Time the number of seconds until you feel the first definite desire to breathe, or the first stresses of your body urging you to breathe. These sensations may include the need to swallow or a constriction of the airways. You may also feel involuntary contractions of your breathing muscles in your abdomen or throat as the body gives the message to resume breathing. (Note that BOLT is not a measurement of how long you can hold your breath but simply the time it takes for your body to react to a lack of air.)
   
4. Release your nose, stop the timer, and breathe in through your nose. Your inhalation at the end of the breath hold should be calm.
   
5. Resume normal breathing.
   

Please be aware of the following important points when measuring your BOLT score:

• The breath is taken after a gentle exhalation.
  
• The breath is held until the breathing muscles first begin to move. You are not measuring the maximum time that you can hold your breath.
  
• If you do not feel the first involuntary movements of your breathing muscles, then release your nose when you feel the first definite urge of first distinct stress to resume breathing.
  
• The BOLT is not an exercise to correct your breathing.
  
• Remember that measuring your BOLT score involves holding your breath only until you feel the first involuntary movements of your breathing muscles. If you need to take a big breath at the end of the breath hold, then you have held your breath for too long.
  

Click here to go to the BREATHING EXERCISES  to help you improve your BOLT score.

How the BOLT test works.

When you hold your breath, you prevent oxygen from entering your lungs and excess carbon dioxide from being expelled into the atmosphere. As the breath hold continues, carbon dioxide accumulates in the lungs and blood while oxygen levels slightly decrease. Since carbon dioxide is the primary stimulus for breathing, the length of your breath hold time is influenced by how much carbon dioxide you are able to tolerate, or your ventilatory response to carbon dioxide.

A strong ventilatory response to carbon dioxide means that your threshold will be reached sooner, resulting in a lower breath hold time. Conversely, a good tolerance and reduced ventilatory response to carbon dioxide results in a higher breath hold time.

When your BOLT score is lower, your breathing receptors are especially sensitive to carbon dioxide and your breathing volume will be greater as the lungs work to remove any carbon dioxide in excess of programmed levels. However, when you have normal tolerance to carbon dioxide and a higher BOLT score, you will be able to maintain calm breathing during rest and lighter breathing during physical exercise.

You may find that the first time you measure your BOLT score, you are surprised that it is lower than expected, but remember that even elite athletes can have a low BOLT score! The good news is that your score can easily be increased with a series of simple breathing exercises incorporated into your existing way of life or exercise regime.

A common starting BOLT score for an individual who exercises regularly at a moderate intensity will be approximately 20 seconds. If your BOLT score is below 20 seconds, depending on genetic predisposition, you will probably find you experience a blocked nose, cough, wheeze, disrupted sleep, snoring, fatigue and excessive breathlessness during physical exercise. Each time that your BOLT score increases by 5 seconds, you will feel better, with more energy and reduced breathlessness during physical exercise. The aim of the breathing exercises is to increase your BOLT score to 40 seconds.