Most Women Over 45 Ignore This, Then Wonder Why They Feel Off

Published By

Susanna Hilst MD

Wellbeing

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Last update: Apr 20

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3 min

There are things we monitor obsessively: steps, calories, sleep scores, heart rate.

Then there’s breathing, the thing we do more than anything else, that most of us have never once stopped to question.

By now, most people know that breathwork is beneficial: it helps with stress, anxiety, even mental clarity.

What many don’t know is that for women over 45, breathing may be the missing piece behind everything they’ve been told is “just aging.”

What Researchers Found Changes Everything You Thought You Knew About Aging

University at Buffalo researchers tracked 1,119 people for nearly three decades. ¹

The single strongest predictor of who aged faster and died sooner wasn’t your typical guesses like cholesterol, BMI, or exercise habits.

It was how well their lungs worked. ²

We asked Dr. Elaine Whitford, a pulmonary health researcher, how this squares with everything women over 45 are typically advised to do.

3 Things Women Are Told To Do That Don’t Fix The Real Problem

#1 “Eat less”

You’ve tried keto, intermittent fasting, a calorie deficit… though you lose a pound here and there, it all comes right back.

Society’s been telling you to make yourself smaller since you were a teen.

What no one ever tells you is this:

Repeated restrictive dieting may actually accelerate aging. Your metabolism slows down, and the bone density you lose may not fully recover. ¹¹ ¹² ¹³

#2 “Exercise More”

You drag yourself to a 6 AM workout class. For a moment, you feel better – that’s the rush of adrenaline. But it quickly wears off and you feel dead by noon.

“Intense exercise with a declining lung capacity is like trying to run an engine on a half-empty fuel line,” says Dr. Whitford. “You certainly don’t end up feeling refreshed or younger.”

#3 “Take These Supplements”

Ashwagandha for sleep, glutathione for longevity, apple cider gummies for blood sugar… Many people take supplements they don’t actually need, ignoring the root cause.

The Longevity And Health Solution Hiding In Plain Sight (29 Years Of Data Confirms It)

By their 60s, women’s breathing muscles may be up to 25% weaker than they were in their 20s. ³

When your cells don’t get enough oxygen, your metabolism slows down – driving weight gain, low energy, and brain fog. ⁴ ⁵ Even the skin suffers, because oxygen powers the cellular repair that keeps you looking younger. ⁵

“It’s not menopause, stress, or aging,” Dr. Whitford comments. “The research points to something more specific – chronic oxygen deficiency. No one’s even checking for it.”

So if all the usual suspects (diet, exercise) miss the mark, what does the research actually reveal about aging and mortality?

The results surprised even the researchers themselves:

Those in the bottom 20% for lung function were up to twice as likely to die early. ²
And this wasn’t limited to smokers or people with severe lung disease.
Even those with moderately reduced lung function showed a significantly increased risk. ²

Several studies confirm that structured breathing practices can improve HRV, lower cortisol, and activate the parasympathetic response the body relies on to repair itself. ⁷ ⁸ ⁹

However, the keyword is structured.

Read This Before You Search For Breathing Exercises on YouTube

At this point, you’re thinking: “I’ll just find something on YouTube.” Fair enough – but Dr. Whitford has a warning.

As she points out, free breathing guides offer the same generic tips for everyone, with no real progression.

“Think of it like physical therapy,” says Dr. Whitford. “You wouldn’t deadlift 200 pounds on day one.”With structured breathwork, techniques build one by one as your respiratory muscles adapt – even a few minutes a day moves the needle on lung function and stress. ⁷ ⁸ ¹⁰

Breathwork vs. Other Methods

What Dr. Whitford Tells The Women Who Are Skeptical

Dr. Whitford says she understands the skepticism. “Breathing doesn’t sound like much of an answer when you’ve been exhausted for years.”

“That’s what drew me to Neura Breath – a 21-day protocol that builds breathing capacity progressively, the way physical therapy builds muscle.” ¹⁰

“What I really like”, the doctor adds, “is that it’s based in neuroscience, and it shows you your data: HRV, sleep, energy, mood… You can see the numbers shifting in real time.”

Can it really be this simple?

There’s one way to find out if she’s right.

Take this 2-minute quiz and you’ll get a free, personalized breakdown of what your breathing reveals about your body.

minus plus 13 sources

Schünemann HJ, Dorn J, Grant BJ, Winkelstein W Jr, Trevisan M. Pulmonary function is a long-term predictor of mortality in the general population: 29-year follow-up of the Buffalo Health Study. Chest. 2000;118(3):656-664. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10988186/
University at Buffalo. “Lung Function May Predict Long Life or Early Death.” https://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2000/09/4857.html
Sharma G, Goodwin J. Effect of aging on respiratory system physiology and immunology. Clinical Interventions in Aging. 2006;1(3):253-260. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2695176/
Semenza GL. Oxygen sensing, homeostasis, and disease. New England Journal of Medicine. 2011;365(6):537-547. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21830968/
Eltzschig HK, Carmeliet P. Hypoxia and inflammation. New England Journal of Medicine. 2011;364(7):656-665. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21323543/
Tandara AA, Mustoe TA. Oxygen in wound healing – more than a nutrient. World Journal of Surgery. 2004;28(3):294-300. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14961188/
Zaccaro A, Piarulli A, Laurino M, et al. How breath-control can change your life: a systematic review on psycho-physiological correlates of slow breathing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 2018;12:353. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6137615/
Gerritsen RJS, Band GPH. Breath of life: the respiratory vagal stimulation model of contemplative activity. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 2018;12:397. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6189422/
Laborde S, Mosley E, Thayer JF. Heart rate variability and cardiac vagal tone in psychophysiological research. Frontiers in Psychology. 2017;8:213. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5316555/
Ma X, Yue ZQ, Gong ZQ, et al. The effect of diaphragmatic breathing on attention, negative affect and stress in healthy adults. Frontiers in Psychology. 2017;8:874. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5455070/
Weight loss induced bone loss: mechanism of action and clinical implications. Bone Research (Nature). 2025. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41413-025-00483-4
The effects of popular diets on bone health in the past decade: a narrative review. Frontiers in Endocrinology. 2023. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2023.1287140/full
Yo-yo dieting may quietly harm women’s metabolism. Nutrition Research / UNICAMP. 2026. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-yo-effect-impairs-metabolism-brown.html

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Comments (3)

Heather Manning

15 Apr, 2026 at 1:00 pm

I’m 52 and genuinely thought the tiredness and brain fog were just “my age.” Started doing the breathing program three weeks ago and the change in my sleep alone has been worth it. I actually wake up feeling rested now. Haven’t felt like this in years. Getting older is not a sentence!!!
LindaK_1988

14 Apr, 2026 at 10:13 pm

My doctor told me my lung capacity was declining and to “stay active.” That was it. No specifics. I found this through an article like this one and figured 7 minutes a day was worth trying. First week my anxiety dropped noticeably. By week three even my digestion improved.
Marta S

12 Apr, 2026 at 1:14 pm

I was skeptical because I’ve tried Calm and Headspace and they never stuck. This is different it’s not some meditation, it’s more like a structured breathing with a progression. You can feel it building on itself. My husband even noticed I seem calmer. At least take the quiz it’s eye-opening.