Hyperventilation test

The symptoms of hyperventilation often appear totally unrelated to breathing.  For example sweaty palms or feeling ‘spaced out’ do not appear to have any direct link with moving air in and out of the body, yet they are commonly associated with dysfunctional breathing.   To check how likely it is that you hyperventilate, rate the following symptoms on a scale of 0 - 4, where 0 is they never happen to you, 1 is rare, 2 is sometimes, 3 is often and 4 is very often. 

• Shallow breathing, using the upper chest to breathe
• Fast or deep breathing
• Yawning or sighing repeatedly
• Breathing through mouth
• Difficulty in taking a deep breath
• Abnormally short of breath, breathless
• Chest tightness or constriction
• Airways are extra-sensitive
• Excessive mucus production
• Coughing
• Allergies, rhinitis, hay fever
• Excessive sneezing
• Blocked or running nose
• Reduced sense of smell
• Bad breath
• Dry mouth
• Dental or gum problems
• Repeated throat clearing
• Ringing in ears
• Light-headed or feeling dizzy
• Pounding, rapid or erratic heartbeat
• High blood pressure
• Varicose veins
• Prone to sickness, eg colds, flu or chest infections
• Poor concentration, mental fatigue, confusion, forgetful, ‘spaced out’
• Erratic breathing e.g. a deep breath every few minutes; rapid breathing spaced with long pauses; breathing without pause
• Sleeping badly e.g. insomnia, vivid dreams, nightmares, shuddering in sleep, snoring, waking frequently, grinding teeth or still feeling tired on waking after a long sleep
• Short temper, irritable
• Mild depression
• Mild obsession in regard to habits, objects or people
• Frequent urination
• Nausea, ‘butterflies’ in stomach
• Bloated abdomen, flatulence or belching
• Constipation with intermittent diarrhoea
• Loss of libido
• Impotence
• Stiffness in fingers, arms or around the mouth
• Muscle tightness or cramps
• Trembling, tic or twitching
• Tingling or numbness in fingers, feet or lips
• Cold hands and feet
• Itching, dry skin, eczema or rashes
• Sweaty palms/feet/armpits or feeling hot all over
• Hot or cold flushes
• Licking dry lips
• Pains in bones or joints
• Headaches
• Chest pains that are not heart-related
• Lacking stamina, feeling chronically tired or physically exhausted
• Muscle weakness, ‘jelly’ legs
• Erratic blood sugar levels
• Visual disturbances e.g. flashes or shadows before the eye, blurred or tunnel vision or impaired night vision, sudden deterioration of vision

 If you rated six symptoms at least a '3', then this would indicate that you have a tendency towards hyperventilation and the Buteyko method would then be helpful.