Breathing brings air into the body — Science, 4–6 years
Every breath brings air into the body and sends some air out again. The body uses part of the air, so breathing keeps happening while we play, rest and sleep.
In and out
When you breathe in, air travels into your body. When you breathe out, air leaves it again. You can feel this by putting a hand in front of your mouth or on your chest, but the important work happens inside, where the body takes what it needs from the air.
Why do we breathe?
People noticed that a person can stop talking for a moment, but cannot safely stop breathing for long. They wanted to understand why running makes breathing faster and why breathing continues during sleep. Studying breaths helps explain how the body gets a useful part of air without needing to think about every breath.
Notice three breaths
Sit still and count three breaths: first, your chest or tummy gently moves out as air comes in; next, it moves back as air goes out; then the same pattern happens again. Now walk for one minute and count again. You may notice quicker movements, because moving muscles need more from the air.
Air is not empty
A reasonable mistake is to think that nothing enters the body when we breathe, because air is invisible. We can see a balloon grow, feel air on a hand or watch a mirror mist up, so invisible does not mean absent. Breathing in and out moves real air, even when our eyes cannot see it.
Breathing in everyday life
Breathing matters when you run, sing, blow bubbles or rest. A doctor may listen to breathing to notice whether air is moving easily, and a swimmer learns to time breaths with strokes. These are useful examples of breathing, but breathing itself happens all the time, not only during activities.
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