Breathing For Performance: From Stage Fright To Parasympathetic Power

How Does Airway Health Impact Performers?

Pressure has a sound: tight breaths, racing thoughts, a voice that won’t settle. We explore how to flip that script by treating breathing as a behavior you can control, turning nerves into fuel and restoring the calm focus that great performance demands.

Dr. Mark A. Cruz and Julie Schwenzer unpack the physiology behind stage fright, athletic jitters, and boardroom anxiety. We connect shallow, rapid breathing to the autonomic nervous system and the HPA axis, showing how overbreathing lowers CO2, spikes stress hormones, and scrambles attention. Then we move from theory to tools: nasal breathing that boosts nitric oxide and circulation, diaphragmatic mechanics that stabilize rhythm and endurance, and timing your phrases on the exhale so speaking feels fluid instead of forced. We also address beta blockers—why some performers use them to slow heart rate—and offer natural strategies to reach parasympathetic coherence without dulling your edge.

You’ll hear why elite athletes often keep their lips sealed at the finish line, how singers harness breath to power range and control, and why small airway habits during the day shape deeper, more restorative sleep at night. Dr. Cruz outlines five daily competencies—nose breathing 95 percent of the time, lips together, tongue on the palate, a non-collapsing pharynx posture, and strong diaphragmatic breathing—that create a stable platform for skill, stamina, and composure. We round out with practical pre-performance drills that take just a few minutes yet can lower palpitations, steady the mind, and help you deliver when it counts.

Whether you’re stepping onto a stage, into a stadium, or up to a podium, your breath is the switch that sets your state. Try the cues, build the habits, and watch clarity and confidence rise together. If this conversation helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review so others can find it too.

To learn more about Dr. Mark A. Cruz, DDS. visit:
https://www.MarkACruzdds.com
Dr. Mark A. Cruz, DDS. 
32241 Crown Valley Pkwy #200  
Dana Point, CA 92629  
949-661-1006 

Transcript

Welcome And Premise

SPEAKER_02 0:03

Welcome to Airway Focused Dentistry with Dr. Mark A. Cruz, the show where better breathing leads to better living. If your nights sound like a lawnmower course or your energy stuck on low battery, you're in the right place. Hosted by Dr. Mark A. Cruz, we explore how the airway impacts your sleep, your health, and your smile. So you can breathe, sleep, and be well. Take a deep breath, and let's get started.

Why Breathing Shapes Performance

SPEAKER_00 0:32

Before stepping on stage, your airway can make or break your ability to perform with confidence, stamina, and control. Welcome everyone. I'm Julie Schwenzer, co-host and producer in the studio with the awesome Dr. Mark A. Cruz. Dr. Cruz, it's always great to speak with you.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity, Julian. You're such a great host, so it makes it easy.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

Oh, we always appreciate you. And we're diving into how airway health impacts performers and what changes in breathing can happen before a show or presentation. Will you discuss, Doctor, what may be happening to the mind and body?

SPEAKER_01 1:09

Yeah,

Autonomic Nervous System Basics

SPEAKER_01 1:10

absolutely. So kind of really it is simple. It comes down to basics, understanding some of the things that we've talked about before, that breathing is a behavior because it is under our control. So we will breathe differently when we're nervous versus when we're relaxing or meditating. And that breathing stimulates the status of the autonomic nervous system that's really in the background, running all our physiology. So the fight or flight side of it, which is the sympathetic side, and then the parasympathetic, which we call it rest and digest. That's really where mammals really were evolved to remain 90% of the time because it's very energy efficient. So we think better, we're calmer, our moods, our metabolic regulation, um, you know, our sleep, everything. We just do better when we're in parasympathetic coherence. And the problem is that our modern lifestyle conspires to constantly pull us into this um spike of flight, albeit low grade um but chronic compared to let's say a saber-tooth tiger on the corners. It's chasey, right? That's a quick spike, and you you're not even thinking you're up the tree and you're escaped, live another day. Um, I mean, that's the way the system was designed, really, for uh all mammals. But for us, um it's our modern environment that really pulls us constantly into that state where we don't function quite as well. Our moods, our thinking, cognitive function. Um, and so, yes, as we've said before, you go to the gym, you do your yoga section, at the end of that yoga session, you feel very relaxed, you feel great. Your heart rate's slower, it's efficient, your breathing is is uh where it needs to be.

Modern Stress And Overbreathing

SPEAKER_01 3:20

And you're calm. And that's really whether you're uh a star athlete or a star on stage performer, musician, or comedian, or whatever the case may be, or at the podium addressing uh an audience of 10,000 people or an audience of three people in the boardroom, it's kind of the same physiology. And so let's say you are a performer before sporting event, um, before a uh podium lecture, um, all the things that people say that they're afraid of in the top, three scariest things that we do, right? And when you really break it down and you think cognitively of what's going on, if you are connected to your body, you'll understand that you're starting to breathe a little bit more shallow, a little bit more adrenaline, heart rate goes up, and you start getting ready for and anticipating what would

Pre-Performance Physiology And Preparation

SPEAKER_01 4:28

otherwise be a nerve-wracking condition until you get going and then maybe you relax. So if you're really prepared, you're more relaxed. If you're not, you're worried about flubbing in front of everybody, right? So preparation number one is the best. But even the stories of Barbara Streit, now this seasoned up um, you know, singer as she um has been known to be, would always say that she would always have this nausea and involvement before every session, right? So my guess is especially looking at her anatomy and her facial structure and all the things that made her also part of a good singer, um, she probably is overventilating. She's stimulating what's called the hypothalamus, pituitary adrenal axis. It's in the brain, the master organ that really kind of dictates that state that really releases these stress hormones. So if you understand the physiology and you're getting ready for, you know, your heat in the 100-meter steps, um you you you would be better off just meditating, focusing on your breathing, calming down. And that's what a lot of athletes will do before the Super Bowl. You know, they have their headset, they're doing whatever works for

HPA Axis And Managing Arousal

SPEAKER_01 5:49

them, listening to their favorite music to calm them down, um, maybe even to get them amped up, too. So there's that side of it, too, is that you will, you know, want to you go into battle. But depending on the state that you want to be in, um, physiologically, having a clear head and being parasympathetic, um, coherence is is really the best state to be in. And that's under your control. So it's very well known that performers will oftentimes take Enderol, which is um a drug that slows down your heart, the uh what's called the chronotropic and iotropic properties of the heart. It's the speed of the beat and the intensity of that beat. That's kind of what gives you that feeling of heart palpitation. And what it does is it is it intervenes,

Parasympathetic Coherence Vs Hype

SPEAKER_01 6:44

if you will, and calms it down so that when you're getting ready for a performance, you're not feeling that anxiousness as much. Um, but again, you could do that on your own by understanding the physiology and and you know, getting ready for the event in such a way to where you end up in parasympathetic difference, and you'll end up performing better. The other part of it is is allowing breathe

Beta Blockers And Natural Alternatives

SPEAKER_01 7:14

during your performance. So if you're an athlete, let's say you're running the marathon or you're doing strength or the high fertils, being able to breathe through the nose primarily versus the mouth will have a much better physiologic effect. No question about it. We know that it's only breathing through the nose that uh the endothelial system, the end system releases nitric oxide, which dilates uh the vessels and helps with uh, you know, that whole function.

Nose Breathing For Athletes And Speakers

SPEAKER_01 7:50

Um, and so you'll see them breaking the tape with their lips together, largely, right? Even the marathoners, you know, those penions that are always ahead of everybody, the breathing. That's really the way we evolve. There's no question about it. Can you have a bold medalist that mouth breathes the whole way? They can overtrain and perhaps, sure. Again, swimming is the exception. Right? You're you're actually having to breathe through your mouth, and so that's a uh, you know, different set of side phenomenon. But for the most part, mammals are supposed to outperform. If you're a singer um or you're at the podium lecturing, you have to understand it's best to inhale through the nose, pause, and then speak through the exhalation. So that kind of takes practice. And you'll notice if you've been speaking for a while, that you'll also feel your heart rate. So I I feel that all the time. And I talk to my colleagues, I'm giving courses or whatever. And by the end of the day, I'm like, I feel like I've been in this physical match because I've been releasing adrenaline because of the way I'm overventilating, that's stimulating that stress response, and I'm animated and I take a breath, and I know that I have low-end title CO2 and you know, all the physiology that I won't get into. But you can get really good at mastering or understanding that. You know, as a uh singer,

Speaking On The Exhale

SPEAKER_01 9:24

singers, there's a whole science to it on how to um take the air in and express it in a way through the vocal cords that allows you to hit all the different octaves and notes that you want. And the better you are, the better the more skilled you are. Um, and and so um your performance would be the best bottom line is if you could be in that parasitic, that physiologic state. Now you can't always be um and what animates a performer of things is that adrenaline rush. I think there are there, you know, in that adrenaline. I and I think thinking about it, there are certain performers um historically, whether it's Michael Jackson or you know, Jimi Hendrix and Janice Joplin, all that died or drug overdose. I think their agents or themselves trying to really chemically titrate themselves to being that steady because they're up and putting out all this energy and they're anxious, and then they have to come down, and then they, you know, and that's what that that's what Michael Jackson would do. You know, he had that physician that just kind of he said, I just need to sleep, I need to calm down, and you've calmed down, and and you know, it's a cycle

Adrenaline Highs, Crashes, And Risks

SPEAKER_01 10:50

that uh the body was not meant for, and eventually bad things did happen. So I think in a wellness approach, just understanding the physiology, we should be in parasympathetic coherence. Whether you're performing in your home or your family as a provider or as a homemaker, or uh at the boardroom, or in a concert hall, or at the podium, uh, these are largely dictated by the breathing behavior that is an officer, just understanding that physiology might help you. And I'll end with just one example. If you're in a house, three in the morning, and a fire breaks out, tremendous fire breaks out. You wake up in a panic and people are running into the wall, they're not thinking right, they're not prepared. That's why they say you should practice. So uh your family should go through the drill or other fire extinguishers so that you're calmer and not having to think through at a time that you can't think. You just do it automatically, right? So, same thing in school, they've got these drills, if you will, for the kids with earthquakes and things like that. Because people panic and they make mistakes that can cost them their lives. But what does the firefighter do? The firefighter breaks in, they're very calm, they can actually because they're trained and

Training Calm: Firefighter Analogy

SPEAKER_01 12:14

they'll they pick the people out and they save people's lives. They are there are heroes. It's 9-11 or uh fight alarm fire, you know, in downtown, they're in parasympathetic coherence, they're chill and they're they're they're um in parasympathetic coherence versus you know the person that's running in the walls and going into the fire because he can't think they're not. So um I'll end with that, just understanding that our performance, no matter what our task, is largely also a function of the stress hormones that are stimulated by the physiology of just breathing. I hope I didn't get too much into the weeds, but um I think that's a good synopsis. Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_00 12:59

Yes, and and thank you for that explaining everything in in depth. We appreciate it. Sure. And uh just a last question for you are there long-term habits or in addition to practicing and having that confidence to perform because you know what you're doing, that you recommend to performers like singers or public speakers, any airway habits as well that may help them in the long run?

SPEAKER_01 13:24

Well, certainly really good sleep. And you get really good sleep because you're understanding that you're breathing through the nose very efficiently goes back to those five competencies. We should be breathing through our nose 95% of the time, lips together, tongue on the roof of the mouth

Long-Term Habits And The Five Competencies

SPEAKER_01 13:44

that opens the airway, non-collapsing ferrants and diaphromatic breathing. So if you're performing, you will be able to move that air mass better to your diaphragm, which we're designed for. So being connected to the diaphragm versus using the accessor, accessory respiratory muscles like your chest breathing, intercostal muscles. So I think if you're a professional and you're at Juilliard or USC School of Music, you probably, you know, in the opera department, there you probably go through these mechanics, like any athlete, um, Olympic training center. I know that they do hypoxic training. They really get into that gas exchange aspect of the endeavor. Um, but I think just really, yeah, I think those are the things that I would suggest.

SPEAKER_00 14:33

Okay, well, Dr. Cruz, thank you again for such a valuable insight for anyone who performs or presents. And we're looking forward to the next episode with you.

SPEAKER_01 14:43

Yeah, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02 14:48

That's today's breath of fresh insight from airway focused dentistry with Dr. Mark A. Cruz. Remember, small changes in your airway can spark big changes in your life. Breathe,

Closing And Resources

SPEAKER_02 15:00

sleep, and be well. For more information, visit markacruzdds.com or call 949-661-1006. If this helped you, share the episode and maybe give your pillow a quieter night. See you next time.