WHEN STYLE SUFFOCATES

How clothing can affect your breathing

- BY LAKSHANA N PALAT Assistant Features Editor

Yes, that sequinned black top looks so good on you — but if you’re absolutely miserable in it, maybe it’s best left stashed away in the cupboard.

This is purely self-referential. A similar episode happened to me last week. I was quite proud of my new purchase: A white turtleneck that seemed fairly loose. Or so I thought. By midday, I began to feel distinctly uncomfortable. Perhaps it was the fibres. Perhaps it was anxiety about an unresolved situation. Nevertheless, I started feeling breathless and couldn’t wait to change out of the top.

It left me wondering, how could something that wasn’t even tight cause such discomfort? Now what kind of wizardry is this?

It sounds strange, but it’s true: your clothes can make you feel breathless. Maybe it’s the fabric, maybe it’s something deeper — a psychological itch you just can’t reach.

Dubai-based Tanya Sondhi agrees: She recalls a puffy red dress she loves wearing, yet it doesn’t always agree with her. "On other days it’s fine; but if I’m going for a party after a long day at work, or there’s something on my mind, this normally snug fit suddenly feels a lot tighter, and I have to change immediately," she says.

Well, yes and no. It does physically affect breathing, but to a limited extent, explains Dr Maria Thomas, Specialist Pulmonologist at Medcare Royal Speciality Hospital, Al Qusais. The tight clothes can restrict chest and abdominal movement, limiting how fully your lungs can expand. "This is especially true for outfits that compress the rib cage, diaphragm, or abdomen."