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Including asymmetry between the nostrils brings in physiological factors other than breathing, i.e. sinuses, etc..

Still, I can see it. My wife and I are probably equally fit, but she breathes much faster than I do. I also notice that I sometimes don't take a breath (or feel any need to) for several seconds, if I'm being sedentary.

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>I also notice that I sometimes don't take a breath (or feel any need to) for several seconds, if I'm being sedentary.

Normal adult breathing rate is 12-20 per minute. So by the pigeonhole principle, if you don't pause breathing for several seconds when idle, then you're breathing too fast than what's considered normal. Your wife is hyperventilating, which could be a sign of stress, or a compensatory reaction to metabolic acidosis.

Or you could take long breaths. 20 breaths per minute is only four seconds per breath which doesn't seem terribly long if it's both in- and out-breath.

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