How Anesthesia Stops Your Breathing General anesthesia does more than put you to sleep. It shuts down the brain and muscles that normally keep you breathing automatically, which is why anesthesiologists must take over with a ventilator. 🧠 It suppresses the brain’s breathing centers Anesthetic drugs depress the medulla and pons, the areas that generate automatic breathing rhythms. When these centers are suppressed, the signal that tells the diaphragm to contract weakens or stops. PMID: 30460253