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4 Thoughts
1. The Famous 10-18% Nasal Breathing and Oxygenation Study
“We here show that arterial oxygenation is improved in healthy awake subjects during nasal breathing as compared with mouth breathing.”
Two take-homes from this oft-cited paper:
Nasal breathing increased tissue oxygenation by ~10% compared to mouth breathing in 6 of 8 healthy people.
Adding nasal air to a ventilator increased arterial oxygenation by ~18% in 6 of 6 mechanically ventilated people.
Deep dive of this paper:
This one was packed with fascinating results. If the take-home is all you need, stop there. But if you’re a serious breathing nerd, this one is a must-read/listen-to Science 411 (just released on Friday).
2. Use Your Diaphragm for Less Stress & Better Cognition
“Diaphragmatic breathing can directly lower cortisol levels, reducing the negative physiological responses to stress and improving cognitive function.”
- Patrick McKeown, The Breathing Cure
Sounds good to me. If we combine that with thought #1, we can also increase oxygenation while we’re at it 👏
3. Exercise Your Rich Inner Core for More Benefits (beyond abs or diaphragm)
“More and more, I became convinced that our bodies are wired to benefit from exercising not only our muscles but our rich inner, human core — our beliefs, values, thoughts, and feelings.”
- Herbert Benson, MD, Timeless Healing
What better way to exercise and express those than a daily self-care ritual? I like 20-30 min of morning breathing & gratitude, but anything you do to connect to your values, beliefs, and feelings will do.
Have fun exercising your rich inner core, this week 🙏
4. Equanimity
Equanimity is when the breather realizes they are the breath.
1 Quote
“If the spirit is circulating, the breath is circulating. If the spirit stays still then the breath remains, too.”
1 Answer
Category: The Nervous System
Answer: Our parasympathetic nervous system uses this many of our 12 cranial nerves.
…
(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)
…
Question: What is four?
In good breath,
Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”
P.S. Enjoy brunch though
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* An asterisk by a quote indicates that I listened to this book on Audible. Therefore, the quotation might not be correct, but is my best attempt at reproducing the punctuation based on the narrator’s pace, tone, and pauses.
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Each Monday, I curate and synthesize information from scientific journals, books, articles, and podcasts to share 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer (like "Jeopardy!") related to breathing. It’s a fun way to learn something new each week.