"He who labors diligently need never despair; for all things are accomplished by diligence and labor." - Menander (342 BC - 292 BC)
Correct breathing synchronizes many systems in the body. This coherence compounds over time.
Breathing improves your sleep [1,2]. Better sleep improves your cardiovascular system [3].
Breathing improves your cardiovascular system [4,5]. This improves your sleep.
Breathing restores autonomic balance [6]. Better autonomic control increases heart rate variability and baroreflex sensitivity [7,8].
Correct breathing improves tissue oxygenation [9]. This improves autonomic balance [10]. And insulin sensitivity [11].
The more control you have over your breathing, the more control you have over your emotions [12].
The more control you have over your emotions, the more control you have over your breathing [13].
The more control you have over your breathing, the more control you have over all the systems mentioned above [14].
Thus, all of these benefits are not isolated but integrated. It would still be rather amazing if breathing helped just one or two of these systems (since it’s free and everything). But, it helps so many different aspects of health and these benefits aggregate and compound over time.
But Nothing Happens Overnight
Well, maybe it does, because my first night of sleeping with my mouth closed literally changed my life.
But just like in financial investing, we have to keep contributing small amounts to our health consistently. Over time, those contributions will grow into something great, without any additional effort.
In good breath,
Nick
P.S. Best part of quarantine: No airports.
References
[2] The many important roles of the nose during sleep
[3] Obstructive sleep apnea causes hypertension
[4] Meta-Analysis: Slow Breathing Reduces Systolic Blood Pressure by 5.62 mmHg
[5] Slow breathing improves blood pressure in hypertensive type II diabetics
[6] Two minutes of slow breathing restores autonomic and respiratory balance
[8] Slow breathing improves autonomic function in type 1 diabetics
[9] Nitric oxide might outweigh all other benefits of nose breathing
[10] Treat & reverse the root cause of diabetic complications (tissue hypoxia) with slow breathing
[11] Hypoxia Decreases Insulin Signaling Pathways in Adipocytes
[12] Slow, controlled breathing improves anxiety independent of CO2