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4 Thoughts
1. The 3 Pās of Breathing
Physiology: The impact breathing has on your body.
Psychology: The impact breathing has on your mind and emotions.
Philosophy: The impact breathing has on how you live your life.
***
P.S. You canāt have any one P without the others : )
2. A Revolutionary Finding: The Two-Way Street of Breathing and Emotions
āLo and behold, the participants started to feel the emotions that corresponded to the breathing patterns. In other words, when they took deep, slow breaths, the participants felt calm. And when they took rapid, shallow breaths, they felt anxious or angry. The finding that we can change how we feel by using our breath is revolutionary.ā * (my emphasis)
- Emma SeppƤlƤ, Ph.D., The Happiness Track
We know that how we feel affects our breathing. However, research tells us itās a two-way street: We can change our breathing to change how we feel.
Quite revolutionary, indeed.
***
P.S. This falls into the the 1st and 2nd āPsā above. And if you apply it regularly, then the 3rd one as well : )
3. Wim Hof vs. Wim Hof: Which of His Components is Most Important?
A 2020 study thatās still in preprints (so it hasnāt undergone peer review yet) shed light on the individual components of the Wim Hof Method (WHM).
Hereās what they did:
One group practiced the breathing only.
One group practiced cold exposure only.
One group practiced cold and breathing.
One group was trained by Wim Hof.
One group was trained by a researcher.
Then, all the groups were injected with endotoxin, like the first WHM study.
Here are a few of the key findings:
Breathing by itself reduced inflammation significantly, but did not reduce flu-like symptoms.
Cold by itself reduced flu-like symptoms, but did not reduce inflammation. (This doesnāt mean cold exposure doesnāt reduce inflammation in general. It just means it didnāt lessen the acute ramp-up of inflammation brought on by the endotoxin.)
The combination of cold and breathing reduced inflammation even more. (So, cold exposure wasnāt helpful on its own for inflammation, but added a boost when combined with the breathing.)
The results were the same whether Wim trained them or not (this was most surprising to me).
As a breathing nerd, this paper was super satisfying to read.
But remember itās still in preprints, so it could turn out there was a major flaw or bad data or something. But, still fun to geek out on nonetheless : )
4. Breathing Like Journalists: Slow Breathing for Everyday Life
āI call this approach, in which you fit deep work wherever you can into your schedule, the journalist philosophy. This name is a nod to the fact that journalistsā¦are trained to shift into a writing mode on a momentās noticeā
- Cal Newport, Deep Work
Letās adopt this journalist philosophy to our slow deep breathing practice, fitting it into our schedules wherever we can. This will allow us to flip the switch on our physiological and emotional state anytime, anywhere (see thoughts 1 & 2).
Hereās to becoming breathing journalists, today : )
Bonus Thought: Join a Breathing Experiment
My good breathing friend AJ Fisher is looking for participants for a breathing and exercise experiment. Essentially, you get her 8-week Breathography Course for free in exchange for some pulse oximeter measurements (thatās it!).
If youāre interested, you can learn more and sign up here:
Learn More about the Experiment
And, you can learn more about AJ and the amazing things she does here:
1 QUOTE
āThere is a force within that gives you life. Seek that.ā
- Rumi
1 ANSWER
Category: Designed for Breathing
Answer: Paradoxically, the narrower passages of the nose reduce this during sleep.
ā¦
(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)
ā¦
Question: What is upper airway resistance?
In good breath,
Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
āBreathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.ā
P.S. Me for the next 3 months:
P.P.S. āļøMy wife will attest that this is actually quite accurate for meā¦
* 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 narratorās pace, tone, and pauses.
Sign Up For The Breathing 411
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. Itās a fun way to learn something new each week.