Listen Instead of Reading
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4 Thoughts
1. Slow Breathing Improves Cognition: A 2022 Study
“Finally, at the applied level, these findings may have implications for individuals looking for a quick and easy method to alter their executive functions, for example, to better execute cognitively demanding tasks in their jobs.”
This recent study found that 15-min of slow breathing:
Improved attention control
Improved working memory
Increased cognitive flexibility
Take-home: slow breathing helps you plan, monitor, and execute your goals.
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P.S. If you’re interested, there’s a new Science 411 for this one that goes through all the details.
2. Meditation, Yoga, and the Healing Touch of Prayer
Here’s a memorable passage from Breath, where James Nestor offers an eloquent summary of the benefits of slow breathing:
“In many ways, this resonant breathing offered the same benefits as meditation for people who didn't want to meditate. Or yoga for people who didn't like to get off the couch. It offered the healing touch of prayer for people who weren't religious.”
Sounds good to me 🙏
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P.S. Note that the key words are “in many ways”; not “in all ways.” Breathing isn’t a one-to-one replacement for these other powerful health practices. But, it is a nice option that covers many bases.
3. Patrick McKeown & the New Free OA App
Patrick McKeown and the Oxygen Advantage® team released a new app. It’s got a TON of guided breathing exercises and educational videos—and it’s all free!
It’s an incredible gift from someone who, after 20+ years, still loves sharing breathing with as many people as possible 🙏
Go check out the app and enjoy all of the free OA exercises.
4. Sixty Seconds of Joy
For every minute you practice conscious breathing you gain sixty seconds of joy.
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P.S. This is a play on an Emerson quote I saw on Insight Timer: “For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.”
1 Quote
“It is quite a striking example of evolutionary balance and beauty that the trees around us that give off oxygen and the trees in our lungs that absorb it share a similar structure.””
1 Answer
Category: Oxygen Carrying Capacity
Answer: Our kidneys produce this hormone to help us maintain a healthy level of red blood cells (breath holds can amplify this process to boost oxygen carrying capacity).
…
(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)
…
Question: What is erythropoietin?
In good breath,
Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”
* 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.