January 23, 2023

How to Be Irreplaceable, Coffee or Breath, and the Most Important Study Yet

January 23, 2023

Listen Instead of Reading

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4 Thoughts

1. Breathwork for Stress: The Most Important Paper To Date

“Research on breathwork could be likened to that of meditation, which received an unprecedented surge in scientific exploration two decades ago. We may be at a similar cusp with breathwork and anticipate considerable growth in the field.”
- Nature Scientific Reports (2023)

IMHO, this is the most important breathing publication to date. Nothing is perfect, but this is a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials—basically the best scientific analysis that can be performed.

It’s a mind-blower…here are a few key takeaways:

Breathwork is as effective as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), meditation, mindfulness, and acceptance of emotions for reducing stress.
Breathwork is as effective as physical exercise for reducing anxiety and depression symptoms.
Whether breathwork is self-learned remotely, taught 1-on-1, or taught to a group doesn’t impact the above results.

I have a new Science 411 with all the details, if you’re interested. If you sign up, I highly recommend the 17-min podcast version because I add a lot of context, which is too much for written form.

2. A Humble Reminder for Thought 1

“Many ancient practices and rituals have been rejected by modern science, only to be resurrected from the grave by that same science!”
- Herbert Benson, MD, Relaxation Revolution

Let’s not forget that, although modern science is powerful, breathing exercises have something even more potent behind them: thousands of years of practice.

3. Coffee or Breathwork? Here’s My Lighthearted Take On It

“By replacing your morning coffee with breathwork, you can lose up to 87% of what little joy you still have left in your life.”

I’m late with this joke, but I recently saw that sentence (with green tea instead of breathwork), and I thought it was amazing.

Personally, I don’t plan on replacing my coffee with breathing. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with doing that; I just love coffee.

Instead, I think of my morning breathing as a no-sugar coffee creamer. It makes my coffee that much better, with no blood sugar spikes : )

4. A Tiny Thought On Methods (a play on a Thich Nhat Hanh quote)

Breathing methods come and go like clouds in the sky. Principles are my anchor.

Want to Become a Unique and Irreplaceable Breath Coach?

It takes just 30 minutes a week.

Here’s exactly how.

1 Quote

“Here, the need for healing was not synonymous with brokenness. It was part of life.””

— Lisa Miller, Ph.D.

1 Answer

Category: Alveoli

Answer: These holes allow communication between two adjacent alveoli.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What are the Pores of Kohn?

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”

P.S. SECRETS TO SUCCESS

How Focus Words and Breathing Can Help You Relax and Heal

I recently wrote a guest blog for ResBiotic on focus words and breathing. It includes 7 steps for using the relaxation response in your life. Enjoy!

* 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.

Nicholas Heath

March 28, 2022

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More Time, Long-Term Benefits, and How to Hold Your Breath for 6 Hours

Nicholas Heath

March 28, 2022

weekly email

🎧 Listen Instead of Reading 🎧

If you enjoy listening, you can subscribe to the audio version on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Audible so you don’t even have to look at the email 😊

4 Thoughts

1. How to Hold Your Breath for 6 Hours (hint: you already do)

Let’s say you take an average of 15 breaths/min, or 21,600 per day.
Let’s also say, like me, you’re a decent (but not perfect) breather.
Thus, at the end of each of those 21,600 breaths, there’s a short pause.
For simplicity, let’s say that pause is 1-sec (sometimes shorter or longer).
That adds up to 21,600 seconds without breathing each day.
That’s a 6-hour breath hold each day.
That’s 1/4 of your day.
That’s 1/4 of your life.
That’s 🤯 🤯 🤯

***

P.S. This thought was inspired by this +1 on heart beats.

2. Ancient Wisdom meets Modern Science: Alternate Nostril Breathing and the Brain

“Idā, which is activated by directing the breath through the left nostril, is said to establish a calm, introspective awareness, and have a cooling effect. Pingalā, the more stimulating side, is heating and mobilizing, and is activated through right-nostril breathing. Alternating the breath through both nostrils is said to cultivate balance and equanimity.”
- Robin Rothenberg, Restoring Prana

A recent study published in Nature tested these ancient yogic claims using EEG. Short story: the yogis were basically right. Left-nostril breathing activates brain regions “associated with a more relaxed state and introspective thinking.”

The right-nostril results were less certain, but the practice did lead to “higher activity compared to left airway UNB in all frequency bands across the whole scalp except in posterior areas.”

Of course, there are always caveats and limitations. However, one thing seems pretty clear: Left-nostril breathing can be used to reach calm and introspective states anytime we need them. I use it all the time—I hope you will too.

3. More Time: Breathing Exercises Get More Enjoyable with Practice

“How you feel the first time you try a new form of exercise is not necessarily how you’ll feel after you gain more experience. For many, exercise is an acquired pleasure. The joys of an activity reveal themselves slowly as the body and brain adapt.”
- Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., The Joy of Movement

And the exact same is true for breathing exercises.

Give them time (I suggest about a week) so your body and brain can adapt. The benefits will gradually reveal themselves, and you’ll soon look forward to, and even find bliss in, your practice.

4. The Long-Term Benefits of Breathing Exercises: Normalize Cortisol and Be Calmer

“The long-term effects of a daily breathing practice, just like those of a daily exercise routine, are even more pronounced. Preliminary studies have found that regularly practicing breathing exercises normalizes your level of cortisol, the ‘stress hormone.’ As a regular practice, breathing can recondition your body to a state of greater calm, helping it bounce back from stress more quickly and perhaps reducing reactivity in the face of challenges…you can use daily breathing exercises to prepare your nervous system to be resilient in the face of stressful events.”*
- Emma Sepällä, Ph.D., The Happiness Track

And once your body and brain adapt, here’s why it’s so important to stick with these breathing exercises. You can recondition your body & nervous system to be calmer, then watch the benefits aggregate and compound over time 🙏

1 QUOTE

“In the deepest sense, the breath itself is the ultimate gift of spirit.”
- Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go There You Are

1 ANSWER

Category: The Nose

Answer: The two nostrils are physically distinct, and each one has its own unique supply of these.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What are blood flow and nerve endings?

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”

P.S. 99. Smoke signal

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Nicholas Heath

November 23, 2020

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Alcohol, and Why You’ll Forget About Breathing

Nicholas Heath

November 23, 2020

weekly email

Hello, and Happy Monday. Here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer that I hope you enjoy this week.

4 THOUGHTS

1. Cure Your Hangover: Why We Can’t Always Wait on Science

"If you have a hangover…if you do 20 minutes of this breathing, then you have no hangover anymore. You are learning to detox yourself in 20 minutes."
- Wim Hof, *October 21, 2015*

A study recently published in Nature - Scientific Reports about breathing and alcohol is receiving a lot of attention. People are excited to learn that controlled hyperventilation might help cure their hangover.

It’s rather amazing, but let’s not forget that Wim Hof has been talking about this for over 5 years. He didn’t know the science. He just figured it out.

And yes, I might have used his method a time or two myself : )

I’m a huge advocate of science in both my professional and personal life. But in some cases, we can’t wait on science. We must trust our intuition.

"I knew that there was no book. The book was me. The book was the interaction with the nature." - Wim Hof, FoundMyFitness, January 3, 2016

2. Why You Will Forget About Breathing

"It’s much easier to sell 'Look what I did for you' than 'Look what I avoided for you.'"
- Nassim Taleb, Antifragile

Some of us experience profound benefits from breathing. Some of us don’t. But even for those who do, life still happens. You get sick. You still get anxious. Despite your diligent practice, your energy levels still aren’t always perfect.

You might decide this "breathing" stuff isn’t working after all or that there must be something else you’re missing. So you move on and forget about breathing.

Fortunately, you’ve already laid the foundation. You can "forget" about breathing, but still reap most of the benefits. (It’s quite amazing, actually.)

Unfortunately, we will never know what it saved us from. Yes, we still got sick. Yes, we still got anxious when life got stressful. But we will never know how much worse it might have been without our breathing practice…

3. "You are Probably Breathing Wrong"

"Training yourself to breathe correctly isn't complicated, but it can help you beat back stress, sleep better, stop snoring, get fitter, avoid asthma and allergies, and even focus more easily. That's a lot of positive change for such a small intervention."
- Inc. Magazine

Here’s a quick read from Inc. Magazine with a great title: "You are probably breathing wrong. Fixing it could change your life."

I was pleasantly surprised to find several embedded links to other Inc. articles about breathing. Enjoy!

4. Un-Flaunt Your Breathing

"Flaunt: display ostentatiously, draw attention to, make a (great) show of, put on show, put on display, parade"
- Apple Thesaurus

Your breathing should be the exact opposite. It should be subtle and quiet. Here’s how: breathe through your nose and make sure you cannot hear your breathing, even internally.

1 QUOTE

"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing."
- Walt Disney

1 ANSWER

Answer: In your nose, this gas can reach the maximum permissible concentrations (25 ppm) set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is nitric oxide?

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. I’m not even drinking