The Paradox of Choice — Blog — The Breathing Diabetic

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Here’s your weekly dose of breathing and diabetes fun. Plus, a letter I wrote 10 years ago…

I hope you enjoy reading!

4 Thoughts

1. Breathing Gives Us What Babies Want

In the Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz discusses a fascinating study:

Group 1: Infants were able to control some dancing toys by turning their heads in their cribs. It made them really happy to see the toys.
Group 2: Got “a free ride.” They saw the same toys, but theirs just randomly appeared when the Group 1 babies made them turn on.

The Group 2 babies still found this very entertaining, at least at first. But they eventually lost interest, whereas Group 1 didn’t:

“The different reactions of the two groups caused researchers to conclude that it is not dancing toy animals that are an endless source of delight for infants, but rather having control. Infants kept smiling and cooing at the display because they seem to know that they made it happen.”

I think this study demonstrates why breathing (especially Wim Hof) is so impactful. It taps into a desire that’s in us since birth—the desire for control.

Breathing gives it to us, immediately. We can instantly change our state, and we know we made it happen, not some external force. We become Group 1.

It’s like what Barry Schwartz says when interpreting those babies’ reactions:

“I did this, isn’t it great? And I can do it again whenever I want.”

2. The Upside of Diabetes

“When I was eleven years old, I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. This taught me a lot of responsibility at a young age…I have to incorporate a lot of “thinking ahead” and problem solving into my daily routine…Furthermore, it has taught me to always be positive and to be grateful for every opportunity I have…Although I do not enjoy having diabetes, it has definitely had a positive impact on my life.”

I wrote that 10 years ago when I was applying for graduate school.

Fast forward to today, and it’s often depressing researching about breathing and diabetes. As excited as I get about breathing, I’m also continuously reminded of all the ways diabetes is ruining my health. Thanks, science.

But in reality, I’ve always felt that diabetes is the best thing to ever happen to me. And I still 100% agree with everything I said 10 years ago.

I’m not saying diabetes doesn’t suck. But, I try not to forget that it could be a lot worse and that it has had many positive impacts on my life.

So here’s to keeping a positive outlook, while simultaneously being realistic, knowing that we need to take extra good care of our bodies and health.

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P.S. This was inspired by my recent re-reading of The Upside of Stress.

P.P.S. You can read the letter by clicking here.

3. How Slow, Deep Breathing Taps into A Natural Rhythm in Our Bodies

“Noble’s research demonstrates how tiny mechanisms throughout our cardiovascular system oscillate at that same frequency of 0.1 Hertz. ‘It’s almost like an inherent rhythm,’ he says. ‘Your breath may be unlocking this rhythm that you already have going on in the background.’”
- How Slow, Deep Breathing Taps Into A Natural Rhythm In Our Bodies

I read this article first thing in the morning with a cup of coffee. It was so good, I think I starting buzzing at 0.1 Hz : ) It’s just so awesome seeing “breathing” continue to seep into popular resources like Discover Magazine.

Read it, practice it, share it, and enjoy it. As they say in the article, “All you need is a pair of lungs, and some discipline.”

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P.S. Another reason this was so much fun to read was because a 411 reader sent it to me. It’s my favorite thing in the world when you all send me such good stuff. Thanks, as always, “Midnight Larry!”

4. How To Get The Benefits of Breathing Without the Mastery

“Happily, the benefits of training in meditation arrive long before mastery does.”
- Sam Harris

The same is true for slow breathing. And it’s simple to get the benefits of breathing without mastery: Just get started.

I still suck at breathing. I’m continuously working on it. But I’ve seen incredible benefits because I practice every single day.

So don’t worry about perfection or mastery. Just get started. The best way to do that? Just four minutes a day—two in the morning, two before bed.

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P.S. This was inspired by a +1 from my favorite teacher, Brian Johnson.

Related Quote: "How do you best move toward mastery? To put it simply, you practice diligently, but you practice primarily for the sake of the practice itself." - Robert Greene, Mastery

1 Quote

“The nose is the silent warrior: the gatekeeper of our bodies, pharmacist to our minds, and weather vane to our emotions.”

- James Nestor, Breath

1 Answer

Answer: In a blue whale, this organ weighs over 1,500 lbs.

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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What is its heart?

I wonder what it’s resonant frequency is… : )

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
Diabetes is Tiny. You are Mighty.

P.S. bet u just loooove school

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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.

Listen to this post:

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It’s a fun post this week. Lots of good info, plus one of the best real-life breathing videos you’ll ever see.

I hope you enjoy it!

4 Thoughts

1. Slow Breathing Really Does Help Everything, According to a 2020 Study

“The results of this review provide evidence that HRVB and PB at approximately six breaths per minute have positive effects on a variety of physical, behavioral, and cognitive conditions.”
- Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Improves Emotional and Physical Health and Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta Analysis

Good news. I’m not crazy, which is how I often feel after every paper I read leads me to say that “slow breathing helps with just about everything.”

But, that’s also the conclusion of a recent 2020 meta-analysis.

They found that, like we discuss all the time, slow breathing won’t “cure” any one particular thing. But, it does help many different things in small ways:

“The overall effect sizes are modest but highly significant, suggesting that these methods may not be sufficient for treating any one problem but may be useful as a complementary intervention.”

Amen to that. And like you already know, when combined and compounded, these small improvements add up to overall better health.

To learn more, click here and read my short summary of the study.

Or better yet, don’t read it. Instead, spend those few minutes breathing slowly and experiencing the positive benefits for yourself : )

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2. Diabetes Really Does Hurt Everything, According to Our 2020 Life Experience

Just kidding. Well, kinda.

But I believe the meta-analysis above in thought #1 highlights why slow breathing can be so beneficial for diabetes.

As we know, when not properly managed, diabetes hurts just about every aspect of health and wellness:

Anxiety
Distress
Autonomic function
Emotional regulation
Cardiovascular function
And on & on

So, if slow breathing helps many of these, even modestly, they’re still going to add up to considerable benefits for our diabetes control.

Of course, it’s not a cure-all. But slow breathing is possibly the simplest, safest, and most effective thing we can do to address many diabetic problems.

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3. Breathing Exercises for Kids: Everything Parents Need to Know

“The cure? Take a deep breath. That sounds like a useless platitude. It’s not.”
- Breathing Exercises for Kids: Everything Parents Need to Know

Wow, this was a surprisingly good article. Quick and easy, and full of good information. It did have one typo about CO2, but I’ll let it slide since they provided so many awesome breathing books I can now get my daughter : )

And since they also provided this excellent advice for our children, nieces and nephews, and really just everyone in general:

“You practice every day, you slow breathe every day, even when you’re not anxious, and then even though you become a little bit anxious, you have the bandwidth to not fall off the edge.”
- Dr. Umakanth Katwa,
Director, Sleep Laboratory at Boston Children’s Hospital
Professor at Harvard Medical School

Sounds good to me.

Enjoy the excellent read!

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Related: Watch this in action.

This is perhaps the best real-world 21-second breathing video ever recorded.

4. Words Are Not Always Adequate, or Important

“Again, the likely explanation is that what is most easily put into words is not necessarily what is most important.”
- Barry Schwartz, The Paradox of Choice

This is certainly true for breathing.

Heart rate variability, autonomic function, blood pressure, blood flow, anxiety, distress. Slow breathing helps them all, and they all sound good.

But are they what’s truly most important?

I think that 21-second YouTube video above is what’s most important.

And I don’t have words for that.

1 Quote

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

1 Answer

Answer: Over 1.1 million children and adolescents below the age of 20 have this chronic disease, increasing their likelihood of anxiety and depression.

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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What is type-1 diabetes?

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
Diabetes is Tiny. You are Mighty.

P.S. WELL WHAT TIME DOES HE GET OFF?