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. Neat Science: How to See If Slow Breathing is an Antioxidant
“…our results lead to the hypothesis that slow breathing may exert some antioxidant effect, possibly via parasympathetic stimulation.”
The way they got to this hypothesis was pretty cool:
They had people with type-1 diabetes inhale extra oxygen.
After, they observed that arterial stiffness and blood pressure went up. This was likely due to excess oxidative stress.
Then, they repeated the process, but participants breathed slowly at 6 breaths/min while inhaling oxygen.
Slow breathing offset the harmful effects of extra oxygen on blood pressure and arterial stiffness.
Together, this suggests that slow breathing acts as a natural antioxidant.
***
P.S. If you want more neat findings like this, check out the Science 411s in the Breath is Life Learning Center.
2. Get 90% from 50% (or less): A Few Minutes Go a Long Way
“As you read any given sentence, you will probably get 90% of the meaning from 50% of the words…the rest of the words are unnecessary filler.”
- Peter Hollins, The Science of Self-Learning
This made me think of how, with breathing, we get a lot of psychological benefits from a small percentage of the breaths we take.
Example: A 20-minute morning breath practice might be less than 1% of your breaths. But, it may account for 90% of your equanimity.
Of course, all our other breaths aren’t just “fillers”—they’re critical to our wellness, too. But let’s remember that even a small investment in our breath can go a long way toward our health and happiness 🙏
3. Why Breathing Seems Like a Panacea: Part II
“In fact, any condition that is caused or exacerbated by stress can be helped by a well-designed mind body approach. Furthermore, because all health conditions have some stress component, it is no overstatement to say that virtually every single health problem and disease can be improved with a mind body approach.” (my bold)
- Herbert Benson, MD, Relaxation Revolution
Slow breathing is one of the fastest and most effective mind-body approaches to triggering the relaxation response and reducing stress.
And since stress plays a role in basically every health condition, breathing can therefore help in basically every health condition.
Breathe slowly—> reduce stress—> improve virtually every health condition. Maybe it is a panacea, after all? 😊
***
P.S. See Thought #1 here for Part I.
4. Three Short Ancient Sentences to Live By
“Walk slowly! Talk little! Love breath!”
Sounds like a perfect life-mantra to me 🙏
1 Quote
“And beyond improving stress resilience, breath practices can restore your sense of being genuinely who you are, of knowing what you feel, of recognizing what others feel, and of being able to experience deep and meaningful connections with people, with your values, and with all that is.”
1 Answer
Category: The Cardiovascular System
Answer: There are approximately this many miles of veins, capillaries, and arteries in an average adult.
…
(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)
…
Question: What is 60,000 miles?
In good breath,
Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”
P.S. Every. Single. Time.
Breath is Life Learning
Science and Books Made Simple
For each book and research paper I read, you get an easy-to-digest 411 summary:
Web-based text or downloadable PDF
Audio podcast version (also downloadable)
Plus, you get a super short daily email with a nugget of breathing wisdom. It only takes a few seconds to read, but it will set you up for a better day, every day.
P.S. 30-Second Science
For each Science 411, if you read the “1 Big Takeaway” followed by the “1 Practical Application,” you can get almost everything you need from a study in about 30 seconds.
P.P.S. Life-Changing Ideas
For each Book 411, you get “1 Life-Changing” idea from that book. Thus, even if you’re not interested in the book, you can open that section and get a quick idea to help you live a better life.
Here are a few of my favorites:
From Buddha’s Brain: Our Breath Moves Spirit Around Like Our Hearts Move Blood Around
From The Mindful Day: How to Live Longer (regardless of your age, lifespan, or healthspan)
From Breath by Breath: How it Should Be, and Letting Breath (and life) Unfold Naturally
From The Confidence Gap: No One is Perfect (and the solution)
From Stolen Focus: Mind-Wandering is a Superpower (and How to Do It Correctly)
* 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.
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. It’s a fun way to learn something new each week.
