autonomic function

Wim Hof vs. Slow Breathing, Part 2: The Famous Endotoxin Challenge

 
 

🎧 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. Slow Breathing = Deep Meditation?

“When researchers at Harvard, Yale, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology scanned the brains of experienced meditators, they discovered increased thickness in regions of the brain's cortex, or grey matter, related to focus and attention…But what's intriguing about this study is that breathing rate was used to determine how deep in meditation the subjects were able to get. The slower the breathing rate, the deeper in meditation participants became. And, the more pronounced their increase in grey matter.” *

- Leah Lagos, Heart Breath Mind

That deserves a 🤯

If slower breathing rates are a byproduct (and measure) of deeper meditation, I wonder if we can reverse engineer it…

2. The Deep Breath Hypothesis

“The Deep Work Hypothesis: The ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare at exactly the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy. As a consequence, the few who cultivate this skill, and then make it the core of their working life, will thrive.”

- Cal Newport, Deep Work

And similarly, this couldn’t be any truer:

The Deep Breath Hypothesis: The ability to perform deep breathing is becoming increasingly rare at precisely the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable to our physiology. Consequently, the few who cultivate this skill, and then make it the core of their waking life, will thrive.

3. Wim Hof vs. Slow Breathing, Part 2: The Famous Endotoxin Challenge

I’ve called Wim Hof’s endotoxin study the “4-minute mile” of breathing.

So, you can only imagine my excitement when I found a study basically doing the exact same thing, but with slow breathing (it was perhaps the most excited I’ve ever been reading a paper, lol).

I produced an in-depth comparison of the studies here.

But, here are some of the take-home messages:

  • The WHM reduced fever and all other flu-like symptoms.

  • Slow breathing reduced headaches and eye sensitivity to light, but did not reduce fever or other flu-like symptoms (e.g., nausea and chills).

  • Slow breathing improved autonomic functioning as measured by HRV, suggesting participants had greater resiliency. HRV was not measured during the WHM experiment.

  • The WHM significantly reduced inflammatory cytokines. Slow breathing did not.

  • The WHM significantly increased anti-inflammatory cytokines (by up to 194%). Slow breathing did not.

There are many (many) caveats and differences between the studies, so if you’re interested, see the full write-up for more details and additional thoughts.

But based on these results, the WHM was decidedly more effective than slow breathing at reducing acute inflammation and fighting off flu-like symptoms.

4. How to Change Our Species (hint: breathe)

“And I would argue that we humans are most human when we’re improving ourselves. We, unlike any other animal, can consciously change ourselves, to improve ourselves in ways we choose. This distinguishes us from every other species alive today and, as far as we know, from every other species that has ever lived.” *

- Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool, Peak

We are the only species that can consciously change ourselves to improve in ways we choose. We’re also the only ones that can consciously change our breathing in ways we choose.

Maybe that’s a coincidence. But then again, maybe it’s not…

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

“Happiness lies in your own heart. You only need to practice mindful breathing for a few seconds, and you'll be happy right away.” *

- Thich Nhat Hanh

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Category: Breathing Rates

Answer: These aquatic mammals breathe around 1.5 - 2.5 breaths per minute at rest.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What are bottlenose dolphins?

In good breath,

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

P.S. haha anyways what’s up

 
 
 

* 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.

 
 

Breathing & Love, Rising Above the Clouds, and 4 Years in 4 Points

 
 

Listen Instead of Reading

 
 
 

4 Thoughts


1. Demonstrations of Breathing & Love

“Demonstrations of love are small, compared with the great thing that is hidden behind them.”

- Khalil Gibran

Call it what you’d like, prana, qi, & so on, but the same is true: Demonstrations of breathing are small compared with the great thing that is hidden behind them.

2. Breathing for Diabetes: 4 Years in 4 Bullet Points

Based on about 4 years of research and self-practice, the 4 key ways that regular breathing practices help diabetes are by:

3. Breathing for (non) Diabetics: “Raising Our Heads Above the Clouds”

“But many of the same interventions that can help us get our heads above water can just as effectively be devoted to raising our heads above the clouds.”

- Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal, Stealing Fire

This is unquestionably true for breathing. Although everything I read, practice, and share is focused on keeping my “head above the water” as a diabetic, they can also “raise your head above the clouds” if you’re not diabetic.

Interesting side note: it’s typically broken people that find supplemental modalities like breathing—I guess because we need them the most : ) But if you’re not broken, all the benefits of breathing will be even more helpful.

So here’s to using our breathing to stay afloat, or rise above the clouds, today.

4. The Buddha, 20 Years after Enlightenment

Did you know that the Buddha was still meditating 20 years after his enlightenment? (I guess it never ends, folks 😄)

What kind of meditation, you might wonder? “Mindfulness of breathing.”

Extra Thought: Take High Altitude Yoga Alongside Me One Last Time

My wife is moving on to a new yoga adventure 🎉. But, she’ll be teaching the High Altitude Yoga class we designed together one last time.

The class incorporates slow breathing, breath holds, and yoga into a challenging but fun 45-min flow.

It’s $8 and happening tomorrow morning (Tuesday, Dec 14) at 6:15 a.m. EST. I’ll be there, and I hope you’ll join me in taking it!

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

“Relaxing the breath, breathe in. Relaxing the breath, breathe out. Then joy arises naturally.”

- Bhante Gunarantana

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in Plain English

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Category: The Diaphragm

Answer: This organ rests on the top of the diaphragm.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is the heart?

P.S. This was inspired by Jill Miller’s amazing line: “Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Which is of course, my diaphragm.” (Makes me laugh every time.)

In good breath,

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

P.S. and I’ve never respected anything more

 
 
 

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.

 
 

On Excellent Scientific Statements and Being Reasonable with Breathing

 

Greetings,

Here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer related to breathing. Enjoy!

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS

1. 18 Excellent Statements from Scientific Papers

"With breathing interventions being relatively rapid interventions to implement and also demonstrating a wide range of positive clinical outcomes, breathing interventions warrant closer consideration from healthcare professionals."

- Psychophysiology (2017)

Over the past few years, I have accumulated over 500 pages of notes on over 100 scientific articles on breathing. I’ve recently been going back through them as part of a project I’m working on.

In this post, I share 18 of the best "one-liners" I’ve come across. Enjoy!

2. Breathing, Autonomic Function, and Diabetes

One of the most significant benefits of slow breathing is its positive effects on autonomic function. This is typically measured by heart rate variability (HRV) and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS)—higher HRV and BRS indicate better function.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, people with diabetes generally suffer from lower HRV (Benichou et al. 2018; Kudat et al. 2006) and BRS (Bernardi et al. 2017; Esposito et al. 2016). This is due to many factors, such as fluctuating blood sugars and resting tissue hypoxia, which cause autonomic imbalance (Bianchi et al. 2017).

Encouragingly, slow breathing at a rate of 4-6 breaths per minute is an effective way of increasing HRV (Steffen et al. 2021; Russell et al. 2017; Tavares et al. 2017; Chen et al. 2016; Lin et al. 2014; Van Diest et al. 2014; Vaschillo et al. 2006) and BRS (Rosengård-Bärlund et al. 2011; Bernardi et al. 2011; Joseph et al. 2005).

Slow breathing improves these markers by stimulating the vagus nerve, which activates the calming parasympathetic nervous system (Gerritsen and Band 2018). This helps people with diabetes restore autonomic balance.

It is simple and immediately useful, seeming too good to be true. But alas, science agrees: “Slow breathing could be a simple beneficial intervention in diabetes.”

3. How Stuff Works: Why Breathing Through Your Nose Is Best

"But wait, there's more. Breathing through your nose also increases the amount of oxygen in your blood more than mouth breathing, which is essential to virtually every cell, organ and tissue in your body."

- How Stuff Works
Why Breathing Through Your Nose is Best

This excellent article succinctly summarizes the benefits of nose breathing. It’s short, sweet, and packed full of great information. Enjoy!

4. With Breathing, Be Reasonable Not Rational

"Do not aim to be coldly rational when making financial decisions. Aim to just be pretty reasonable. Reasonable is more realistic and you have a better chance of sticking with it for the long run, which is what matters most."

- Morgan Housel, The Psychology of Money

I find many parallels between health and wealth. Here is another. We often get too bogged down with doing everything rationally. "This study said 20 minutes of slow breathing is best" or "That one said three times a day is needed."

Rather than following scientific studies exactly, I believe it’s better to aim for being "pretty reasonable." Find the time of day that works best with your schedule. Find the method that works best for you. Two slow breaths are better than no slow breaths. Four minutes a day is still better than zero minutes a day.

With breathing, be reasonable, not rational.

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

“But the nostrils, with their delicate and fibrous linings for purifying and warming the air in its passage, have been mysteriously constructed, and designed to stand guard over the lungs.”

– George Caitlin (1864), The Breath of Life

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: The internal surface area of these organs can be a great a 100 sq. meters, about half the size of a tennis court.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What are the lungs?

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. No I need these

 
 

The Breathing 411 - On Becoming Indisfunctionable

 

Welcome to October and another edition of The Breathing 4.1.1.

Below, you’ll find 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer (like "Jeopardy") related to all things breathing. Enjoy!

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS

1. Breathing to Gain Traction

"On the left side is distraction, the opposite of traction...the word means the 'drawing away of the mind.' Distractions impede us from making progress toward the life we envision."

- Nir Eyal, Indistractable

I’ve never thought of "distraction" being the opposite of "traction." (Pretty neat.) Distraction, as Nir Eyal states, is the drawing away of the mind.

But what can we do to bring it back, to gain traction?

"It has long been claimed by Yogis and Buddhists that meditation and ancient breath-focused practices… strengthen our ability to focus on tasks. A new study explains for the first time the neurophysiological link between breathing and attention.…
The way we breathe, in other words, directly affects the chemistry of our brains in a way that can enhance our attention and improve our brain health." - ScienceDaily

That sounds like a great place to start. Here’s to combining ancient wisdom with modern science on our path to becoming indistractable.

(Thanks, a million times over, to Brian Johnson for inspiring so many of my thoughts.)

2. How to Become Indisfunctionable

In addition to improving focus, a staple of slow breathing is that it reverses autonomic dysfunction. It does this by promoting cardio-respiratory balance, in as little as two minutes, putting us back on the track to health and wellness.

In the process of becoming indistractable, we also become indisfunctionable.

3. Similar Lung Deficiencies in Diabetes and Asthma

"In a study of the pulmonary biopsies of 171 patients,(18) it was concluded that individuals with DM [diabetes mellitus] present an increase in basement membrane thickness similar to that seen in asthma patients." - Forgiarini et al. (2009)

I have often wondered why breathing principles that work so well for asthma also benefit people with diabetes. Here’s one interesting similarity: The oxidative stress from diabetes leads to similar lung structure changes seen in asthmatics.

Thanks to 411 reader T. P. for inspiring this thought.

4. Heavy Breathing at the Start of Exercise (it’s not just CO2)

Your breathing rate typically increases after just a few minutes of exercise…unless you’ve been reading this newsletter long enough :)

By now, we would all probably agree this increase in breathing is due to a build-up of CO2. But is that truly the case?

"The increase in ventilation does not appear to be the consequence of changes in arterial blood gases." - Respiratory Physiology pg 187

The reason is perhaps more impressive. It’s what this textbook calls "Phase 1: The Neurological Phase" of exercise. The movement itself might be sending neurological messages to the brain, instructing it to begin breathing more.

That is, your body has a built-in, anticipatory mechanism that links movement to the respiratory controller in the brain to help prevent blood-gas imbalances from ever happening. The result is that changes in breathing precede changes in CO2.

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

Same goes for breathing:

"It is easy to be heavy; hard to be light."

- G.K. Chesterton

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: The time it takes gas exchange to occur in the lungs.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy music.)

…

Question: What is about 0.25 seconds?

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. Didn’t see that coming.

 
 

The Breathing 4.1.1. - Slow or Control? (+ Seneca on Walking & Breathing)

 

Happy Monday to you! Welcome to a new edition of The Breathing 4.1.1.

Below you’ll find 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer (think "Jeopardy"). Enjoy!

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS

1. Breath Rate or Breath Control: Which is More Important?

Last week, we talked about a powerful evolutionary advantage: Rather than evolving to breathe slowly, we evolved the ability to control our breathing.

We know slow, controlled breathing is beneficial, but what about just the controlled aspect itself?

A study published in 2017 examined this by having participants perform controlled breathing at 12 breaths per minute. This rate is on the low end of average for spontaneous breathing.

They found that this practice reduced sympathetic activity. There was something about the act of consciously controlling the breath that helped promote autonomic balance, despite the rather ordinary rate.

Slow breathing provides a host of additional benefits. But let us not forget the power of simply controlling your body’s most important function: breathing.

2. While We’re on the Subject: Slow Breathing Restores Balance in COPD

People with COPD have similar complications to diabetics, such as increased sympathetic tone and reduced baroreflex sensitivity (BRS).

A study published in 2008 found that slow breathing at 6 breaths per minute for 4 minutes significantly reduced sympathetic activity and increased BRS in COPD patients. That is, it helped restore cardio-autonomic balance. 

Their words are always better than mine:

“In summary, patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease showed sympathetic excitation and depression of the baroreflex. Slow breathing counteracted these changes.” - Raupach et al.

3. Another Non-Breathing Tip: I Take This Every Morning

To build off of my #1 non-breathing tip (2-4 hours between dinner and bedtime), here’s another one I use every day: baking soda.

Baking soda has been shown to improve performance and even help with autoimmune conditions. From a breathing perspective, it has also been shown to increase breath-hold time (something I have anecdotally experienced).

Here’s how I take it every morning:

  • 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

  • 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

  • Mix and "enjoy"

It sounds disgusting, but it’s actually not too bad. Apple cider vinegar might also help control blood sugars, so that’s an added bonus for us diabetics.

4. A Race for the Future

"Looking at the evidence, it’s hard not to conclude that our entire physiology was engineered to reward us for moving." - Kelly McGonigal, The Joy of Movement

I love Physiology First, its mission, and the people behind it. On August 15, they are holding a run/walk to collectively cover 1,000 miles. You can join virtually anywhere (my wife and I will be joining from here on the Space Coast of Florida).

It’s been a while since my 100-mile ruck, so this is a great reason to get out and move for a good cause. Every mile helps, and there is no minimum. I hope to "e-see" you there!

More Details:

A RACE FOR THE FUTURE
(We’re signing up for the "1000 Miler")

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

Speaking of walking and breathing:

“We should take wandering outdoor walks, so that the mind might be nourished and refreshed by the open air and deep breathing.” —Seneca, On Tranquility of Mind

(I found this quote in Ryan Holiday’s Newsletter.)

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: The number of oxygen molecules in each red blood cell.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy music.)

…

Question: What is 1 billion?

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. Keeping Cool During COVID.

 
 

Breathing is the Compound Interest of Health

 
 

"He who labors diligently need never despair; for all things are accomplished by diligence and labor." - Menander (342 BC - 292 BC) 

 
 
 
Compound_Interest_Final.png
 
 

Correct breathing synchronizes many systems in the body. This coherence compounds over time.


Breathing improves your sleep [1,2]. Better sleep improves your cardiovascular system [3].


Breathing improves your cardiovascular system [4,5]. This improves your sleep.


Breathing restores autonomic balance [6]. Better autonomic control increases heart rate variability and baroreflex sensitivity [7,8].


Correct breathing improves tissue oxygenation [9]. This improves autonomic balance [10]. And insulin sensitivity [11].


The more control you have over your breathing, the more control you have over your emotions [12].


The more control you have over your emotions, the more control you have over your breathing [13].


The more control you have over your breathing, the more control you have over all the systems mentioned above [14].

Thus, all of these benefits are not isolated but integrated. It would still be rather amazing if breathing helped just one or two of these systems (since it’s free and everything). But, it helps so many different aspects of health and these benefits aggregate and compound over time.

But Nothing Happens Overnight

Well, maybe it does, because my first night of sleeping with my mouth closed literally changed my life.

But just like in financial investing, we have to keep contributing small amounts to our health consistently. Over time, those contributions will grow into something great, without any additional effort.

In good breath,

Nick

P.S. Best part of quarantine: No airports.

References

[1] Mouth breathing during sleep significantly increases upper airway resistance and obstructive sleep apnea

[2] The many important roles of the nose during sleep

[3] Obstructive sleep apnea causes hypertension

[4] Meta-Analysis: Slow Breathing Reduces Systolic Blood Pressure by 5.62 mmHg

[5] Slow breathing improves blood pressure in hypertensive type II diabetics

[6] Two minutes of slow breathing restores autonomic and respiratory balance

[7] Slow breathing decreases blood pressure and increases heart rate variability in hypertensive diabetics

[8] Slow breathing improves autonomic function in type 1 diabetics

[9] Nitric oxide might outweigh all other benefits of nose breathing

[10] Treat & reverse the root cause of diabetic complications (tissue hypoxia) with slow breathing

[11] Hypoxia Decreases Insulin Signaling Pathways in Adipocytes

[12] Slow, controlled breathing improves anxiety independent of CO2

[13] Breathing center in brain has powerful effects on higher-order brain functions…calm yourself by breathing slowly

[14] How slow breathing improves physiological and psychological well-being (hint: it might be in your nose)

 
 

Breathing Restores Autonomic Control in Type-2 Diabetics with Complications

 

“Quit worrying about your health. It’ll go away.” - Robert Orben

 
 

As people with diabetes (type 1 or 2), we know our bodies are under extra stress. This is due to things like fluctuating blood sugars and chronic inflammation. These factors can gradually accumulate into nerve damage and a variety of other long-term complications.  

However, we have recently learned that some “long-term complications” are functional and reversible (at least in their early stages). One way to reverse them is slow breathing.

Slow breathing treats the root cause of many complications, tissue hypoxia, which then restores autonomic functioning. This has been proven in several studies involving people with type-1 diabetes. However, most participants had not yet developed severe complications.

Putting Slow Breathing to the Test

It seems reasonable to assume that slow breathing would have the same effects in type 2s. But, what if these people with type-2 diabetes have chronic kidney disease? With a severe complication such as this, could slow breathing still have the same benefits?

 
 
 
 

Trained breathing-induced oxygenation acutely reverses cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes and renal disease

Published in Acta Diabetologica, 2016

Click Here to Read the Full Summary

 
 
 
 

The Study Group and Breathing Protocol

This study had 26 type-2 diabetic patients, 12 of which had diabetic kidney disease, and 24 non-diabetic controls. The protocol was simple: They had the participants lay down and breathe normally for five minutes, followed by two minutes of slow breathing at 6 breaths per minute.

The primary outcome was a change in baroreflex sensitivity (BRS). BRS measures your body’s ability to quickly adjust blood pressure to meet the current demands of your situation. It is thought to be an overall measurement of autonomic and cardiovascular control. In general, diabetics have lower BRS scores than non-diabetics.


Slow Breathing Improves Autonomic Function in Diabetics With Kidney Disease

At baseline, the type-2 diabetics had a lower resting oxygen saturation and lower BRS. When they switched to breathing at 6 breaths per minute, their oxygen saturation and BRS both increased significantly. Their blood pressure also reduced.

Perhaps most importantly, these same changes were observed in the diabetics with kidney disease. Both sets of diabetics (kidney disease and no complications) showed similar increases in BRS and oxygen saturation.  This indicates that, even in diabetics with severe complications, slow breathing can acutely reverse autonomic dysfunction.


Getting Back to Tissue Hypoxia

The authors suggest that these improvements in autonomic function were due to increases in tissue oxygenation. Similar to the study we featured on type-1 diabetes, they indicate that by increasing tissue oxygen levels, sympathetic activity is reduced, and autonomic balance is restored.


A New Model of Diabetic Complications

These results again indicate that autonomic dysfunction is not an expression of nerve damage. Instead, it is a reversible phenomenon that might actually be the precursor to nerve damage.  This paradigm-shifting view opens the door to new opportunities for treating autonomic dysfunction in diabetics.


In good breath,

Nick

P.S. A Zoom Meeting I would Look Forward To.

P.P.S. James Nestor’s new book, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, comes out tomorrow. I don’t know James, but from the podcast interviews I’ve heard so far, this sounds like a must-read if you’re into all this “breathing” stuff :)

And if you really want to geek out, James and Patrick McKeown got together for an hour long conversation on all things breathing. Watch/Listen Here.

 
 

Are Long-Term Diabetic Complications Reversible?

Fred_Rogers_Helpers.png
 

As a person with type-1 diabetes, long-term complications are like the boogeyman. I hide under the covers, turn off the lights, and they can’t get me. I am healthy, after all. Right?

But the truth is, diabetic complications are more common than I would like to admit. There are, however, two pieces of good news.  

There is Always Good News

First, a popular study showed that for every 1% reduction in HbA1c, there was a significant reduction in the risk of many diabetic complications.  

For example, in type-2 diabetics, a 1% drop in HbA1c was associated with a 14% drop in heart attacks. Because we know that slow breathing can help reduce HbA1c, this is more motivation to be consistent with our breathing practice (and exercising, eating healthy, and sleeping more).

Second, the study I’m sharing this week found that some diabetic complications are reversible by slow deep breathing:


Deep breathing improves blunted baroreflex sensitivity even after 30 years of type 1 diabetes

(Click Here to Read Full Summary)

Journal: Diabetologia, Volume 54, Article number: 1862 (2011)

Baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) measures your heart’s ability to adjust your blood pressure in response to changing conditions. It’s also an early indicator of autonomic dysfunction. People with diabetes typically have reduced BRS, even before other complications show up.

This study found that slow breathing at six breaths/min restored BRS to normal levels, even in long-duration type-1 diabetics (>30 years). These results indicate that reduced BRS in diabetics is partially functional and hence partially reversible.

How did slow breathing do this? The authors showed that it increased heart rate variability and parasympathetic tone, leading to improved cardiovascular and autonomic functioning.


More Benefits of Slow Breathing for Diabetics

While getting this post ready, I was considering all of the research showing the benefits of slow breathing for diabetes. This inspired me to create this little graphic, which I think sums it up succinctly.

 
 
Benefits_of_Slow_Breathing.png
 
 


The earlier we address the adverse effects of diabetes, the better our chances are of avoiding complications.

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. That is trust.

P.P.S. My stats for this week:

Average BOLT Score: 30 sec (Min: 26 sec, Max: 36 sec)
Average CO2 Tolerance: 64 sec (Min: 54 sec, Max: 82 sec)
Average Blood Sugar: 102 mg/dL (Min: 47 mg/dL, Max: 230 mg/dL)

 

Staying healthy on vacations and “party weekends”

“You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day – unless you’re too busy; then you should sit for an hour.” – Zen Proverb

Hi everyone,

I am a pretty structured person. I go to bed at 8 PM and wake up at 4 AM, even on the weekends. And I am consistent with my breathing routine:

Although I’m pretty crazy about all this breathing stuff, I try to maintain a decent balance of “normal life” as well.

I recently went to a Bachelor Party weekend and stayed in a house with about 10 other people. My sleep routine was out. But getting in some “breathing” wasn’t.

I didn’t have to look weird or do anything special. I taped up once I got into bed so very few would see. When I woke up, I put my headphones in and did 15 minutes of box breathing (in bed) using the iBreathe app. Finally, I laid there and did 5 static breath holds:

Hold 45 sec after exhale —> Rest 1 min
Hold 45 sec after exhale —> Rest 45 sec
Hold 45 sec after exhale —> Rest 30 sec
Hold 45 sec after exhale —> Rest 15 sec
Hold 45 sec after exhale —> End

The point of all of this is to show you that incorporating breathing exercises into your day is fairly easy, regardless of your situation. And the benefits are many.

Just a few minutes of slow breathing can increase heart rate variability, improve autonomic function, and reduce stress and anxiety.

And a few breath holds can improve immune function, improve insulin sensitivity, and increase O2 carrying capacity.

Breathing is not only one of the easiest self-care practices to perform, but it also provides the greatest return on investment.

While on vacation or during a “party weekend,” it might be easy to ignore our normal self-care routines. But, this is precisely when we need them the most.

In good breath,
Nick

———————————————————————————————————————

* My current Principle 1 practice is 15 minutes of box breathing. After 2 months, I’m up to a 10-10-10-10 box: 10 sec inhale, 10 sec hold, 10 sec exhale, 10 sec hold. (I started at 5-5-5-5)

** My current Principle 3 practice is 3-5 walking breath holds of at least 45 sec each. Then, I perform 2 minutes of Advanced Simulation of Altitude from the Oxygen Advantage®