breath hold

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

 
 

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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

 
 
 

* 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.

 
 

Intravenous Oxygen Delivery and The River of Breath

 

Welcome to another edition of the 411 newsletter. Here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer for you to consider this week. Enjoy!

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS


1. Intravenous Oxygen Delivery?

"For example, oral vitamin C is absorbed in the small intestine…but intravenous vitamin C bypasses the gut, achieving blood and tissue concentrations that are markedly higher than those achieved with the oral form." - Dr. Rhonda Patrick

While reading this, I thought, nose breathing is like intravenous oxygen delivery. It improves your body’s ability to use the oxygen you breathe, increasing tissue concentrations by 10% compared to the "oral form." But we don’t need any fancy equipment. We just have to breathe the way our bodies were designed.

So for fun, we can imagine nasal breathing to be like an IV, "injecting" oxygen to the organs, tissues, and muscles that need it most.


2. The River of Breath and Chemoreceptor Flexibility

Most popular breathing methods focus on pushing carbon dioxide (CO2) to one extreme, whether it’s with hyperventilation (low CO2) or breath holds and reduced breathing (high CO2). But this misses the point. The goal is to return our breathing to its natural physiological levels, to make it optimal.

So instead of picking a side, I prefer the idea of "chemoreceptor flexibility." To adopt a concept from Dan Siegel, we can think of it like a river. On one side is low CO2 and on the other is high. We want the flexibility to occasionally push to either side. But, we’ll be most efficient when we’re flowing down the middle.

 
Chemoreceptor_Flexibility.png
 

P.S. This also brings to mind James Nestor, who said, "Today, chemoreceptor flexibility is part of what distinguishes good athletes from great ones. […] All these people have trained their chemoreceptors to withstand extreme fluctuations in carbon dioxide without panic." - Breath, pg. 170

3. Breathing is a Communication Skill

"The quality of your breath lets dogs know if you are the one who has what it takes to be the leader, the one who can confidently lead them to food, safety and rest. That would be the belly breather." - Breathing is a Communication Skill

I love dogs. So even though this article isn’t strictly scientific or entirely correct (and even got a little woo-woo here and there), I enjoyed reading it.

Overall, it captures the essence of relaxed breathing and provides a unique idea of how our breathing communicates with our pets. Enjoy, fellow pet lovers!

4. The Best Slow Breathing Practice for You

The best slow breathing practice is the one you’ll commit to, the one you enjoy doing most. None of the science matters if you don’t put it into action.

So, I suggest you don’t worry about the "best practice" you read in a health book or on a website. Instead, just get started and be consistent with the one you enjoy most.

Extended exhales, box breathing, or ujjayi. One minute, two minutes, or twenty minutes. It can only help, and it’s the consistency that pays off.

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint."

- Mark Twain

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: The total length of the airways running through your lungs.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is 1,500 miles?

 
 

On Recovering Better and Setting A Breathing Budget

 

Welcome back to another issue of The Breathing 411. Here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer to end November with.

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS

1. You Already Work Hard Enough—Recover Harder

"The problem in today’s corporate world, as well as in many other realms, is not hard work; the problem is insufficient recovery."

- Tal Ben-Shahar

We all work hard enough. That’s likely not the problem. In fact, it’s probably the opposite: We need to be focusing on recovery so we can continue to work hard.

One excellent way to do this is with diaphragmatic breathing.

For example, imagine taking a group of 16 endurance cyclists and having them see how far they can go in 8 hours. Then, you split them into two groups. One group performs 1 hour of diaphragmatic breathing post-event. The other group reads quietly. That’s what a study published back in 2011 did.

The outcome: The diaphragmatic breathing group showed reduced oxidative stress, reduced cortisol, increased antioxidant potential, and increased melatonin.

That is, they recovered better.

If diaphragmatic breathing reduces these stress markers in this extreme case, it seems like it would be even more useful for recovering from chronic, everyday work stress. Recover better, work better.

2. How Do You Budget Your Breathing?

"Don’t tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you what they are."

- James W. Frick

The same can be said for your breathing. Where you spend your breath, and thus your energy, shows what your physiological priorities are. But, like money, you can set your own priorities by setting a breathing budget.

For example, suppose you would like to try out a new method that involves mouth breathing, but you also recognize the hazards of chronic mouth breathing. In that case, you might budget a small portion of breaths for that activity. Then, save the rest (especially sleep) for nasal breathing.

You can apply this idea to any technique. Make light nasal breathing the foundation of your budget (like paying your rent or mortgage) and spend your leftover "disposable breathing income" on new methods that interest you.

3. How Deep Breathing Opens Up the ADHD Brain

"So Ethan’s mother, who had used coherent breathing to calm her own anxiety, taught him how to do it. His overall behavior improved in four or five weeks, and he fell asleep without difficulty." - ADDitude Magazine

This topic is way outside my jurisdiction. But, reading this article was both inspiring and humbling as I reflected on how important this "breathing" stuff is.

I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks to great friend, and new 411 reader, S.S. for sending me this article.

4. Intermittent Hypoxia Improves Immune System Function

"These responses…may serve to augment the body’s immune defenses without exacerbating inflammation."

Serebrovskaya et al. 2011, High Altitude Medicine and Biology

This paper published in 2011 found that intermittent hypoxia (IH) enhances the body’s innate immune system, increases its ability to fight infection, and had a net anti-inflammatory effect.

Although IH and breath holds are not technically the same, we can experience IH using breath holds. Thus, research like this suggests, but doesn’t prove, that breath holds might help us fight illnesses (when done safely, of course).

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

"It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers."

- James Thurber

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: The Earth has ~3.1 trillion of these organisms (or ~400 per person) that help us breathe.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What are trees?

That link has a neat video of the Earth "breathing," if you’re interested.

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. "omg GO ON"

 
 

The Breathing 411 - The lung microbiome, David Blaine, and a perfect breath

 

Happy Monday! Welcome to another edition of The Breathing 4.1.1.

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

Thank you for reading!

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS

1. On Practicing the Fundamentals

"If someone at Kobe’s level needs to commit hours to practicing the fundamentals, then so do all of us. Kobe taught me a pivotal lesson that morning. The basics are simple, but not easy."
- Alan Stein Jr., Raise Your Game

Imagine the best basketball player on the planet allows you to watch him practice. Then, he spends hours working on his fundamentals. Nothing fancy, no showboating, just the basics. That’s exactly what Alan Stein saw when he watched Kobe Bryant practice during his prime.

We talk about breathing here, not the highest level of basketball ever played. But the message is the same.

With all the fancy breathing techniques and new approaches, it’s easy to be looking for the "next thing" (—> guilty here <— ). But let’s not forget that it all comes down to the basics. They’re simple, but they’re not easy.

(This idea, like many, was inspired by knowledge from the Optimize Program.)

2. Oxygen Therapy Harms the Lung Microbiome

We’ve discussed how inhaled oxygen can lead to adverse effects in people with diabetes. Specifically, high levels of inhaled oxygen can reduce arterial function. But there might be other problems with oxygen therapy, especially when done over prolonged periods.

For example, your lungs have their own microbiome (pretty neat). And a recent study showed that inhaled oxygen harms this microbiome, leading to an increased risk of lung damage. This idea is especially relevant during COVID-19:

“Upon hospitalization, these patients are administered oxygen in an attempt to bring their levels back up to normal. However, a new study hints that this universal therapy may have unintended consequences via an unexpected source -- the microbiome.”
- ScienceDaily

Read the whole summary from ScienceDaily here:

Oxygen Therapy Harms Lung Microbiome in Mice

3. David Blaine on Breath Holds, CO2, and 45 Minutes Without Air

David Blaine was recently on the Joe Rogan Podcast. They began talking about breath-holds within 5 minutes (this link should take you right to it).

Here are two quotes I loved from it:

"The breath-holding thing is all about like, a CO2 build up in the bloodstream, and it’s about a tolerance level to it…"

And when Joe asks about the panicked feeling you get when holding your breath, David’s reply is:

“That’s not an O2 deprivation. That’s a trigger from a CO2 build-up, which is giving you an alert…"

All of you "breathing nerds" already knew this. But it is little tidbits like these that help the general population learn.

He goes on to talk a little about pre-breath-hold hyperventilation, blacking out, and how we can go 45 minutes without air.

In addition to the breath-hold stuff, it’s a fascinating interview.

4. Is there a Perfect Breath?

“What is the perfect breath? Far from being some noble yet unreachable goal that takes years of rigorous practice to master, a perfect breath is any breath you take for which you are completely and mindfully aware.” - Al Lee & Don Campbell

That definition is, well, perfect. But let’s not forget about James Nestor’s perfect breath, which has deeper roots in science and physiology:

"They discovered that the optimum amount of air we should take in at rest per minute is 5.5 liters. The optimum breathing rate is about 5.5 breaths per minute. That’s 5.5-second inhales and 5.5-second exhales. This is the perfect breath."

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

"Your quality of sleep is closely related to how you breathe, both when you sleep and when you are awake."

- Anders Olsson

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: The amount of time it takes blood to circulate around your entire body.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy music.)

…

Question: What is one minute?*

(This fun fact came from James Nestor’s Breath.)

 
 

The Breathing 4.1.1.

 

I am trying a new format this week. I’m calling it “The Breathing 4.1.1.”

Below, I share 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer (think “Jeopardy”). Enjoy!

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS

1. Expert Q&A on Sleep Tape

James Nestor’s first "expert Q&A" episode has been released. It’s on sleep tape with Dr. Mark Burhenne. I especially appreciated Dr. Burhenne’s confidence in recommending that people wear mouth tape. Watch Interview Here.

2. An Easy Hack for Dropping SpO2 during Breath Holds

I’m always playing around with my breath holds. Lately, I’ve been performing a full exhale before each hold.

Normal Breath In —> Fast and Complete Exhale Out —> Hold

I’ve seen additional SpO2 drops of 5-10% (!). My breath holds are not as long, but I’m getting into intermittent hypoxia easier. I really try to empty my lungs as much as possible to get more significant drops in SpO2.

3. Is Tissue Hypoxia Really the Problem?

“In this, chronic overbreathing will not create ‘hypoxia’ in tissues; this is a fact that many Buteyko adherents consistently get wrong.  The real damage from overbreathing comes from the constant energy the body has to expend to run more cells anaerobically and to constantly buffer for carbon dioxide deficiencies.” - James Nestor, Breath

I talk about tissue hypoxia a lot. Here, James says that it’s not necessarily tissue hypoxia that’s the problem, but the body’s response to prevent it from happening that causes the damage. In any case, the underlying issue is the same: We need to get an adequate supply of oxygen for our cells to function correctly.

4. A Simple Way the Breathe Light

Teaching people to breathe "light" is often tricky. However, in Restoring Prana, Robin Rothenberg provides one of the most practical ways I’ve heard: Imagine taking up less space with each breath. I imagine less air being pulled into my nose with each inhale, and each exhale disturbing less air around me. Give it a shot.

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

“He who tastes a grain of mustard seed knows more of its flavor than he who sees an elephant load of it.” - Yogi Mamacharaka, Science of Breath

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: The amount of water used to humidify the air we breathe each day.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy music.)

…

Question: What is 1 pint? [1]

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. Coming to you live from…

[1] Essentials of Pathophysiology (3rd Edition), Carol Mattson Porth

 

Only Breathing Principles Endure

An-Action-New.png

The first time I heard that quote, I thought of Wim Hof. Although Wim’s charisma is what sets his method apart from others, the principles he teaches are timeless.

For example, in the classic book Science of Breath, the following advice is given to avoid catching a cold:

When chilled, breathe vigorously for a few minutes, and you will feel a glow all over your body. [1]

How about the Oxygen Advantage? Well, that originated with the Buteyko Method. And long before Buteyko, yogis were training themselves to “bottle up” as much CO2 as possible (my bold).

He had learned much about the basics of the transparent gas in medical school and quickly realized that yogic rituals worked to bottle it [CO2] up inside the body. The main technique of manipulation was pranayama… [2]

It is often said that history repeats itself. Breathing techniques are no exception. People relearn the same principles and add their own unique take on it. But the the principles remain.

That’s why for health and wellness, I focus on principles, not techniques. And from thousands of years of practice, and hundreds of years of research, the key principles are:

  1. Breathe Through Your Nose (24/7) - Unless you’re an elite athlete, you should be breathing through your nose all the time. This is especially true during sleep.

  2. Breathe Slowly - Almost every technique (and scientific study) has focused on breathing slowly, usually in the range of 4-6 breaths/min. Use any method you’d like to achieve this rate (equal inhale/exhale, extended exhale, box breathing, etc.).

  3. Hold Your Breath - Breath holds have amazing benefits, doing everything from improving immune function to increasing blood flow to the brain.

I’ve jumped on almost every breathing bandwagon there is. And every time, I discover that there is no “cure all.” There are only principles. And when they are practiced with patience, persistence, and diligence, the true magic begins.

In good breath,
Nick

[1] Science of Breath

[2] The Science of Yoga

Increase brain blood flow by 20%

Hi everyone,

Over the last month, we’ve learned several important aspects of intermittent hypoxia (IH). For example, IH increases immune function and the production and storage of nitric oxide.

Although we’ve only scratched the surface on IH, I want to wrap up the discussion (for now) with one of my favorites benefits: Increased brain blood flow.

Intermittent hypoxia increases brain blood flow by 20%

(Published in 2017 in Hypoxia. To read the full summary, Click Here)

The participants in this study inhaled air with 10% oxygen for 6 min to induce hypoxia. Then, they breathed normal room air for 4 min. This cycle was repeated 5 times.

Measurements were recorded during the first and fifth bouts of hypoxia:

They found that intermittent hypoxia increased brain blood flow by 20%(!)

Fractional oxygen extraction in the brain also increased significantly. Pretty remarkable.

How to use these findings in your life

Statistical analysis revealed that major increases in brain blood flow occurred when blood oxygen saturation dropped to ~86%.  We can achieve this (with practice) using breath holds. 

I recommend performing 3-5 breath holds, with a 1-min recovery between each one, approximately 10-30 minutes before a workout, competition, or presentation. The increased brain blood flow will help focus your mind and prepare you for what’s ahead.

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. Breath holds can be dangerous. Take a look at Principle 3 before getting started.

P.P.S. The ~86% finding won’t be universal. Sometimes I barely drop my O2 below 95% and still feel major enhancements in my focus and concentration. In my experience, simply performing a few cycles of mild-to-moderate breath holds is all that is needed to feel the benefits.

The protective effects of intermittent hypoxia

Hi everyone,

Happy (almost) Fall!

A few weeks ago, we learned that intermittent hypoxia increases nitric oxide (NO) production and storage.

The paper I’m sharing this week examines NO’s protective effects during hypoxia.

The protective role of nitric oxide during adaptation to hypoxia

(Read on website)

The experiment gradually adapted mice to a simulated altitude of ~5000 m (>16K ft).

After the acclimation, the mice nearly doubled their NO metabolites. Their NO storage significantly increased as well.

Hypoxia protects against NO-overproduction

They also gave a subset of mice a condition causing excessive NO, which dropped their blood pressure about 36 mm Hg. However, when the mice were acclimated to hypoxia, they only showed a 19 mm Hg drop.

Hypoxia protects against NO-deficiency

Mice given a condition of NO-deficiency (which increases blood pressure) also saw protective effects from hypoxia. Without hypoxia, their blood pressure increased ~80 mm Hg. With adaptation, it only increased ~20 mm Hg.

Overall, these results indicate that adaptation to hypoxia protects against both over- and under-production of NO.

The final sentence from their abstract sums up the benefits nicely:

“The data suggest that NO stores induced by adaptation to hypoxia can either bind excessive NO to protect the organism against NO overproduction or provide a NO reserve to be used in NO deficiency.”

In good breath,
Nick