breathing graffiti — Blog — The Breathing Diabetic

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Hey,

Here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer for this week. Enjoy!

4 Thoughts

1. The Real Lesson from Phil Mickelson: For Diabetes, and Life in General

Phil Mickelson used controlled breathing throughout the PGA Championship. So, when he won, it was an exciting moment for the breathing community.

But do you know what happened for the next tournament? He played poorly.

Of course, with sports, we accept that this is just part of the game. Even with his focused breathing, no one can win them all.

But do you apply this concept in your life, especially if you have diabetes?

Do you remember that life is more complex than sports? There’s no “one thing” that will ensure you always win.

But, and this is important, Phil still finished that next lousy round of golf. He didn’t just walk off the course because he wasn’t winning.

And that’s what we have to do. A high blood sugar doesn’t mean we should give up on our protocol. A poor night of sleep doesn’t mean this breathing stuff doesn’t work. Life is hard, and we all have off days. But, that’s precisely when we need our fundamentals the most.

Here’s to knowing we’ll have bad days and weeks, and finishing anyway, knowing we’ll eventually be on top again.

***

P.S. I know nothing about golf, so thanks to my dad for pointing out how bad Mickelson played when we hung out on Father’s Day, sparking this thought : )

2. Breathing is a Scalpel to Your Brain and Emotions

In 2017, a group of Stanford researchers discovered a small cluster of neurons that control your breathing—the breathing “pacemaker neurons.”

It turns out that these neurons extend to other parts of the brain that control emotions, and it’s a two-way street: The emotional areas can influence your breathing, but your breathing can also influence them.

On a recent RadioLab Podcast (aptly titled “Breath”), after learning this, Molly Webster likened her breathing to a scalpel to her brain and emotions:

“I feel like, in a way, he almost gave me like a scalpel to get inside my own brain and control it…If I actually change my breathing, it will change this breath pacemaker region, and it will send an ‘I’m chill’ signal to the fight or flight directly, and it will calm down.”

This brought a massive smile to my face. What a perfect analogy.

Practically and scientifically, you can know that when you take control of your breath, you take control of a small cluster of neurons that talk to other regions of your brain. So the scalpel is right there in your nose. Use it when needed.

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P.S. Thanks to one of my best friends, Capt J.G., for sending me this podcast.

3. “Breathing Exercises for Better Metabolic Health”

“Research shows that controlled breathing can positively impact our nervous system, reducing stress and maybe even improving glucose control.”
- Levels, Breathing Exercises for Better Metabolic Health

This article is a perfect synthesis of research and practical advice on how breathing might help with blood sugars. It’s basically my entire website summarized into a 6-minute read…I feel rather long-winded now : )

Please read and share this one!

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4. Moderate Breathing, in Moderation

“All breathing in moderation, including moderate breathing.”

A reader helped me add this one to the list of “Breathing Graffiti.” Thanks, M. Night Larry. It’s clever, and it has lots of practical wisdom too.

Remember that we take over 20,00 breaths a day. So Wim Hof is OK now and then. Breath holds are OK now and then. (If you’re in good health, of course.)

All breathing in moderation, even moderate breathing. That’s a simple and valuable principle to live by.

1 Quote

“When the mental state is disturbed, the life energy (prana) gets unbalanced and this leads to irregular breath; hence to regulate the mental state the yoga practitioner should regulate the breath.”

Hatha Yoga Pradipika, 300 A.D., from Role of respiration in mind-body practices: concepts from contemporary science and traditional yoga texts

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P.S. This was from almost 2000 (!) years ago. The neurons controlling how this works (Thought #2) were only discovered in 2017. The paper linked above provides additional insight into the science behind this ancient wisdom.

1 Answer

Category: Breathing in History

Answer: The healing power of the breath was recognized this far back.

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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What is 7000 BCE? (pg. 58)

In good breath,

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

P.S. You know. Like a book.

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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:

Hello fellow breathing nerds,

Here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer for this week. Enjoy!

4 Thoughts

1. The Satisfaction Treadmill, and Why We Forget How Good Breathing Makes Us Feel

“In addition to being aware of the hedonic treadmill, we should also be wary of the satisfaction treadmill. This is the double whammy of adaptation. Not only do we adapt to a given experience so that it feels less good overtime, but we can also adapt to a given level of feeling good so that it stops feeling good enough.”
- Barry Schwartz, The Paradox of Choice

I thought treadmills couldn’t get any worse, but alas: the satisfaction treadmill.

It’s the reason you still enjoy your breathing or meditation practice, but aren’t sure why it doesn’t feel as good as it used to. It’s why you eat healthily, but still get excited about the latest “superfood” or supplement.

You have adapted to your new level of feeling good, which means it’s not good enough anymore. I say this confidently because I do it all the time—just ask my wife : )

This is, of course, not the best way to live, with breathing or anything else. And things like gratitude and prayer are clearly invaluable. But, in my experience, just having an awareness of the satisfaction treadmill is helpful.

Having awareness gives you space. You can decide if something really isn’t working anymore, or if you’ve simply adjusted to a new level of feeling good.

Here’s to slowing down (or even stepping off) the treadmill today.

2. Breathing as a Metronome for Centering Yourself

“Now consider your breathing like a metronome, consistently and rhythmically connecting you to your own source, and providing you with a regular mechanism for re-centering yourself.”
- George Mumford, The Mindful Athlete

Building on last week’s trampoline thought, here’s another way of looking at slow breathing. You can consider your breathing to be like a metronome, setting the tempo for many rhythms in the body.

Slow down the metronome, and you slow down and synchronize these other rhythms.

And the best part about it? You are the conductor, and the breath is always available, “providing you with a regular mechanism for re-centering yourself.”

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P.S. I listened to this book, so my apologies to George Mumford if my transcription has punctuation errors.

3. Babies Do It. So Do Fitness Trainers. Now Scientists Say It Might Even Improve Memory.

“The results showed that when the participants breathed through their noses between the time of learning and recognition, they remembered the smells better.”
- Forbes, Babies Do It. So Do Fitness Trainers…

Here’s an excellent article from Forbes. It starts out discussing memory and nasal breathing, but then goes into many other aspects of the nose.

They also provide 3 breathing exercises recommended by Dr. Andrew Weil. Of course, we all know 4-7-8, but the “Breath Counting” one was neat too.

Enjoy the great read.

***

Related Quote: “In other words, mouth breathing can create fragility while nasal breathing can create resiliency.” - Tim Anderson in The Breathing Cure

4. Breathing Graffiti on 28 Famous Quotes, Sayings, and Idioms

“To breathe, or not to breathe: that is the question.”
“Don’t put all your breaths in one basket.”
- No One Ever

When I wake up low at night, I sometimes use breathing to help me fall back asleep (after eating glucose, of course). Other times, I accept that I won’t be sleeping for a while, and I just let my mind wander and laugh at my thoughts.

This thought came on one such night, Thursday, March 11th, to be specific. It seemed especially cheesy, so I decided to go with it : ) Some of them I actually found pretty funny, others I had to stretch a bit…

Shoot me an email if you have any good ones I didn’t think of so I can add them in.

P.S. #11 is my favorite.

***

1 Quote

“What I wear is pants. What I do is live. How I pray is breathe.”

—Thomas Merton

Thanks to great friend E.S. for this one. Absolutely love it.

1 Answer

Category: Nasal Airways

Answer: These tiny hair-like structures oscillate at rates as high as 16 beats per minute.

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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What are cilia?

P.S. I learned this in Ch. 3 (pg. 45) of Breath .

In good breath,

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

P.S. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves

Phil Mickelson, and How Modern Science Helps Explain 2000-Year-Old Wisdom

Listen Instead of Reading

4 Thoughts

1. The Real Lesson from Phil Mickelson: For Diabetes, and Life in General

2. Breathing is a Scalpel to Your Brain and Emotions

3. “Breathing Exercises for Better Metabolic Health”

4. Moderate Breathing, in Moderation

1 Quote

1 Answer

Sign Up For The Breathing 411

Treadmills, Metronomes, and Breathing Graffiti on 28 Famous Quotes & Idioms

Listen to this post:

4 Thoughts

1. The Satisfaction Treadmill, and Why We Forget How Good Breathing Makes Us Feel

2. Breathing as a Metronome for Centering Yourself

3. Babies Do It. So Do Fitness Trainers. Now Scientists Say It Might Even Improve Memory.

4. Breathing Graffiti on 28 Famous Quotes, Sayings, and Idioms

1 Quote

1 Answer

Sign Up For The Breathing 411