breathing ratio — Blog — The Breathing Diabetic

Welcome to the "The Breathing 4.1.1."

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

4 THOUGHTS

1. Are Type-1 Diabetics Protected from Serious COVID-19 Complications?

Not exactly breathing related, but a short article recently published in Medical Hypotheses proposed the following: Type-1 diabetics might be "spared" from the more severe complications of COVID-19 because we produce higher quantities of a specific class of pro-inflammatory cytokines called Th-1.

Thus, the reason our insulin-producing beta cells are destroyed might be the same reason we’re protected from COVID-19. Awesome, I guess?

Click Here to Read the Article

Thanks to Craig Kasper (also a type-1 diabetic) at Bravest for sharing this article with me!

2. Inhale-to-Exhale Ratio: Does it Matter?

Most studies show that either (1) an equal inhale-to-exhale ratio or (2) a longer exhale are both useful for improving cardiovascular and autonomic function. Longer exhalations are associated with more relaxation, whereas equal breaths are more balancing for the nervous system.

But the most critical factor is finding which approach feels most comfortable to you. And this is backed by science.

3. Inverting the Breathing Gears for Down-Regulation

The Skill of Stress course is excellent. I’m working my way through it slowly, but one thing I loved was Emily’s way of inverting the "Breathing Gears" to down-regulate.

Here’s the idea. If you’re stressed and breathing in and out through your mouth, don’t immediately try to switch to nasal in, nasal out. Gear down slowly. For example, you could follow this progression to downshift your nervous system:

Mouth in, Mouth out (Progressive)
Nasal in, Mouth out (Down)
Nasal in, Nasal out (Regulation)

4. Why Wim Hof Doesn’t Care about Nose or Mouth Breathing

"Just breathe mother f*****!" is a famous Wim Hof one-liner. Along with his saying that "any hole will do" when asked how to breathe during his method.

But James Nestor nailed it when Joe Rogan recently asked him why Wim doesn’t care about nose or mouth: "He wants to make this easy and accessible for people…so many people can’t breathe through their noses…"

Wim’s advice to "use any hole" is to simply make it easier and more accessible. And it’s excellent advice if you’re going to do it for 20-30 mins a day. There will only be problems if mouth breathing becomes habitual (like it did for me).

1 QUOTE

"Therefore, any conditions to affect normal respiratory route during sleep (nasal breathing) can…have negative effects on sleep and daily life."

Park, C.-S., Sleep Medicine Research , 2014

1 ANSWER

Answer: The farthest distance droplets from a sneeze can travel.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy music.)

…

Question: What is 27 feet?

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. His Poor Elbows.

“The secret of making progress is to get started. The secret to starting is to divide your complex, overwhelming task into small, manageable tasks, and then start the first.” - Mark Twain

Slow breathing has many benefits. For example, it improves cardiovascular and autonomic functioning. However, as we mentioned last week, you can quickly get “lost in the crabgrass of details” if you’re not careful, which is basically what I do every day :)

For instance, there are several ways to breathe slowly. You can use equal inhales and exhales, extended exhales for more relaxation, or you can include ujjayi breathing if you’re a trained yogi.

The study I’m sharing this week examined some of these nuances to determine which is best for beginners.

Cardiovascular and Respiratory Effect of Yogic Slow Breathing in the Yoga Beginner: What Is the Best Approach?

(Click Here to Read Full Summary)

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2013

The study had seventeen non-yoga practitioners perform several different breathing protocols:

Spontaneous breathing
Controlled breathing at 15 breaths/min
Slow breathing at 6 breaths/min, 5 sec inhale, 5 sec exhale (equal)
Slow breathing at 6 breaths/min, 3 sec inhale, 7 sec exhale (extended)
The above two slow breathing protocols, but with ujjayi

Measurements of baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), blood pressure, and several respiratory variables were taken during the experiment.

Most Improvements from Slow Breathing without Ujjayi

They found that slow breathing without ujjayi was the most effective at improving cardiovascular and autonomic function (as measured by BRS) and at reducing blood pressure.

However, keep in mind that these were not trained yogis. Therefore, the added effort of ujjayi likely dampened the parasympathetic response. The results would likely be different in a trained ujjayi practitioner.

Getting Started: Breathe at a Ratio That Is Comfortable For You

All of their results revealed that slow breathing with an equal inhale-to-exhale ratio performed best. However, the differences between the balanced and extended exhale techniques were small. Therefore, they concluded that “practitioners can engage in a ratio that is personally comfortable and achieve the same BRS benefit.”

For us, the take-home message is that slow breathing at a rate of 6 breaths/min improves cardiovascular and autonomic function. The best way to begin is to choose a ratio that is comfortable for you.

I suggest that you start with a 4 second inhale and a 6 second exhale and see how it feels. Begin with a five-minute session first thing in the morning and build up from there to reach three 5-minute sessions a day.