3 Breaths Changed David Goggins’ Life (+ a free gift)

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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 😊

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4 Thoughts

1. Three Breaths that Changed David Goggins’ Life

In his new book, Never Finished, David Goggins says that the first freezing wave that hit him in Hell Week almost sent him home:

“I was a half-step from voluntarily pulling the plug on a dream that had the power to change the course of my entire life.”

Enter the power of the breath:

“In order to think clearly, I needed oxygen. I took a deep breath and then another. … I took another breath as the next big wave swelled … I was done showing weakness. I was finished with fear.”

He goes on to say:

“When I was teetering on the brink, I was able to physically calm myself down with a few deep breaths, and that helped me see through the adrenaline rush. My heart rate was still elevated, and panic continued to creep in, but I’d regained enough of my composure to make a conscious, One-Second Decision to stay in the fight.”

That’s a powerful reminder that, whatever challenging life event we’re going through, our breath is always there—not to make it go away, but to help us align with our highest self and make that one-second decision to stay in the fight.

2. 2021 Study: Slow Breathing Reduces Blood Pressure

Effects of diaphragmatic deep breathing exercises on prehypertensive or hypertensive adults: A literature review (2021)

The most practical take-home from this review was that practicing slow breathing for at least 10 min daily for 4 weeks led to noticeable improvements in blood pressure.

If you want even more useful findings, I just released a Science 411 for this paper on Friday in the Breath is Life Learning Center.

3. Why Breathing is a Powerful Approach to Healing

“In this way, breathing techniques provide a portal to the autonomic communication network through which we can…send specific messages to the brain using the language of the body.”

- Richard Brown, MD, and Patricia Gerbarb, MD, The Healing Power of the Breath

And remember: “Of all the automatic functions of the body, only one can be easily controlled voluntarily—breathing.”

This means we can voluntarily send messages of healing to the brain using the language of the body. Let’s make sure we do more of that 🙏

4. When Air Becomes Breath

Adding a spiritual significance to the air—realizing it contains life itself—can only add value to your breath practice.

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1 Quote

“Thus spirit = breath = life, the aliveness and power of your life, and to speak of your spirit (or soul) is to speak of the power of life that is in you.””

— Frederick Buechner

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1 Answer

Category: Wim Hof Breathing

Answer: Counterintuitively, Wim Hof breathing is thought to reduce inflammation through release of this hormone and neurotransmitter.

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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What is adrenaline?

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In good breath,

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

P.S. This is exactly what happens when you go to heaven

HOmm HOmm HOmm 🎅

Try Out the Breath is Life Learning Center for Free

SquareSpace doesn’t allow me to have “free trials,” which many of you have asked for before signing up. So, I found a workaround by manually making a free mini member’s area.

You get 2 free Book 411s, 2 free Science 411s, and 10 free editions of The Breathing 1%. No catch. No additional sign-up. Plus, you can download the PDFs and audio of the 411s, so they’re yours forever.

Just click below to start living healthier & happier through the breath.

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P.S. I picked the most popular Book and Science 411s, so you’re guaranteed to love them—especially The Healing Power of the Breath.

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* 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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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.

How I Trained for Altitude and Why We All Benefit from Breath Training

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Listen Instead of Reading

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Autonomic Neuroscience says slow breathing is for diabetes & hypertension.

Harvard Medical School says yogic breathing is for stress.

And Tibetan Yoga says breath training is for everyone.

Let’s see how…

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4 Thoughts

1. How I Trained for High Altitude (it’s not what you might think)

I thought, “I’m The Breathing Diabetic. I better be able to handle some altitude.”

But I didn’t train how you might think. Of course, I initially started with more breath holds. But I realized that the issue at altitude is lower air pressure.

- How I Trained for High Altitude Blog Post

This one was slightly too long to fit in as a “Thought,” so I made it a really short blog post.

Give it a read to learn my somewhat odd training method for my recent hike up to 13,200 feet…and to see if it actually worked (pictures included).

Please respond to this email if you have any thoughts on my reasoning…it was my first time at altitude, so I’d appreciate any feedback or thoughts you have.

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Related: How To Breathe To Live Longer

2. Slow Breathing for Diabetes and High Blood Pressure

“Even in already well controlled diabetic patients, guided breathing had beneficial influences on cardiovascular autonomic control and a measurable impact on BP control.  It enriches available options for non-pharmacological blood pressure…reduction.”

- Effects Of Guided Breathing On Blood Pressure And Heart Rate Variability In Hypertensive Diabetic Patients

According to Johns Hopkins, approximately two-thirds of adult diabetics have high blood pressure or take medication for it. And people with diabetes and hypertension are 4x more likely to develop heart disease.

Fortunately, this study found that just 12 minutes a day of slow breathing (with no changes to medication) led to significantly lower blood pressure, increased heart rate variability, and a reduced spontaneous breathing rate (indicating reduced sympathetic arousal).

All of which led to this remarkable final statement: “If consistently used, guided breathing enhances restoration of physiological autonomic balance in patients with diabetes and hypertension.” Amen 🙏

Here’s to controlling our breath to control of our blood pressure, today.

3. Harvard Medical School: “Yogic Breathing Improved University Students' Response to Stress”

“When we anticipate a stressful situation, our breathing and heart rates naturally go up…but the yogic breathing group seemed to show protection against that type of stress. Their heart rate increased only slightly when they knew a stressful situation was coming.”

- Yogic breathing improved university students' response to stress

Enjoy this excellent and quick write-up showing that yogic SKY breathing can significantly reduce the stress response. It’s from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a world-class teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.

The next thought builds off of this idea of “protection against stress”…

4. What Turbulence Can Teach Us About Breathing

When you’re flying and hit turbulence, you’re told to put on your seatbelt.

It’s reactive.

It’s similar to when turbulence hits in our lives. We react. We start eating healthy or meditating or exercising more.

But a regular breathing practice is proactive.

It helps you avoid turbulence altogether.

Or, if you can’t avoid the turbulence, it’s like your seatbelt. You’re already fastened in. You don’t need to rush back to your seat. You’re ready.

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1 Quote

“Because the breath is such an excellent and abundant support for life and vitality for every being on the planet, everyone can benefit from training in the breath.”

– The Tibetan Yoga of Breath

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1 Answer

Category: Hypoxia and Red Blood Cells

Answer: During hypoxia, this organ releases additional red blood cells to increase your oxygen carrying capacity.

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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What is the spleen?

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In good breath,

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

P.S. “sorry, it’s my first day!”

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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.

The Breathing 411 - What do 5,649 and 28,800 Have in Common?

Hello and 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"). Enjoy!

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4 THOUGHTS

1. What do 5,649 and 28,800 Have in Common?

"The average daily step count required to induce feelings of anxiety and depression and decrease satisfaction with life is 5,649. The typical American takes 4,774 steps per day. Across the globe, the average is 4,961." - Kelly McGonigal, The Joy of Movement

Active people become anxious and lose life satisfaction when their step count drops to 5,649 or less. That’s a bit staggering, given the U.S. and global step count statistics Kelly cites.

That passage got me thinking, "I wonder if there is a similar idea for breaths per day?" However, with breathing, it would be opposite: The more breaths you take, the more unhealthy you are. Sure enough, there is something close:

"Recent evidence suggests that an adult with a respiratory rate of over 20 breaths/minute is probably unwell, and an adult with a respiratory rate of over 24 breaths/minute is likely to be critically ill.” - Respiratory Rate: The Neglected Vital Sign

If your spontaneous breathing rate is over 20 breaths per minute, you are "probably unwell." That comes out to about 28,800 breaths per day.

So, do you want to feel unwell and anxious?
Take less than 5,649 steps and breathe more than 28,800 breaths per day.

Want to be happy and healthy?
Walk more, breathe less.

P.S. That 28,800 number might even be too high. James Nestor shares some great ancient wisdom on this:

"Chinese doctors two thousand years ago advised 13,500 breaths per day, which works out to nine and a half breaths per minute. "
- Breath

2. The Most Fundamental of the Fundamentals

Last week, Kobe Bryant provided an excellent example of the importance of practicing the fundamentals. We talked about how we don’t need to worry about the "latest and greatest" breathing technique. Instead, we need to focus on the fundamentals. They’re simple, but they’re not easy.

We can take that thought step farther: Breathing itself is the most fundamental of the fundamentals. We’re all in the sport of life. And that requires breathing…at least 13,500 times a day : ) So, let’s optimize that first, then work on the fundamentals of your particular sport or profession.

3. Bring Attention & Intention to Your Breathing

"Attention without intention is wasted energy." - Chris Bailey, Hyperfocus

This quote makes complete sense in terms of productivity, self-improvement, and group workouts (CrossFit, yoga, etc.). But the minute you apply it to something like sitting down to breathe, it can get misinterpreted:

"Set an intention for your breathing practice."

"Be intentional with your breathing today."

It’s just begging to be put in the "woo-woo" category and not be taken seriously.

But intentions are powerful (hence the quote from Chris Bailey). So a compromise I have made is to set scientific intentions before each slow breathing practice. "I am going to increase my heart rate variability" or "I am going to balance my autonomic nervous system."

These are just facts that I state at the beginning of my practice that work as intentions, without feeling woo-woo.

I find it to be an excellent way to give the practice more meaning. (And don’t forget to celebrate afterward!)

4. Slow Breathing for Hypertension

Slow, controlled breathing (<10 breaths per minute) has consistently been shown to be beneficial for reducing blood pressure. So much so that it is recognized by the American Heart Association for its positive effects. (They’ve given it a Class IIa, Level of Evidence B. Here’s what that means.)

This got me thinking about a paper published back in 2005 that I loved. They concluded:

"Slow breathing showed the potential to be a simple and inexpensive method to improve autonomic balance and respiratory control and reduce blood pressure in hypertensive patients." - Joseph et al. (2005)

The interesting part was that the authors provided an exciting hypothesis for how that’s occurring using autonomic function as the foundation. That hypothesis inspired me to create this little graphic to help get the point across.

Read the Full Summary for More Details.

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1 QUOTE

My new favorite definition of success:

"To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

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1 ANSWER

Answer: The largest lung capacity of any mammal.

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(Cue the Jeopardy music.)

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Question: What is 5,000 liters (or 1,320 gallons)?

(For reference, the human lung has a capacity of about 6-liters.)

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In good breath,
Nick

P.S. How I Feel Shopping on Amazon Now.

Slow Breathing & High Blood Pressure: What it Means for Diabetes and COVID-19

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“Trees and plants depend on the weather to flourish but I make my own weather, yea I transport it with me.” - Og Mandino

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Recent reports have shown that high blood pressure is associated with negative outcomes from COVID-19.  

As people with diabetes, we already knew we were at higher risk when it comes to COVID-19. But, anywhere from 40%-80% of diabetics suffer from hypertension. That, on top of our compromised immune systems, is why we have to be more vigilant than ever with our health and well-being.

Thus, keeping our blood pressure under control should be a primary focus during these uncertain times.

A 2019 Meta-Analysis Shows Significant Reductions in Blood Pressure

I say this often, but meta-analyses are my favorite studies to read. They synthesize findings from all of the scientific literature on a particular topic in an easy-to-follow format.  

The one I’m sharing this week looked at slow breathing and blood pressure:

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Device and non-device-guided slow breathing to reduce blood pressure: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine, August 2019

(Click Here To Read The Full Summary)

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On average, they found that slow breathing reduced systolic blood pressure by 5.62 mmHg. Slow breathing reduced diastolic blood pressure by 2.67 mmHg.

Additionally, the longer participants practiced, the more significant the reduction in blood pressure. For example, in the studies where subjects practiced slow breathing for more than 200 minutes per week, the average drop in systolic blood pressure was 14 mmHg.

These improvements are significant. Blood pressure reductions of these magnitudes have been shown to reduce the overall risk of cardiovascular death. Obviously, there are no studies explicitly looking at COVID-19 yet. Still, it seems safe to assume that these reductions would be beneficial, especially if you have diabetes.

Breathing as a Complementary Therapy

Slow breathing is not a cure-all. As the name of this journal implies (Complementary Therapies in Medicine), it is complementary, not a replacement. But, slow breathing is free and has no adverse side effects, so why not use it as another way of controlling your blood pressure, stress, and anxiety during these unsettled times?

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. When Quarantine is Over.

P.P.S. Happy Mother’s Day to all of the amazing moms out there!

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Lowers Nitric Oxide (plus a big backpack)

The 100 Mile Ruck webpage is almost ready. The folks at HHPF plan to have it up by Wednesday. I’ll send you a super quick email when I hear it’s ready.

In the meantime, here is this week’s dose of breathing science.

Circulating nitric oxide is suppressed in obstructive sleep apnea and is reversed by nasal continuous positive airway pressure

(Read the Full Summary)

This study found that:

• Obstructive sleep apnea was inversely correlated with nitric oxide

• Meaning that, as OSA indices increased, NO decreased

• And as NO decreased, blood pressure increased

However, just one night of nasal CPAP restored NO to normal levels.

We know from previous studies that inhaled NO can have positive impacts throughout the whole body.  And we also know that the nasal cavity is warehouse for NO.  Together, these results suggest that the nasal CPAP machine might be restoring NO concentrations by simply encouraging nasal breathing during sleep.

Obviously, there is more to it than that, as CPAP machines do a lot more than just promote nasal breathing. But, I think a key take home message from this study is: Breathe through your nose at night.

Read the full summary to learn more.

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. How the rucksack will feel by mile 50:

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