insomnia

The Science of Presence, Beating Gravity, and How to Sleep Like a Pro

 
 

Listen Instead of Reading

 

Greetings,

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

I hope you enjoy it!

 
 
 
 

4 Thoughts


1. How to Sleep Like a Pro: Nose, 4-4-6-2, Repeat

“Breathe deeply and regularly…Try to breathe through your nose, keeping your mouth closed if at all possible. The more you breathe through your nose, the easier you will find it to breathe through your nose. In other words, use it or lose it.”

- Dr. Barbara Oakley and Olav Schewe, Learn Like a Pro

I didn’t expect to find anything about breathing in a book called “Learn Like a Pro,” which is geared mainly toward college students. But, to learn well, you need to sleep well. Enter: the power of the breath.

And their advice for falling asleep? Inhale for 4 sec, hold for 4 sec, exhale for 6 sec, hold for 2 sec. “This type of breathing balances both the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in your body and allows you to relax more deeply.”

It’s just so awesome to see slow nasal breathing make its way into random places like this. If put into practice, these few sentences could change a student’s life forever. Simply amazing.

Here’s to sleeping (and learning) like a pro, tonight.

***

P.S. I’ve been having a little self-induced stress insomnia recently (such is life), so it was perfect timing for this passage.

Related: Self-Regulation of Breathing as an Adjunctive Treatment of Insomnia

2. Beating Gravity with Your Nose

“The results presented in this work provide evidence that the development of a substantial production of NO in the upper airways of humans may be an important part of our adaptation to life on two legs to ameliorate the influence of gravity on pulmonary blood flow distribution.”

- Nasal nitric oxide and regulation of human pulmonary blood flow in the upright position

Translation: Nasal nitric oxide might have been an evolutionary adaptation to counteract gravity, allowing us to sit and walk upright. 🤯

Gravity moves blood flow toward the base of the lungs. Nitric oxide, however, redistributes blood flow help better utilize the massive surface area of the lungs. This allows us to get more oxygen in the upright position.

So go take a walk, breathe through your nose, oxygenate your body, and enjoy this gift evolution has given us.

***

Related Quote: “Our own physical body possesses a wisdom which we who inhabit the body lack.” - Henry Miller

3. Psychology Today: “The Simplest Stress Management Skill”

“It may seem incredible that such a simple exercise can make a huge difference in a person’s ability to feel less stressed.”

- Dianne Grande, Ph.D., The Simplest Stress Management Skill

Of course, that “simple exercise” is slow deep breathing : )

This quick and excellent article touches on the vagus nerve and equal versus extended exhalations. It also provides some straightforward and practical guidelines for a “minimum effective dose” of slow breathing. Enjoy!

4. The Making of the Present Moment

“Your experience of the present moment is based on the activity of your nervous system at that moment. ”

- Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Neurodharma

We are always in the moment. As Howard Cohn says, “In truth, we are always present. We only imagine ourselves to be in one place or another.”

So what “presence” really refers to is experiencing our current moment. And as Dr. Hanson reminds us, our experience of any moment is just our nervous system at that moment. And the fastest way to access that? Our breath.

So experience your breath to experience presence. Or better yet, change your breath, change your nervous system, and use this science and physiology of presence to make your own moments.

***

Related Quote: “Breathe and you dwell in the here and now.” - Annabel Laity

Related Quote: “As such, the state of the autonomic nervous system underlies all psychological and physiological functioning, whether we are conscious of it or not. However, there is a bridge between our conscious mind and the subconscious action of the autonomic nervous system – breathing.” - The New Science of Breath

 
 
 
 

1 Quote

“Everything I have earned today was at least partially a result of breathing.  My best performance.  My emotional control. My ability to endure.  Breathing gave me all of this.”

- Rickson Gracie, Breathe: A Life in Flow

P.S. I listened to Breathe, so I apologize if the punctuation is incorrect.

 
 
 
 

1 Answer

Category: Breathing in the Womb

Answer: Babies are supplied oxygen in the womb through this tube-like structure.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is the umbilical cord?

In good breath,

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

P.S. it comes very naturally

 
 
 

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 Breathing Improves HRV, Sleep, and “Keep Breathing. That’s the Key”

 
 

Listen Instead of Reading

 

Greetings,

I realized that last week marked one year of The Breathing 411—and 2.5 years of sending a weekly breathing newsletter. 🤯

Writing this newsletter is my favorite thing in the world to do, so thank you for reading, sharing, and practicing these ideas.

Alright, here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer for this week.

Enjoy!

 
 
 
 

4 Thoughts


1. The Mechanisms of How Breathing Improves HRV

“Inhalation causes an immediate rise in heart rate, followed (∼5 s) by increased blood pressure and baroreceptor firing. Exhalation results in an immediate decrease in heart rate followed (∼5 s) by decreased blood pressure and baroreceptor firing.”

- A Practical Guide to Resonance Frequency Assessment for Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback,
Frontiers in Neuroscience

Have you watched the Huberman Lab video showing how breathing immediately impacts heart rate? Check it out. The above passage explains how that process goes on to improve HRV.

Specifically, it’s that ~5-second lag between the rise and heart rate and rise in blood pressure that’s critical. And it’s this lag that makes breathing at a 5in/5out rhythm so beneficial (although it’s slightly different for everyone).

When we breathe like this, the messages from our breath and blood pressure synchronize, increasing their amplitude and increasing HRV.

Thus, there’s to magic behind how slow breathing improves HRV. It’s simply a harmony of body messages, which increases efficiency and, subsequently, improves resiliency and overall health.

***

Related: #2 Why Trampolines Are More Useful Than Science To Explain Slow Breathing

Related Quote: “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.” - James Nestor, Breath

2. Breathing’s Version of Powered In, Unplugged, and System Restarts

  • Nasal breathing is like having your computer plugged in. You’re getting a constant supply of energy via your power chord (nose and nasal airways).

  • Mouth breathing is like unplugging from the charger. Sometimes it’s needed, and you can make it for some time, but eventually you’ll run out of juice.

But suppose you keep your computer plugged in 24/7, even at night when you close your laptop (via mouth tape).

What happens in that case? Well, even then, you’ll eventually have too many things running. You’ll need a restart.

Methods like Wim Hof/SKY/Tummo serve as this restart for your nervous system. They clean out all the junk, allowing you to return to your baseline.

Here’s to using our breathing to optimize our energy and meet whatever demands our systems have.

3. “Can Breathwork Help You Sleep? An Expert Explains”

“If you want to engage in breathwork for sleep, don’t get too hung up on the details. The key is to slow down your breath and really direct it to your belly using your diaphragm.”

- Can Breathwork Help You Sleep? An Expert Explains

In this article, Molly Atwood, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University, explains why deep breathing is so helpful for sleep. It’s super quick and practical—I loved it.

It was especially refreshing that there was nothing fancy or complex: “It’s not a super complicated thing to practice,” she says. “I think it would be hard to find something that would steer you completely wrong.” Amen, and enjoy!

***

Related: Self-Regulation of Breathing as an Adjunctive Treatment of Insomnia in Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2019

Related: Mindfulness training helps kids sleep better, Stanford Medicine study finds (July 6, 2021)

4. Turning Breathing Knowledge into Breathing Wisdom

“But not until that moment…did that knowledge become wisdom, that is, become how I felt.”

- Alex Lickerman, MD, The Undefeated Mind

What a perfect distinction for when knowledge becomes wisdom: It’s that moment when something you know becomes how you feel.

Here’s to turning breathing knowledge into breathing wisdom through continuous learning, practice, and insights.

***

P.S. Dr. Lickerman also describes an insight as “that most mysterious of experiences in which knowledge takes root in a person’s psyche and alters what he believes and therefore how he behaves.” Love it.

Related Quote: “Only knowledge that is used sticks in your mind.” - Dale Carnegie

 
 
 
 

1 Quote

“Keep breathing. That’s the key. Breathe.”

- Gimli, Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (link to video)

P.S. Thanks E.S. for that quote. Along with sending me ridiculously good science articles, he also hits me with gems like this : )

 
 
 
 

1 Answer

Category: Nasal Breathing and the Brain

Answer: Nasal airflow is encoded in this part of the brain, which then is projected onto emotional regions of the brain.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is the olfactory bulb?

In good breath,

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

P.S. My entire personality for the next 3 weeks

 
 
 

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 - Intermittent Fasting and Time-Restricted Breathing

 

Welcome to another week of The Breathing 4.1.1. Let’s get right to it.

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS

1. Time-Restricted Breathing?

Every now and then, skipping a meal or two ("intermittent fasting") can be good for you. Studies have even found that just compressing your eating window (that is, "time-restricted eating") is beneficial for metabolism and weight loss.

You can do this on a much smaller scale with breathing. It’s called "intermittent breathing," or simply holding your breath. Maybe it’s only 30 seconds instead of 30 hours. Still, the idea is similar: Restrict your body from something it’s used to, and it elicits beneficial responses.

Similarly (although the analogy breaks down some), "time-restricted breathing" can also be done by setting aside time each day to breathe less. You might only do this for five minutes. But, like how time-restricted eating makes the meals you do eat more useful, time-restricted breathing improves your oxygen metabolism, making those other 20,000+ breaths you take each day more effective.

2. Slow Breathing as a Treatment for Insomnia

"Practicing the 0.1 Hz rate before sleep was shown to improve sleep onset latency and quality in insomniacs and enhance the stability of their sleep pattern (13). Thus, we suggest 0.1 Hz as the optimal frequency for a slow breathing technique." - Self-Regulation of Breathing as an Adjunctive Treatment of Insomnia

Last week, I mentioned that slow breathing might be a way to help with insomnia, based purely on deductive reasoning. With insomnia on my radar, this article jumped off the page at me. I cannot recommend it enough. Choosing only one quote was nearly impossible.

Even if you do not care about insomnia, their sections on "Cardiorespiratory Synchronization" and "Slow Deep Breathing" are phenomenal. They will be the motivation of several future thoughts…

In the meantime, let us slow down our breathing before bed (to say, 6 breaths per minute, also known as 0.1 Hz) to help increase cardiorespiratory synchronization, increase parasympathetic tone, and have a restful night’s sleep.

3. Why You Need Efficient Breathing: 18x the Energy

"Anaerobic metabolism…is relatively inefficient compared with aerobic processes. Only two ATP molecules are produced…In contrast, the body reaps 36 molecules of ATP for each molecule of glucose metabolized aerobically."

- Respiratory Physiology: A Clinical Approach

That means that aerobic metabolism (with oxygen) is about 18x more efficient than anaerobic metabolism (without oxygen). Therefore, the more efficient you are at using oxygen, the more efficient you are at producing energy.

A practical way to improve your oxygen efficiency? Time-restricted breathing.

4. A Simple Way to Breathe Better Right Now

Make your breathing quiet. This might be the easiest, most practical thing you can do anytime, anyplace, to improve your breathing (after nose breathing, of course). Give it a try now, if you feel so inspired.

Make sure you cannot hear your breathing, even internally. You’ll naturally slow down your breathing and naturally breathe less. It’s fantastic, and it’s easy.

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

"Gandhi became absolutely motionless. His absorption was so profound that he scarcely seemed to breathe"

- Eknath Easwaran, Gandhi The Man

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: The average number of breaths in a lifetime.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy music.)

…

Question: What is over 600 million?

BONUS THOUGHT

"And if the traveler is fortunate—that is, if the path is complex and profound enough—the destination is two miles farther away for every mile he or she travels." - George Leonard

I am fortunate to be traveling with you. Thank you for reading.

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. You’re Wrong and College Has Failed You

 
 

The Breathing 411 - Before There Were Harvard Studies

 

Welcome to another edition of The Breathing 4.1.1.

Below, I do my best to provide you with 4 useful thoughts, 1 insightful quote, and 1 fun answer (like "Jeopardy") related to breathing. Enjoy!

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS

1. Breathing is the Ultimate Self-Improvement Tool

"Never has there been a map, however carefully executed to detail and scale, which carried its owner over even one inch of ground."

- Og Mandino, The Greatest Salesman in the World

Action is the cornerstone of all improvement. We can read and learn all we want, but that is only storing potential energy. Action converts that energy into something useful.

Breathing is the most primitive form of taking action. It gives you something you can do, that actually does something. Breathing induces physiological and neurological changes in your state that are truly useful in any real-life situation.

It’s no wonder all ancient traditions focused on the breath. Before the internet, before you could major in positive psychology, before life coaches and Harvard studies, there was the breath. Breathing is the ultimate self-improvement tool.

2. Insomnia Identified as New Risk Factor for Type-2 Diabetes

"Insomnia was identified as a novel risk factor, with people with insomnia being 17% more likely to develop T2D than those without."

- ScienceDaily, 8 Sep 2020

I guess this shouldn’t be surprising, given that even one night of sleep deprivation significantly increases insulin resistance. But is there anything we can do about it? You’ve probably guessed my answer by now : )

Of course, "breathing" isn’t the cure for everything, and it certainly isn’t a magic pill for insomnia. But it might help.

Slow breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, relaxing the body, preparing it for sleep. Once asleep, nose breathing helps you wake up less (see last week’s 411), maintain rhythmic breathing, and ultimately sleep deeper. All of this might help reduce stress hormones and increase insulin sensitivity.

Overall, a simple change to your breathing, compounded over time, might help reduce your risk of type-2 diabetes (or at least help you manage it better), even if only the tiniest little bit.

Thanks to 411 reader R.D. whose interest in breathing and type-2 diabetes inspired this thought.

3. CO2 Tolerance and Chemoreceptor Flexibility

"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."

James Nestor, Breath, pg. 170

We discuss carbon dioxide tolerance a lot. But I prefer James’ terminology, using chemoreceptor flexibility rather than CO2 tolerance. Flexibility implies variability. It also implies robustness.

Of course, I believe the most critical part of this flexibility is the ability to withstand higher CO2, that is, CO2 tolerance. But let’s not forget about robustness and adaptability. Tension and relaxation. Stretching in both directions, not just one.

4. 100 Miles or 10 Minutes: Which is Harder?

I rucked 100 miles. It took almost thirty-six hours straight.

I’ve never made it 10 minutes "breathing" without getting distracted.

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

"You can borrow knowledge, but not action."

- James Clear

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: The average number of alveoli in your lungs.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy music.)

…

Question: What is about 480 million?

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. Me Up at Night Worrying

 
 

Two Simple Ways to Improve Your Sleep Tonight

 
Walk_With_Purpose_Dickens.png
 
 

Charles Dickens just walked into a hotel room. The year is 1860. As arguably the most famous author alive, you might think he set up his writing station and poured a glass of Brandy. Instead, he pulled out his compass and rearranged the place [1].

Dickens’ Odd Fix for Insomnia

Dickens believed that sleeping with his head toward the north helped with his insomnia. This sounds funny but is probably more helpful than his previous solution, which was to walk all night, sometimes covering up to 30 miles [2].

Although Dickens’ sleeping habits were peculiar, it was his keen observations of others that changed sleep science.

Joe’s Snoring and Sleep Science

In 1836, Dickens began writing The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, also known as The Pickwick Papers. In it, Dickens’ character “Joe” displayed all of the classic characteristics of sleep apnea. Joe was always tired, he fell asleep during the day, and he snored loudly.

Sleep scientists credit this work as being the first accurate observations of sleep-disordered breathing [3], recording it 120 years before the science caught up.

Modern Sleep Science Catches Up

Today, estimates of sleep-disordered breathing are, well, breathtaking. The term “sleep-disordered breathing” itself is rather generic. It covers a wide range of issues related to sleep and breathing (most commonly, obstructive sleep apnea).

However, in 1996 a review study was published that sheds light on the mechanisms that cause sleep-disordered breathing. This research helps explain why it is so common and provides suggestions as to what we can do about it.

Sleep and Breathing State-of-the-Art Review: Sleep-Induced Breathing Instability

(Published in Sleep in 1996 — Click Here to Read Full Summary)

The main conclusion from this study is that your breathing system does not work the same during sleep as it does during wakefulness.  

For example, there is less input to the muscles that keep your upper airways open, which can narrow or collapse them. This narrowing of the upper airways also increases breathing resistance. Additionally, sleep dampens the chemoreflexes that usually keep blood pH in a tight range. 

Interestingly, this “State-of-the-Art Review” concluded that carbon dioxide (CO2) could potentially help with sleep-disordered breathing. CO2 could stimulate the chemoreflexes that keep breathing steady. Additionally, CO2 is a smooth muscle dilator, which would help increase blood flow to the muscles that keep the airways open.

Two Ways You Can Start Tonight

1. Tape Your Mouth

You can start adding CO2 to your breathing tonight by taping your mouth during sleep, which will reduce breathing volume and increase CO2.

Paradoxically, while nose breathing increases resistance during the day, it reduces upper airway resistance during sleep. This small change will help you breathe better during sleep and wake up feeling refreshed and energized.

2. Breathe Less During the Day

You can also practice light breathing during the day to train your body to tolerate more CO2. By doing this consistently, you can reset your baseline CO2 back to normal values and ultimately improve your breathing during sleep.  

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. I think we all need a smile like this right now.

References

[1] Source: https://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com/opinion/blogs/how-dickens-got-a-good-nights-sleep/11074673.blog (I made up the little hotel story to go with it…he might have in fact poured some Brandi too…)

[2] Source: https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/15/3/264/2749285 

[3] Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3365094/