natural rhythms — Blog — The Breathing Diabetic

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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.

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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.

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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.

…

(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

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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.

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Hey,

Here’s your weekly dose of breathing and diabetes fun. Plus, a letter I wrote 10 years ago…

I hope you enjoy reading!

4 Thoughts

1. Breathing Gives Us What Babies Want

In the Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz discusses a fascinating study:

Group 1: Infants were able to control some dancing toys by turning their heads in their cribs. It made them really happy to see the toys.
Group 2: Got “a free ride.” They saw the same toys, but theirs just randomly appeared when the Group 1 babies made them turn on.

The Group 2 babies still found this very entertaining, at least at first. But they eventually lost interest, whereas Group 1 didn’t:

“The different reactions of the two groups caused researchers to conclude that it is not dancing toy animals that are an endless source of delight for infants, but rather having control. Infants kept smiling and cooing at the display because they seem to know that they made it happen.”

I think this study demonstrates why breathing (especially Wim Hof) is so impactful. It taps into a desire that’s in us since birth—the desire for control.

Breathing gives it to us, immediately. We can instantly change our state, and we know we made it happen, not some external force. We become Group 1.

It’s like what Barry Schwartz says when interpreting those babies’ reactions:

“I did this, isn’t it great? And I can do it again whenever I want.”

2. The Upside of Diabetes

“When I was eleven years old, I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. This taught me a lot of responsibility at a young age…I have to incorporate a lot of “thinking ahead” and problem solving into my daily routine…Furthermore, it has taught me to always be positive and to be grateful for every opportunity I have…Although I do not enjoy having diabetes, it has definitely had a positive impact on my life.”

I wrote that 10 years ago when I was applying for graduate school.

Fast forward to today, and it’s often depressing researching about breathing and diabetes. As excited as I get about breathing, I’m also continuously reminded of all the ways diabetes is ruining my health. Thanks, science.

But in reality, I’ve always felt that diabetes is the best thing to ever happen to me. And I still 100% agree with everything I said 10 years ago.

I’m not saying diabetes doesn’t suck. But, I try not to forget that it could be a lot worse and that it has had many positive impacts on my life.

So here’s to keeping a positive outlook, while simultaneously being realistic, knowing that we need to take extra good care of our bodies and health.

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P.S. This was inspired by my recent re-reading of The Upside of Stress.

P.P.S. You can read the letter by clicking here.

3. How Slow, Deep Breathing Taps into A Natural Rhythm in Our Bodies

“Noble’s research demonstrates how tiny mechanisms throughout our cardiovascular system oscillate at that same frequency of 0.1 Hertz. ‘It’s almost like an inherent rhythm,’ he says. ‘Your breath may be unlocking this rhythm that you already have going on in the background.’”
- How Slow, Deep Breathing Taps Into A Natural Rhythm In Our Bodies

I read this article first thing in the morning with a cup of coffee. It was so good, I think I starting buzzing at 0.1 Hz : ) It’s just so awesome seeing “breathing” continue to seep into popular resources like Discover Magazine.

Read it, practice it, share it, and enjoy it. As they say in the article, “All you need is a pair of lungs, and some discipline.”

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P.S. Another reason this was so much fun to read was because a 411 reader sent it to me. It’s my favorite thing in the world when you all send me such good stuff. Thanks, as always, “Midnight Larry!”

4. How To Get The Benefits of Breathing Without the Mastery

“Happily, the benefits of training in meditation arrive long before mastery does.”
- Sam Harris

The same is true for slow breathing. And it’s simple to get the benefits of breathing without mastery: Just get started.

I still suck at breathing. I’m continuously working on it. But I’ve seen incredible benefits because I practice every single day.

So don’t worry about perfection or mastery. Just get started. The best way to do that? Just four minutes a day—two in the morning, two before bed.

…

P.S. This was inspired by a +1 from my favorite teacher, Brian Johnson.

Related Quote: "How do you best move toward mastery? To put it simply, you practice diligently, but you practice primarily for the sake of the practice itself." - Robert Greene, Mastery

1 Quote

“The nose is the silent warrior: the gatekeeper of our bodies, pharmacist to our minds, and weather vane to our emotions.”

- James Nestor, Breath

1 Answer

Answer: In a blue whale, this organ weighs over 1,500 lbs.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What is its heart?

I wonder what it’s resonant frequency is… : )

In good breath,

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

P.S. bet u just loooove school

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

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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

Breathing Gives Us What Babies Want, 0.1 Hz, and The Miracle of the Nose

Listen to this post:

4 Thoughts

1. Breathing Gives Us What Babies Want

2. The Upside of Diabetes

3. How Slow, Deep Breathing Taps into A Natural Rhythm in Our Bodies

4. How To Get The Benefits of Breathing Without the Mastery

1 Quote

1 Answer

Sign Up For The Breathing 411