nose breathing

How to Actually Increase Well-Being, Waves, and the Power of Breathwalk


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Reading Time: 1 min 23 sec

I hope the next 21ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.



4 THOUGHTS

1. Without Wind, There Would Be No Waves

Imagine if we tried to understand ocean waves by studying the internal makeup of the water (without first examining the winds).

Yet we often try to understand the body by looking at all its intricate details (without first examining the breath).

Without winds, there would be no waves to study. Without breath, there would be no body to marvel.

2. The Well-Being Equation

In this eloquent equation (created by philosopher Arne Næss), “glow” refers to passion or fervor. It’s squared. This means a slight increase in glow will drown out increases in physical and mental pain.

It’s a nice reminder that, instead of always focusing on what’s bad, sometimes it’s better to simply create more good 🙏

3. There’s Something about Breathwalking

“There's something about walking to the rhythm of one's own breath, as if we can walk on and on, into the horizon and beyond.”

- Annabel Streets, 52 Ways to Walk

This book had an excellent chapter on the power of breathwalking (called “Afghan walking”). The above quote summarizes it nicely: By synchronizing our breath and steps, we feel we can walk forever.

Give it a try next time you walk around the office or to and from your car: Inhale 4 steps, exhale 4 steps (or whatever pace is comfortable for you). Simple yet extremely powerful.

4. One Could Spend a Lifetime

“Hence it is that one can spend decades, or even a lifetime, delving into the subtleties and implications of the process of breathing.”

Science of Breath

Thank you for joining me on this seemingly endless journey 🙏


1 Quote

So the problem is not so much to see what nobody has yet seen, as to think what nobody has yet thought concerning that which everybody sees.”
— Arthur Schopenhauer

1 Answer

Category: The Nose

Answer: This represents the natural congestion of one nostril and reciprocal decongestion of the other occurring throughout the day.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What is the nasal cycle?


In good breath,

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


P.S. a quick hack for reading

iCalm for Focused Relaxation

Not trying to sound salesy, but if you haven’t tried iCalm yet, you should. It’s amazing. I take 1/2 shot with my coffee and absolutely love it. So much so that it’s the first time I’ve ever become an affiliate. We have the same mission, but different approach (and they are honestly some of the nicest people on the planet running it).

Use discount code NICK20 for 20% off.


Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.


 

Heroes, the Healing Power of Breathing, and the Key to Living Longer


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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 😊


Reading Time: 1 min 46 sec

I hope the next 27ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.



4 THOUGHTS

1. A 2023 Review: Mindfulness Slightly Improves HbA1c in Diabetes

“Previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses have shown that mindfulness interventions are effective in improving glycemic control in people with type 2 diabetes. The reduction in HbA1c levels is approximately 0.3%”

- Hamasaki (2023), Medicines

A 0.3% improvement is not super meaningful. However, they also found that mindfulness helped reduce stress, anxiety, and depression in people with diabetes. Together, that’s still pretty neat 👏

2. But Mindfulness Helps in Less Quantifiable Ways, Too

For diabetes (or any condition), mindfulness helps in less quantifiable ways, too. Perhaps the most important is that, with increased awareness, we begin to notice variability in our symptoms. This gives us back some control over our condition:

“Put plainly, paying attention to variability helps us see that symptoms come and go, which helps us home in on the situations and circumstances that might contribute to these fluctuations so that we might exert some control over them. Having that kind of increased control gives rise to solutions that otherwise would not be forthcoming, as well as more optimism and less stress, which give rise to greater health in general.”

- Ellen Langer, Ph.D., The Mindful Body

Sounds good to me 👏👏👏

3. Nasal Breathing while Walking: The Key to Living Longer?

I feel obliged to share this amazing passage I read on Thursday morning in 52 Ways to Walk (such a good book, too):

“Obsessed with notions of health, he was fascinated by his breathing. In fact, Kant developed a technique of breathing solely through his nose—250 years before scientists recognized the role of nasal breathing for good health. Kant was so determined to breathe only through his nose that he refused to walk with a companion, fearful that conversation might inadvertently make him inhale through his mouth. Kant lived to just short of his eightieth birthday, a phenomenal age in 1804.”

4. The Healing Power of Breathing

The healing power of breathing is less about actual physical healing (although it can do that) and more about giving us back agency.

Controlling our breath shows us that we can control our mental and physical state, and this provides a sense of agency in all of life.

By controlling our breath, we become our own healers (and heroes).


1 Quote

In order to heal, you may wish to become your own hero.”
— Gabor Maté, MD

1 Answer

Category: Slow Breathing & Pain

Answer: Slow breathing is thought to increase the release of these, which help explain its pain-reducing effects.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What are endorphins?


In good breath,

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


P.S. thank u for coming to my ted talk

iCalm for Focused Relaxation

If you haven’t already, try iCalm. They called it “meditation in a bottle”…I gave in and bought…and now I use it almost daily, lol. Use discount code NICK20 for 20% off.


Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.


 

Gratitude Brain Change, 2 Quotes, and You Can Bring Retreat to You


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4 THOUGHTS


1. The Passion Paradox

I love breathing and lose sleep thinking about it.

2. Two Unconnected (but highly related) Quotes to Contemplate

To know that the mind is the root of everything is to realize that we are ultimately responsible for both our own happiness and our own suffering. It is in our hands.” – Sogyal Rinpoche

“By controlling your breathing, you can use a voluntary mechanical behavior to make a profound change on your state of mind.” - Emma Seppälä, Ph.D.

3. An Easy Way to Change Your Brain & How You Feel

“Every time you take in the good, you build a little bit of neural structure. Doing this a few times a day—for months and even years—will gradually change your brain, and how you feel and act, in far-reaching ways.

– Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Buddha’s Brain

Here’s a simple way to put this idea into practice during your day: Take a couple of breaths and think to yourself“This is great! I have an abundance of the most valuable resource known to our species, and I don’t even have to work that hard to get it!”

***

P.S. I use this a lot.  Sometimes it feels too forced, and I don’t notice much of anything.  But sometimes, it profoundly shifts my mindset, making it worth it every time 🙏

4. Nasal Breathing Counteracts the Effects of Gravity

“In this work, we have demonstrated that nasal breathing counteracts the effects of gravity on pulmonary blood flow in the upright position by redistribution of blood to the nondependent lung regions.”

Sánchez Crespo et al. (2010)

I re-read this excellent paper and wanted to re-share this remarkable finding: Due to nitric oxide, nasal breathing redistributes blood flow from the bottom to the top of the lungs, countering gravity’s effects.

This *might* mean that nasal nitric oxide was an evolutionary adaption to lessen gravity’s effects, allowing us to walk upright 🤯

P.S. Check out the IG post for neat graphics.


1 Quote

Breathing, it turns out, can be the quickest, most direct path to deep rest. When you can’t go to a retreat, you can bring the retreat to you. And all you need is your breath.”
— Elissa Epel, Ph.D.

1 Answer

Category: Nasal Nitric Oxide

Answer: Compared with mouth breathing, research shows that nasal breathing delivers about this much more nitric oxide to the lungs.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What is six times more?


In good breath,

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


P.S. I personally have no problem with it


* 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.


 

Alzheimer’s, Nose vs. Mouth, and How to Find the Perfect Practice


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4 THOUGHTS


1. The Smiling of Breathing

Slow breathing is to breath exercises what smiling is to facial expressions.

2. Slow Breathing Might Reduce the Risk of Alzheimer’s

“As far as we can tell from the published literature and ClinicalTrials.gov searches, this study provides the first evidence of a behavioral intervention that reduces Aβ levels (measured with plasma, CSF or PET) compared to a randomized control group.”

Nature Sci Rep (2023)

 

This recently-published study found that 20-40 minutes of daily slow breathing reduces levels of amyloid-β, a key Alzheimer’s biomarker, in younger and older adults, suggesting that it may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and promote healthy brain aging.

Pretty remarkable stuff 👏

3. How to Find the Perfect Practice

  • If you studied basketball in great detail, you could probably find a lot of health benefits.

  • If you studied surfing in great detail, you could probably find a lot of health benefits.

  • If you studied tennis in great detail, you could probably find a lot of health benefits.

Likewise:

  • If you study slow breathing in great detail, you’ll find a lot of health benefits.

  • If you study mindfulness in great detail, you’ll find a lot of health benefits.

  • If you study yoga in great detail, you’ll find a lot of health benefits.

The difference?

People choose sports based on joy and pleasure, but often choose a contemplative path just based on the science and health benefits. 

Let’s do our best to balance both, but emphasize joy.  If we focus on joy, the benefits of any practice will take care of themselves.

4. Nose vs Mouth: A Mindful Observation of Nature’s Design

You can have your mouth open or closed. But there’s no such thing as having your nose “opened or closed.” Your nose is always open, always ready to be breathed through.

There’s a lesson from nature in there…

***

P.S. Of course, this breaks down if you’re sick, have bad allergies, or have another medical condition blocking it. But you get the idea : )


1 Quote

Mindfulness lets us see things in a new light and believe in the possibility of change.”
— Ellen Langer, Ph.D.

1 Answer

Category: Breathing & the Brain

Answer: Slow deep breathing impacts this fluid, which plays a critical role in “cushioning” the brain and spinal cord while also distributing nutrients and hormones.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What is cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)?


In good breath,

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


P.S. There are two types of people


The Garlic Breath of the Week

Here is the most-liked post this past week.


* 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.


 

Learn Better, 4 Gifts, and How Breathing Can Actually Change the World

Today is a special edition of The Breathing 411.

Because today is 4/11.

It’s also World Breathing Day.

And it also happens to be my 35th birthday (to celebrate, I did one breath per minute for 35 minutes this morning <— maybe I’ll make it a new tradition 🙏).

To honor the occasion, there are 4 Free Gifts in Thought #3 below.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading.

With love,

Nick

 

🎧 Listen Instead of Reading 🎧

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4 Thoughts



1. How Breathing Can Actually Change the World, in 3 Super Practical Steps

  • Step 1: Tape your mouth at night.

  • Step 2: Breathe nasally 90-95% of the day.

  • Step 3: Forget about the rest, and use your newfound energy from Steps 1 & 2 to help you do whatever you were put on this planet to do.

2. ANB Significantly Enhances Learning and Retention of New Motor Skills

Our results thus uncover for the first time the remarkable facilitatory effects of simple breathing practices on complex functions such as motor memory

- Deep Breathing Practice Facilitates Retention of Newly Learned Motor Skills

This 2016 study on alternate nostril breathing (ANB), published in Nature Scientific Reports, genuinely blew my mind. (See full review in Thought #3.)

Here’s what they did:

  • Participants learned a new motor skill.

  • A control group rested for 30 minutes.

  • A breathing group did 30-min of ANB.

  • Then, both groups were tested on the skill they had learned.

  • Both groups were also tested again 24-hours later.

The results showed that the ANB group significantly (it was almost ridiculous) improved the learning and retention of that skill:

  • They were significantly better at the 30-min mark.

  • They were significantly better at the 24-hour mark.

One 30-minute breathing session. One day of improved learning and retention.

3. Science 411s, Book 411s, and The Breath is Life Learning Center (4 free gifts)

To celebrate World Breathing Day, here are four gifts.

Science 411s: 4 Fundamentals, 1 Big Takeaway, and 1 Practical Application

  • Free Science 411: Deep Breathing Practice Facilitates Retention of Newly Learned Motor Skills (the paper from Thought #2 above)

  • Free Science 411: Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Improves Emotional and Physical Health and Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta Analysis

Book 411s: 4 Thoughts, 1 Quote, and 1 Idea That Will Change Your Life

  • Free Book 411: The Happiness Track: How To Apply The Science Of Happiness To Accelerate Your Success

  • Free Book 411: The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer

You can read, listen, or download them as PDFs here.

I hope you enjoy them!

4. Why We Breathe: Chemically and Spiritually

Our drive to breathe is regulated by the medulla oblongata … When pH decreases (becomes more acidic due to the increase in CO2), chemoreceptors in the medulla send out a signal for the body to breathe. This means that our carbon dioxide levels have to rise to a sufficiently high level for our brain and body to know that it is time to take the next breath.

- Inna Khazan, Ph.D.

It’s the perfect day to review why we breathe. So there’s the technical reason.

But breathing is a lot more than just gases. As Michael J Stephen, MD, tells us,

That oxygen, life, and lungs all came into our world in relatively close succession is no coincidence. Only with oxygen and some means of extracting it are all things possible—thinking, moving, eating, speaking, and loving. Life and the breath are synonymous.

So beyond chemistry, we ultimately breathe to live—to think, to move, to love. Breathing is, after all, what makes “all things possible.



 

 
 

1 QUOTE

“It was ecstasy, it was sweet, air soughing in and all my little alveoli singing away with joy and oxygen-energy coursing through every space and particle of me.”

- Keri Hulme

 
 

 
 

1 ANSWER

Category: Body Chemical Composition

Answer: This gas is the most abundant element in the human body by mass.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What is oxygen?


In good breath,

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

P.S. I’m only 35, I have my whole life ahead of me

 
 
 

* 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.


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.

 
 

An Unexpected Truth, 22 One-Sentence Ideas, and the Best Part of Breathing

 
 

Get This In Your Inbox Every Monday


🎧 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 😊


 
 
 

4 Thoughts


1. 22 One-Sentence Breathing Ideas for 2022

1. Demonstrations of breathing are small compared with the great thing that is hidden behind them. 

2. Breathing doesn’t heal you; it gives your body the environment it needs to heal itself.

Keep going…

Let’s continue the tradition this year. Here are 22 one-sentence breathing ideas to kick off 2022. Enjoy!

***

Related: 21 One-Sentence Breathing Ideas for 2021

2. A Unexpected Truth: Use Your Heart to be More Objective

I feel like I process information more objectively. If there's a bad call, or a player does something unexpected on the court, I can inhibit my reaction and quickly determine what needs to happen next with less effort.

- Client of Leah Lagos, excerpt from Heart Breath Mind

This was the result of heart rate variability (HRV) training via slow breathing. As counterintuitive as it might sound, current science tells us that the more we train our hearts, the more objective we become.

It’s actually our pesky (albeit valuable, lol) brains that trick us into excess emotional reactivity, anxiety, stress, rumination, and on & on.

So to be more rational, use your heart, not your head : )

***

Related: This 2-Minute Breathing Exercise Can Help You Make Better Decisions, According to a New Study

3. Why You Should Practice Abdominal Nose Breathing

However, when we breathe through the nostrils and into the abdomen, not only do we breathe less frequently, but our exhalations are prolonged. What this means is that abdominal nose breathing not only makes more oxygen available to our bodies in a more efficient manner, but it also stimulates the sympathetic nervous system less frequently.

- The Tibetan Yoga of Breath

That is all : )

4. The Best Part about Breathing

The best part about breathing is that we can satisfy our craving to read and learn while also applying that wisdom in our lives. There’s no abstraction. It’s as easy as “sit down and breathe like this for a few minutes and see how you feel.

Sure, I write to try to make it fun and philosophical. But when it comes down to it, you just sit there and breathe. No one can take it away from you, and you don’t need any special training. You just do it.

 
 

 
 

1 QUOTE

"There's nothing mystical or abstract about it. It's physical. Your breath is your life-force, right here, right now. It could not be any simpler. Just breathe and reclaim your soul."

- Wim Hof

 
 

 
 

1 ANSWER

Category: The Airways and Ancient Yoga

Answer: The trachea, a key component of breathing, is also referred to as this.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What is the windpipe?

P.S. Yantra Yoga techniques were called “Wind Energy Training,” which sounds kind of woo-woo. But let’s not forget modern science refers to our main breathing tube as the “windpipe” : )


In good breath,

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

P.S. a workplace revolutionary tbh

 
 
 

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 Helps You Get and Stay Frustrated (and why it’s a good thing)

 
 

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4 Thoughts


1. Why You Need to be Frustrated, and How Breathing Can Help

Long-haul creativity, Robinson believes, requires a low-level, near-constant sense of frustration. … It’s a constant, itchy dissatisfaction, a deep sense of what-if, and can-I-make-it-better, and the like.

- Steven Kotler, The Art of Impossible

A consistent breathing practice will improve your mental clarity and overall health. But it will also frustrate the hell out of you.

It’s so simple; why isn’t this taught everywhere? Wait, it’s free, and it literally helps everything?

Then, of course, your improved mental clarity will seep into everything you do, and you will get more frustrated with the world, in general. (Not that I’m speaking from personal experience or anything 😂)

But now we see it’s a good thing. We need a little frustration, a slight sense of dissatisfaction, a knowing that things could be better. It helps us sustain the creativity needed to deliver what the world needs.

And a regular breathing practice is the easiest way to get that itchy dissatisfaction.

So, please, go get a little more frustrated, and a little more creative, today : )

***

P.S. Kotler shares nine different ways for achieving long-haul creativity in the book. This was #5, but its unexpected nature made it stand out the most.

2. A Few Stand-Out Passages on the Importance of the Ancient Nose

As a general note, the teachings on wind energy training and Yantra yoga emphasize breathing through the nostrils during the entire practice session. Unless we are given specific, personal instruction by a master on how and when to breathe through the mouth, we should always breathe through the nose.

- The Tibetan Yoga of Breath

The nose is the heavenly door (while) the mouth is the earthly window. Therefore, inhale through your nose and use your mouth to exhale. Never do otherwise for breath would be in danger and illness would set in.

- The Primordial Breath, Volume I

"Ancient Egyptian cultures also recognized the importance of the breath, the evidence of which we see today in the many ancient statues that had their noses broken off but otherwise were left untouched. This defacement was no accident, but a deliberate act by conquering groups to take the life, in this case the breath of life, away from these icons."

- Michael J. Stephen, MD, Breath Taking

3. Walking After a Meal: The Simplest Habit for Stable Blood Sugar

The most important takeaway is simple: Whenever possible, move your body after eating. Doing this helps mobilize post-meal glucose to fuel physical activity and curb the spike you might experience if you were inactive.

- Levels, Walking after a meal: the simplest habit for stable blood sugar

The folks at Levels put out some of the best blogs; they’re well-written and packed with practical information.

This one was so good it almost made me want to switch my post-meal breathing session for a walk. Who knows, maybe I’ll become The Walking Diabetic : )

Enjoy!

***

Related: Diaphragmatic Breathing Reduces Postprandial Oxidative Stress

4. A Little Bit of Tape goes a Long Way

I guess it goes to show that a little bit of tape can go a long way.

- 411 Reader

When you tape your mouth at night, you reap the benefits of nasal breathing for 7+ hours a night. This includes things like better oxygenation, optimal breathing volume, harnessing nitric oxide, and brainwave synchronization.

Ultimately, this leads to deeper and more restorative sleep.

And if you’re a diabetic, your improved sleep might lead to noticeably better insulin sensitivity, which happened for this reader.

I guess it goes to show that a little bit of tape can go a long way.” Perfectly said. 🙏

 
 

 
 

1 QUOTE

“The air, we might say, is the soul of the visible landscape, the secret realm from which all things draw their nourishment.”

- David Abram, The Spell of the Sensuous

P.S. Thanks to 411 reader Davis for sharing this book, and specifically the chapter on breathing, with me. So much goodness to explore. 🙏

 
 

 
 

1 Answer

Category: Brainwaves and Creativity

Answer: These brainwaves, which are between 8 and 12 Hz, are most associated with creative thinking.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What are alpha brainwaves?


In good breath,

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

P.S. Slipping the bouncer a $20

 
 
 

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 To Breathe To Live Longer, plus a New Take on "Breathe Light"

 
 

Listen Instead of Reading


 

Greetings,

Here are four thoughts, one quote, and one answer for this week.

I hope you enjoy!

 
 

 
 

4 Thoughts


1. How To Breathe To Live Longer

Let’s synthesize some ideas on breathing for longevity and see how we can apply this knowledge in our own life today.

Part I: Breathe Through Your Nose

Here’s James Nestor describing how George Caitlin lived double the average life expectancy of his time:

He credited his longevity to ‘the great secret of life’: to always breathe through the nose.” - Breath

Part II: Expand Your Lung Capacity

Next, here’s Nestor describing the Framingham Heart Study:

They gathered two decades of data from 5,200 subjects, crunched the numbers, and discovered that the greatest indicator of life span ... was lung capacity larger lungs equaled longer lives.” – Breath

Part III: Synthesis and Application

Part I is straightforward: breathe through your nose. But how do we expand lung capacity? Nestor provides a few different ways.

  1. Light to moderate exercise

  2. Lung expanding breathwork

  3. Long and complete exhales

Lung-expanding breathwork includes things like Wim Hof w/ “belly, chest, head,” the Yogic Complete Breath, and most breathing taught in freediving.

Long exhales also increase lung capacity by allowing “more air to get in” on the next breath. But, they have the added longevity benefit of activating the “relaxation response.”

Alright, so there we have it. To live longer, we should breathe through our noses all the time, increase our lung capacity, and practice extended exhales.

And for the ultimate expression of longevity, let’s not forget what Michael J Stephen, MD tells us in Breath Taking:

Those of us who practice breathing exercises today may well pass on more disease resistant genes to our descendants tomorrow.

Here’s to living longer, today. : )

***

Related Quote:For breath is life, and if you breathe well you will live long on earth.” - Sanskrit Proverb

P.S. Here’s how I implement this in my life:

  • Nasal breathing 24/7.

  • 15 min of slow breathing in the morning w/ extended exhales.

  • 5-10 min of slow breathing before bed w/ extended exhales.

  • Practice Wim Hof style breathing, ~5-10 min a day.

2. A New Definition of “Breathe Light”

You’ve probably heard of Patrick McKeown’s fantastic Breathe Light exercise. But, motivated by this excellent post, I decided to add another definition of “breathe light:”

Perform slow nasal breathing in the sunlight.

Nasal breathing releases nitric oxide into the airways and carries it into the lungs. Sunlight liberates nitrite from your skin and increases circulating levels of nitric oxide. When combined, you get better blood flow and oxygenation.

As Dr. Steven Lin says in the post,

Sunlight + Slow Breathing = Health + Happiness

***

Related: Insufficient Sun Exposure Has Become a Real Public Health Problem

Related: Sunlight May Be the Next Beet Juice

Related: Ultraviolet Radiation-Induced Production of Nitric Oxide:A multi-cell and multi-donor analysis

3. “Vision and Breathing May Be the Secrets to Surviving 2020”

Stress, he says, is not just about the content of what we are reading or the images we are seeing. It is about how our eyes and breathing change in response to the world, as well as the cascades of events that follow.

- Scientific American

I know, I know, it’s 2021. But I’m a slow reader : )

In any case, this is an excellent article from Scientific American. Breathing, stress, vision, and Andrew Huberman—it’s just all-around amazing.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, if you haven’t already read it…

***

P.S. Thanks to Ben Greenfield for sharing this article, which is how I found it.

4. The Most Important Part of Your Breathing Practice

Whether you’re breathing for longevity, energy, relaxation, or any other reason, here’s the most important part of the practice: to practice.

***

P.S. Inspired by Brian Johnson’s Notes on Creativity On Demand

 
 

 
 

1 Quote

Life is too short to be lived in fast forward. Slow down. Breathe it in. Enjoy it.

Ryan Holiday

 
 

 
 

1 Answer

Category: Sunlight and Respiration

Answer: Although sunlight helps humans produce nitric oxide, it provides plants with their energy through this process.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What is photosynthesis?


In good breath,

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

P.S. I felt this on a spiritual level

 
 
 

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.

 
 

Phil Jackson on Focused Breathing, Nature’s CO2 Trick, and Wisdom of Yoga

 
 

Listen Instead of Reading


 

Hey,

Here are four thoughts, one quote, and one answer for this week. Enjoy!

 
 

 
 

4 Thoughts


1. Don’t Let Your Breathing Get Featured to Death

The answer starts with the noble intentions of engineers. Most technology and product design projects must combat feature creep, the tendency for things to become incrementally more complex until they no longer perform their original functions very well.

- Chip and Dan Heath, Made To Stick

Breathing practices are simple. But, as humans, we tend to make things more complex. We let “feature creep” take over (guilty here). As Chip and Dan tell us, it’s an innocent process, but sooner or later, things get “featured to death.

Feature creep can be seen in breathing in many ways—the infinite number of methods available, the untold number of bio-monitors you can wear, the countless places you can focus each breath.

These are all awesome things, and we should always be trying to improve our breathing. But, if your practice has lost its original function (relaxation, focus, etc.), then maybe it’s creeping too far.

Here’s to keeping our breathing fun and adding things that bring it more to life, not feature it to death.

***

Related Quote:The hardest thing in the world is to simplify your life because everything is pulling you to be more and more complex.” - Yvon Chouinard, Patagonia Founder

P.S. I find this to be more of an art than science with my practice. What’s “too much” for me might seem like “not enough” for you, so it’s very personalized.

2. How Nature Tricked Us into Thinking Carbon Dioxide is So Important

When you get interested in breathing, you eventually get fascinated by carbon dioxide (CO2). The more you learn, the more you feel like you’ve been duped the whole time: “Breathing is really about CO2, not oxygen.

Everywhere you look, this makes sense:

It just seems like CO2, not oxygen, is the star of breathing.

But just when you think you have it figured out, Nassim Taleb reminds you of the brilliance of Nature:

It is all about redundancy. Nature likes to overinsure itself. Layers of redundancy are the central risk management property of natural systems.

- Nassim Taleb, Antifragile

Ah-ha, reading this passage through the lens of breathing, we see it is really about oxygen. Nature is just smarter than us.

Nature built in layers of redundancy to ensure we always have enough—from our perspective, it seems wasteful. But paradoxically, that wasteful appearance is precisely due to how vital oxygen is.

As Taleb says, “Redundancy is ambiguous because it seems like a waste if nothing unusual happens. Except that something unusual happens—usually.

There’s no real practical wisdom here, just fun to consider the genius of Nature and evolution. Here’s to never-ending learning and never-ending 🤯

***

Related Quote: "And if the traveler is fortunate…the destination is two miles farther away for every mile he or she travels." - George Leonard

3. Breathe through Your Nose! Modern Research Confirms the Wisdom of the Yoga Tradition

Quite rightly, it revealed that breathing through the nose led to a 10 – 15% higher oxidation of the blood.

- Eddie Weitzberg, M.D. Ph.D.,

Breathe Through The Nose! Modern research confirms

Of course, if I see an article that starts with “Breathe through the nose!” I’m going to read it and share it : )

And even better, this one was written by one of the pioneers in nasal nitric oxide research, Dr. Weitzberg. He was part of the (now somewhat famous) study showing nose breathing increases oxygen by 10-20%.

It’s a quick read and a good reminder of how powerful nasal nitric oxide is.

Enjoy!

***

P.S. Check out the 3rd paragraph in the grey box titled “Nadi Shodana – to counter asthma.” It’s the best explanation I’ve heard for pinching your nose closed on a breath hold.

4. Phil Jackson on Focused Breathing Before a Big Game

When we made it to our banquet room, five minutes ahead of schedule, every player was already in his spot ready to sit and breathe together.

- Phil Jackson, Foreword in The Mindful Athlete

This was the morning of Game 7 in the 2002 Western Conference Finals. The Lakers won in overtime. Phil Jackson said the players kept the same cool on the court in overtime as they had in the banquet room breathing together.

Did they win because of breathing? Of course not. But did it help? Probably.

As Phil goes on to say:

A lot of athletes think the trick to getting better is to just work harder, but there is a great power in non-action and non-thinking. The hardest thing after all the work and all the time spent on training and technique is just being fully present in the moment.

Focused breathing helped the Lakers achieve just that.

 
 

 
 

1 Quote

Breathing is the only system in the body that is both automatic and also under our control. That's not an accident of nature, not a coincidence. It's an invitation, an opportunity to take part in our own nature and evolution.

– Dr. Belisa Vranich and Brian Sabin, Breathing for Warriors

 
 

 
 

1 Answer

Category: Nature and Oxygen

Answer: Although still up for debate, it is recognized that these trees generally give off the most oxygen.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What are Douglas-fir, spruce, true fir, beech, and maple?


In good breath,

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

P.S. Liked them and adopted them

 
 
 

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.

 
 

Applying Gandhi's Wisdom, The Science of Learning, and $100 to Your Breath

 
 

Listen Instead of Reading


 

Hey,

Welcome back to another issue of the The Breathing 411. Here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer that I hope you enjoy this week!

 
 

 
 

4 Thoughts


1. Why Your Breathing Gains Get More Boring With Time

Gaining the first $100 at the track feels much better than winning the second $100, which feels better than winning the third $100, and so on. Eventually, if things get good enough, there is almost no psychological benefit when they get even better. This relationship reflects what economists call diminishing marginal utility.

- Barry Schwartz, The Paradox of Choice

Building off last week’sSatisfaction Treadmill,” let’s not forget this passage when our breathing, or anything else we’re working on, starts feeling boring.

We’re still making gains. They just might not feel as dramatic, because we already feel so good.

***

Related: James Clear’s Plateau of Latent Potential

2. Applying Gandhi’s Wisdom and Scientific Research to Appreciate Your Favorite Breathing Practice

Humans do not give greater credence to an objective record of a past event than to their subjective remembering of it.

- Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning

Translation: What you experience holds more weight than what you learn.

As the Make it Stick authors also tell us, research shows it’s “nearly impossible to avoid basing one's judgments on subjective experience.

Some might say this is a flaw of being human—we base things on emotions instead of facts. I say it’s amazing, at least when it comes to breathing : )

Because with breathing, this means that whatever you experience is what’s true for you. Your practice is yours; no science or statistics needed.

Practically, it means that if your experience with Wim Hof was terrific, then you should keep doing it. Or, if slow breathing was life-changing, do that.

As Gandhi tells us, “As long as you derive inner help and comfort from anything, keep it.” This applies perfectly to breathing. And science agrees.

***

P.S. If you like mouth breathing 24/7, I’m sorry, that doesn’t count here 😂

Related: “What is the Right Breathwork Method For Me?” from Breathwork Alchemy (Excellent Instagram post—concise and packed with wisdom)

3. Mouth Tape: End Mouth Breathing for Better Sleep and a Healthier Mouth

Becoming a nose breather is a process, but even repeated cycles of just a few minutes of nose breathing can effectively train your body to do it regularly.

- Dr. Mark Burhenne, Mouth Tape: End Mouth Breathing for Better Sleep and a Healthier Mouth

Mouth taping is odd. It’s perhaps the most important thing we can do for our health, but it’s hard to recommend without sounding slightly crazy.

Fortunately, Dr. Mark Burhenne wrote this great article, which covers basically every aspect of taping up at night. It will now be my go-to for anyone interested in the topic.

Enjoy the great read, and enjoy sharing it with others.

***

Related: Mouth breathing during sleep significantly increases upper airway resistance and obstructive sleep apnea

4. To Take Care of Your Heart, Take Care of Your Breath

In other words, the primary role of the heart is to distribute the oxygen brought into the lungs during inhalation, and to bring carbon dioxide back to the lungs where the excess can be breathed out.

– Patrick McKeown, The Breathing Cure (pg. 237)

I’ve never thought of it this way: Your heart’s main job is to make your breathing useful to the rest of your body. So from this viewpoint, it’s obvious they must work together. And all the science we review makes perfect sense.

Of course breathing efficiently would make our hearts work more effectively. And of course we would see measurements like heart rate variability increase and blood pressure decrease.

That’s because the heart and breath can’t be separated. Thus, we might even say, to take better care of your heart, take better care of your breath.

***

Related Quote:Although the lungs are clearly an essential element of the processes we associate with breathing, they alone do not provide the whole story.” - Respiratory Physiology: A Clinical Approach

 
 

 
 

1 Quote

Deep breathing is a potent inducer of the parasympathetic system. The release of acetylcholine not only calms our organs, it also stimulates the release of serotonin, dopamine, and prolactin, the feel-good hormones targeted by medicines like Prozac and Zoloft. But yoga and breathing exercises produce this effect naturally and without side effects.

- Michael J. Stephen, MD, Breath Taking

 
 

 
 

1 Answer

Category: Nasal Airways

Answer: Although the effect is less commonly discussed, when this gas is released into the nasal airways, it helps warm incoming air.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What is nitric oxide?


In good breath,

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

P.S. Except for what happens in my brain

 
 
 

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.

 
 

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

 
 

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.

***

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: Nasal breathing synchronizes brain wave activity and improves cognitive function

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…

Here are 28 Popular Sayings with “Breathing Graffiti”

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.

***

Related: 21 One-Sentence Breathing Ideas

Related: 20 One-Sentence Thoughts on the Wim Hof Method

Related: 18 Excellent Statements from Scientific Articles

 
 

 
 

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.)

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

 
 
 

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.

 
 

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

 
 

Listen to this post:


 

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.

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.

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.)

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

 
 
 

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.

 
 

Slow Breathing Really Does Help Everything, According to a 2020 Study

 
 

Listen to this post:


 

Hey,

It’s a fun post this week. Lots of good info, plus one of the best real-life breathing videos you’ll ever see.

I hope you enjoy it!

 
 

 
 

4 Thoughts


1. Slow Breathing Really Does Help Everything, According to a 2020 Study

The results of this review provide evidence that HRVB and PB at approximately six breaths per minute have positive effects on a variety of physical, behavioral, and cognitive conditions.

- Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Improves Emotional and Physical Health and Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta Analysis

Good news. I’m not crazy, which is how I often feel after every paper I read leads me to say that “slow breathing helps with just about everything.”

But, that’s also the conclusion of a recent 2020 meta-analysis.

They found that, like we discuss all the time, slow breathing won’t “cure” any one particular thing. But, it does help many different things in small ways:

The overall effect sizes are modest but highly significant, suggesting that these methods may not be sufficient for treating any one problem but may be useful as a complementary intervention.

Amen to that. And like you already know, when combined and compounded, these small improvements add up to overall better health.

To learn more, click here and read my short summary of the study.

Or better yet, don’t read it. Instead, spend those few minutes breathing slowly and experiencing the positive benefits for yourself : )

Related: Breathing is the Compound Interest of Health and Wellness

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



2. Diabetes Really Does Hurt Everything, According to Our 2020 Life Experience

Just kidding. Well, kinda.

But I believe the meta-analysis above in thought #1 highlights why slow breathing can be so beneficial for diabetes.

As we know, when not properly managed, diabetes hurts just about every aspect of health and wellness:

  • Anxiety

  • Distress

  • Autonomic function

  • Emotional regulation

  • Cardiovascular function

  • And on & on

So, if slow breathing helps many of these, even modestly, they’re still going to add up to considerable benefits for our diabetes control.

Of course, it’s not a cure-all. But slow breathing is possibly the simplest, safest, and most effective thing we can do to address many diabetic problems.

Related: Diaphragmatic breathing improves antioxidant status & HbA1c in type 2 diabetics


3. Breathing Exercises for Kids: Everything Parents Need to Know

The cure? Take a deep breath. That sounds like a useless platitude. It’s not.

- Breathing Exercises for Kids: Everything Parents Need to Know

Wow, this was a surprisingly good article. Quick and easy, and full of good information. It did have one typo about CO2, but I’ll let it slide since they provided so many awesome breathing books I can now get my daughter : )

And since they also provided this excellent advice for our children, nieces and nephews, and really just everyone in general:

You practice every day, you slow breathe every day, even when you’re not anxious, and then even though you become a little bit anxious, you have the bandwidth to not fall off the edge.

- Dr. Umakanth Katwa,
Director, Sleep Laboratory at Boston Children’s Hospital
Professor at Harvard Medical School

Sounds good to me.

Enjoy the excellent read!

Related: Watch this in action.

This is perhaps the best real-world 21-second breathing video ever recorded.

4. Words Are Not Always Adequate, or Important

Again, the likely explanation is that what is most easily put into words is not necessarily what is most important.

- Barry Schwartz, The Paradox of Choice

This is certainly true for breathing.

Heart rate variability, autonomic function, blood pressure, blood flow, anxiety, distress. Slow breathing helps them all, and they all sound good.

But are they what’s truly most important?

I think that 21-second YouTube video above is what’s most important.

And I don’t have words for that.

 
 

 
 

1 Quote

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

 
 

 
 

1 Answer

Answer: Over 1.1 million children and adolescents below the age of 20 have this chronic disease, increasing their likelihood of anxiety and depression.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What is type-1 diabetes?


In good breath,

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

P.S. WELL WHAT TIME DOES HE GET OFF?

 
 
 

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.

 
 

Coherent Breathing, Diabetes, and How All Top Performers Use The Breath

 
 

Listen to this post:


 

Thanks for clicking on another issue of The Breathing 411.

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

 
 

 
 

4 Thoughts

1. Why We Should Practice Coherent Breathing, in just Two Sentences

When oscillations of two or more systems are synchronised it increases physiological efficiency by enabling the functions of these systems to be coordinated. This prevents energy being wasted on non productive functions.”

- The Functions of Breathing and its Dysfunctions and Their Relationship to Breathing Therapy

Coherent (or resonant) breathing synchronizes different body systems, and I thought those two sentences perfectly summarized why it’s so important:

It improves efficiency and conserves energy.

To experience this yourself, you might think finding your particular resonant breathing rate requires special biofeedback equipment…and you’d be right. 

Fortunately, however, a 2006 study found that we get most of the benefits by simply breathing at 5-6 breaths per minute. Meaning you can get started right now without any fancy gear. It’s as simple as using a phone app.

Here’s to synchronizing our breathing for optimal efficiency today.

Related Quote:Did it matter if we breathed at a rate of six or five seconds, or were a half second off? It did not, as long as the breaths were in the range of 5.5.” - James Nestor, Breath

P.S. The two apps I recommend are iBreathe and BreathWrk.

2. All Things Breathing and Diabetes

Patrick McKeown and I sat down a couple of months ago to talk about all things breathing and diabetes. It was a surreal experience to be chatting with the person who has taught me so much. We covered a lot of material from both personal and scientific perspectives.

Watch the full interview on YouTube here.

I hope you enjoy watching and listening.

Related Links:

3. Mick Fanning’s Breathwork is the Key to His Success

Fanning’s performance coach, Nam Baldwin says breathwork is the foundation of mental and physical performance.

- Mick Fanning’s scoliosis led him to breath work. Now, it’s key to his success

Aside from diabetes, one reason I became interested in breathing was surfing. So, when I saw this headline, I couldn’t wait to read it.

And it was better than expected. It was impossible to pick just one quote to share, so here’s another gem from Mick himself:

You can change your moods, your thought patterns, just by concentrating on breath… and the better you breathe the better you perform.

Enjoy the great read!

4. Maybe All Top Performers Focus on Their Breath?

And it’s not just Mick Fanning. In The Mindful Athlete, we learn that many top-performing teams and athletes use breathing as a critical component of their practice. They might not use “breathwork,” but they certainly make focusing on their breath a daily routine, especially before games:

If they're mindful athletes, most of them are actually bringing their attention not to the game ahead, but to the present moment: fully concentrating on their breathing and, in doing so, centering themselves in that calm place where they are able to be in touch with the space between stimulus and response.

- George Mumford, The Mindful Athlete

We’re all athletes in the game of life. (Having a chronic disease like diabetes makes each day like the Super Bowl.) We might not have personal trainers, nutritionists, or millions of dollars. But we all have the breath. And we all have access to the same control and awareness that these top performers do.

Let’s use it wisely.

 
 

 
 

1 Quote


What do Mahatma Gandhi, the martial artist Bruce Lee, Buddhist meditators, Christian Monks, Hawaiian kahunas, and Russian Special Forces have in common? They all used breathing to enhance their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.

- Richard P. Brown & Patricia L. Gerbarg,
The Healing Power of the Breath

 
 

 
 

1 Answer

Answer: The cardiovascular system shows resonance at approximately this frequency.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What is 0.1 Hz?


In good breath,

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

P.S. …and the money will come

 
 
 

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.

 
 

A Buffet of 13 Interesting Breathing Articles

 
 
 

I’ve been out of town, with less time than normal to work on the newsletter. So, I decided to share a buffet of interesting breathing articles this week.

I hope there are a few you enjoy!

 
 

 
 

4 Thoughts

1. Study Shows How Slow Breathing Induces Tranquility

Breathe slowly and smoothly. A pervasive sense of calm descends. Now breathe rapidly and frenetically. Tension mounts. Why? It’s a question that has never been answered by science, until now.

- Stanford Medicine News Center

We all know that slow breathing calms us, and fast breathing stimulates us. But in this great article, we learn that there are specific neurons “spying” on our breathing, “reporting their finding to another structure in the brainstem.

Enjoy the interesting read!

Thanks to new 411 reader A.L. for inspiring this thought!

Related: Feeling anxious? The way you breathe could be adding to it

Related: What Focusing on the Breath Does to Your Brain

2. This Ridiculously Simple Breathing Technique Is Scientifically Proven to Improve Mental Focus

I can't promise that it will make everything go smoothly, or take all your jitters away. But I can guarantee that you'll feel more focused and calm than you did before.

- Inc. Magazine

Perfectly said. If you need a quick way to increase focus, it might be as simple as making “your exhalations longer than your inhalations.

Enjoy the super quick read.

And, if you want to dive deeper down the rabbit hole, here are a few more:

Related: Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises and Your Vagus Nerve

Related: Longer Exhalations Are an Easy Way to Hack Your Vagus Nerve

Related: Slower Breathing Facilitates Eudaimonia via Your Vagus Nerve

Related: This 2-Minute Breathing Exercise Can Help You Make Better Decisions, According to a New Study

3. The Importance of Breathing, from the American Institute of Stress

Please do yourself and favor and check out this issue of Contentment from the American Institute of Stress. They dedicated the entire thing to breathing.

Here’s what’s included:

  • The Health Benefits of Nose Breathing

  • Healing Power Of The Breath

  • The Setup Breath: Exhaling Deeply First

  • Re-Association: Fusing Awareness and Sound with Deep Breathing Practices

  • Take A Deep Breath

  • Yogic Breathing: Ancient and Modern

  • One-Minute Relaxation Exercise for Busy People

The first two were my favorites. You’re sure to find one or two you enjoy too.

P.S. I found this through an excellent Medium blog post.

4. Significant Brain Changes Found in Children Who Regularly Snore

Children who regularly snore have structural changes in their brain that may account for the behavioral problems associated with the condition including lack of focus, hyperactivity, and learning difficulties at school.

- Significant Brain Changes Found in Children Who Regularly Snore

This was a somewhat troubling read on how sleep-disordered breathing might explain hyperactivity and aggression in children.

With complex issues like these, it’s likely not as simple as “one thing.” But, this is an important read, especially if you have or work with children.

Thanks to great friend E.S. for sharing this with me.

Related: The influence of snoring, mouth breathing and apnoea on facial morphology in late childhood: a three-dimensional study. Thanks to HHPF for sharing this one.

Related Quote:If respiration truly acts as a fundamental organizer of oscillatory brain activity, then surely its modulation could be utilized to modulate brain activity to promote sleep.” - Frontiers in Psychiatry (2019)

 
 

 
 

1 Quote

In a single breath, more molecules of air will pass through your nose than all the grains of sand on all the world’s beaches—trillions and trillions of them.

- James Nestor, Breath

 
 

 
 

1 Answer

Answer: In the early 1770s, this gas was independently discovered in England and Sweden.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What is oxygen?


In good breath,

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

P.S. Enough for the next 11 days

 
 
 

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.

 
 

Breathing Through Negative Feedback Loops, and the WHM in 2.5 Minutes

 
 

Listen to this post:


 

Welcome back to another issue of The Breathing 411.

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

 
 

 
 

4 Thoughts

1. The Epiphenomena of Breathing

However, a lightbulb also produces heat. Heat is not the function of the lightbulb, nor is it the reason we originally fashioned it […] It is an unintended by-product of the operation, not the true function. Heat is an epiphenomenon in this case.

- Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep

Depending on you and your perspective, breathing can have many epiphenomena. For example, you might do a breathing practice to relax. But, as a by-product, it will also improve autonomic and cardiovascular function.

Perhaps your breathing practice is for better sleep. In this case, you’ll still experience the epiphenomena of better insulin sensitivity and better focus.

In fact, optimal breathing has so many “epi-benefits,” it’s hard to keep track. Luckily, you don’t have to. You simply pick one or two reasons that make sense for you, and let the rest happen on its own, like heat from a lightbulb.

Related Quote:Replace the habit of taking short shallow breaths into the top of the lungs with the practice of taking a full deep breath. Nearly all of the benefits begin with this one simple change.” - Al Lee, Don Campbell, Perfect Breathing

2. The Negative Feedback of Stress in Diabetes, and What We Can Do About It

  • Diabetes is a chronic stressor. [1]

  • Chronic stress worsens blood sugar control. [2]

  • It also reduces HRV, increasing susceptibility to more stress. [3]

  • This then can increase anxiety. [4]

  • Leading to more stress and worse blood sugar control. [2]

  • Which then leads to the subjective feeling of more stress. [1]

It’s a merciless cycle.

Encouragingly, however: “Emerging evidence strongly suggests…that interventions that help individuals prevent or cope with stress can have an important positive effect on quality of life and glycemic control.

You probably know where this is going : )

Slow breathing immediately helps:

  • It reduces chronic stress by increasing vagal tone. [5]

  • It improves both short- and long-term HRV. [6]

  • It reduces anxiety. [7]

  • It improves blood sugar control. [8]

The negative feedback loop of stress and diabetes won’t just go away. But slow breathing gives you an effective intervention you can use to help offset its harmful effects and prevent it from getting out of control forever.

Related Quote: “Slow breathing could be a simple beneficial intervention in diabetes.” - Nature Scientific Reports

3. How The Wim Hof Method Works, In 2.5 Minutes

So what happens when you breathe this way is you stress your body out. […] You control your stress to a specific amount of time so that, for the rest of the day, you can chill out. So that is probably why Wim Hof’s method works so well.

- James Nestor

Tomorrow is Wim Hof’s birthday. In that spirit, here’s a quick 2.5 minute clip of James Nestor explaining how the WHM works.

Enjoy!

Related: 20 One-Sentence Thoughts on the Wim Hof Method

Related Quote:I’m not afraid of death, I’m afraid not to have lived fully.” - Wim Hof

4. We Are All Living Nasal Breathers

All living things on our planet undergo a unescapable and predictable daily change in their environment: Day becomes night. […] To cope with this predictable daily change in light and dark, almost every living organism has developed an internal timing system, or circadian clock.

- Satchin Panda, PhD, The Circadian Code

In The Circadian Code, we learn that, try as we might, we cannot override our circadian rhythm. Evolution programmed it into us. Trying to fight it with more coffee (talking to myself here) will only hurt us in the long run. We’re much better off aligning with it to achieve our best health outcomes.

This reminded me of a seemingly unrelated, yet similar concept: we’re all nasal breathers.  We can optimize our diets, exercise, and so on, but if we don’t breathe how evolution designed us to—through our nose—we’ll never reach our full health potential.

Related: Chronic sinus inflammation appears to alter brain activity

Related Quote:Around 1500 BCE, the Ebers Papyrus, one of the oldest medical texts ever discovered, offered a description of how nostrils were supposed to feed air to the heart and lungs, not the mouth.” - James Nestor, Breath

 
 

 
 

1 Quote

The power of the breath has been used not just to heal, but to attain extraordinary feats that appear to defy laws of physiology. […] With mastery of his breath and his meditative practices, Hof is redefining what is considered physiologically possible for a human.

- Michael J Stephen, MD, Breath Taking

 
 

 
 

1 Answer

Answer: Although known as the Ice Man, Wim Hof has also completed a full marathon without water in this desert.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What is the Namib Desert?

P.S. Here’s short clip of him walking. He’s mainly nose-breathing, probably to conserve water : )


In good breath,

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

P.S. Do drugs and stay out of school

 
 
 

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 To Be a Straight-A Breathing Student, and Why Diabetics “Get It”

 
 

Listen to this post in 5 min 51 sec:


 

Yesterday was 4-11.

Yesterday was World Breathing Day.

Yesterday was also my birthday.

It’s almost as if it was meant to be this week…

Alright, here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer for the week. Enjoy!

 
 

 
 

4 Thoughts

1. How To Be a Straight-A Breathing Student

One of my favorite stories is the “50 lbs = A” parable. I even kept a post-it of that phrase on my monitor during my post-doc. As it goes, a professor found that grading ceramics students based on quantity—50 lbs gets you an A—led to better quality than grading them on one “masterpiece.”

The moral of the story: Quantity leads to quality.

Quality is obviously essential to breathing. We do take more than 20,000 breaths per day, as it is. But, perhaps what’s more important is just starting and sticking to a consistent breathing practice.

So for breathing, we might say: Focused quantity leads to quality.

You might not begin with perfect diaphragmatic breathing, proper tongue placement, or proper volume. But with a consistent practice, you’ll naturally start noticing and improving these things.

So how about we write our own parable, where 50 breaths = A.

Or maybe just 5 breaths or 5 minutes. Regardless, it’s the focused, consistent quantity that counts. Here’s to becoming straight-A breathing students today.

Related:If you want to master a habit, the key is to start with repetition, not perfection […] You just need to practice it.” - James Clear, Atomic Habits

2. Why the Power of Breathing is Actually Easy to Explain to People with Diabetes

Ask a diabetic what affects their blood sugar. They’ll either start laughing, or immediately blurt out “everything!”

So then, when you tell them that breathing literally impacts almost every bodily function, they’ll get it:

Everything affects my blood sugar. Breathing affects everything.

It just makes common sense for us diabetics to optimize it.

Related: The Lesser-Known Benefits of Nasal Breathing, Designed for Diabetes

Related Quote: Breathing isn’t everything. But, breathing impacts everything.” - David Bidler

3. This Breathing Exercise Can Calm You Down in a Few Minutes

Many people find benefit, no one reports side effects, and it’s something that engages the patient in their recovery with actively doing something.

- Cynthia Stonnington, Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ

Here is yet another excellent article from Vice: This Breathing Exercise Can Calm you Down in a Few Minutes. In it, we learn about the power of resonant breathing from Cynthia Stonnington (above) and gain invaluable insights from a pioneer in breath research, Patricia Gerbarg.

Enjoy the awesome read!

Related: Decrease stress by using your breath (Mayo Clinic)

4. The Universal Structure of the Respiratory System

There is something transcendent in the very structure of our respiratory system…Other examples of this configuration in nature abound—streaks of lightning converging into a single bolt only to diverge again as they approach the ground;

the tributaries of a riverbed unifying into one main waterway; the human body itself, branching from its trunk to arms and legs, then fingers and toes.

The lungs tap into something universal in their structure, maximizing uptake of the life force that surrounds all of us.

- Michael J Stephen, MD, Breath Taking

Here's another gem from Breath Taking's prologue, reminding us just how remarkable, yet universal, the structure of our respiratory system is.

 
 

 
 

1 Quote

The daily use of breath practices can turn back the tide of stress, counteract disease progression, and improve overall quality of life.

- Richard Brown & Patricia Gerbarg

The Healing Power of the Breath

 
 

 
 

1 Answer

Answer: For every tooth you lose as an adult, your risk of this increases by 2%.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What is obstructive sleep apnea?

(I learned this in Breath)


In good breath,

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

P.S. 100% me. (Looking at you Wibbs)

 
 
 

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.

 
 

A Danger of Breathwalking, and How I Almost Stepped on It

 
 

Listen to this post in 6 min 28 sec:


 

Welcome to another issue of The Breathing 411,

Here are four thoughts, one quote, and one answer to consider this week.

There’s also a fun bonus thought on the “Dangers of Breathwalking.”

I hope you enjoy it!

 
 

 
 

4 Thoughts

1. The Lungs Lead, Heart and Mind Follow

This knowledge is spreading back to the West through disciplines such as yoga and mindfulness, but also through techniques aimed at improving endurance, and even intimacy. These practices demonstrate that the mind and the heart follow the lungs, not the other way around.

- Michael J. Stephenson, MD from Breath Taking

Study after study has shown that breathing gives you access and control over your heart and mind, in ways such as increasing heart rate variability and synchronizing brain waves. That is, the lungs lead, the heart and mind follow.

But even with all this research, sometimes it takes an eloquent quote from a respected pulmonologist to make it seem so obvious.

Related: HBR: Why Breathing Is So Effective at Reducing Stress

Related Quote:The obvious is that which is never seen until someone expresses it simply.” -Kahlil Gibran

2. Why Slow Nasal Breathing Could Be More Important in Type-2 Diabetes

Both type-1 and type-2 diabetes benefit from slow nasal breathing.

However, it could be more beneficial in type-2 diabetes since the primary issues there are reduced insulin production and reduced insulin sensitivity.

And it just so happens that slow breathing increases insulin production and improves insulin sensitivity. But maybe most importantly, nasal breathing helps you sleep better, which will indirectly boost insulin sensitivity.

Obviously, slow breathing isn’t going to cure you of type-2. But it’s safe, effective, and super practical. It seems like a no-brainer.

P.S. For T1Ds like me, all these things are still very helpful. We just won’t get the added benefit of increased insulin production…stupid pancreas…

3. How to Improve Concentration Using Your Breath

by focusing on and regulating your breathing you can optimize your attention level and likewise, by focusing on your attention level, your breathing becomes more synchronized.”

- How to Improve Concentration Using Your Breath

In this great short article, you’ll learn that to improve your concentration, “It’s as simple as breathing through your nose.

You’ll also get some excellent quotes from James Nestor and the director of the Yale Stress Center. Well worth the quick read. Enjoy!

Related: The nose knows: How breathing through your nose improves your health (This was linked in the Thrive article—it’s an excellent deep dive into the benefits of nose breathing, mainly from clinical doctors. I absolutely loved it. I just didn’t agree with the very last sentence.)

4. John Wayne’s Perfect Breathing Advice (almost)

Talk low, talk slow, and don't talk too much.

- John Wayne, Advice on acting

If we replace “talk” with “breathe,” we arrive at the perfect breathing advice:

Breathe low, breathe slow, and don’t breathe too much.

Extra Thought: The “Dangers” of Breathwalking

I’ve become somewhat obsessed with breathwalking. I use it in short 1-3 min intervals several times a day. It’s phenomenal. Thanks again, Louise!

Last Tuesday, I was walking around my backyard, completely focused on my breath. Then, I came about this close 🤏 to stepping on a snake. The snake had its head up, ready to bite. And here I am, Mr. Breathwalker, completely oblivious…lol.

Luckily, I managed to jump over it (maybe letting out a quick scream) and immediately starting laughing at the irony of the situation.

Focusing on your breath most certainly improves your concentration. But in the comfort of your backyard, that concentration might backfire!

Related: Thanks to M.C. for sharing this excellent 4.5 min video:

Breathwalking With Dr. Jim Nicolai | Andrew Weil, M.D.

 
 

 
 

1 Quote

Few of these scientists set out to study breathing. But, somehow, in some way, breathing kept finding them.

- James Nestor, Breath

 
 

 
 

1 Answer

Answer: In 2018, it was estimated that this percentage of the U.S. adult population had diabetes.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What is 13%? (and 90-95% of those cases are type-2)


In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
Diabetes is Tiny. Breathing is Mighty.

P.S. Easter family get together

 
 

How Breathing Makes Everything Possible

 
 

Listen to this post in 5 minutes:


 

Greetings,

Here are four thoughts, one quote, and one answer for this week. Enjoy!

 
 

 
 

4 Thoughts

1. Breathing Makes Everything Possible

That oxygen, life, and lungs all came into our world in relatively close succession is no coincidence.  Only with oxygen and some means of extracting it are all things possible—thinking, moving, eating, speaking, and loving.  Life and the breath are synonymous.

- Michael J. Stephen, MD, Breath Taking

I often feel crazy. The more I learn about breathing, the more I feel like I must be falling for a big trick. It seems as if all of life’s problems come back to the breath. It really just seems too simple to be true.

Then, I read a beautiful quote like this. One that succinctly states just how breathing, quite literally, makes everything possible. And it reminds me that it is, in fact, the opposite: It’s not crazy that all of life’s problems come back to the breath. It would be crazy if they didn’t.

2. Lesser-Known Ways Nose Breathing Helps Diabetes

You probably know how indispensable nose breathing is by now. But there are other lesser-known reasons it is particularly helpful in diabetes.

In this recent article, I examine nasal breathing through the lens of diabetic complications, nasal and systemic nitric oxide, stress, and sleep.

It’s a different perspective, and I hope you learn something new about nose breathing, whether you have diabetes or not.

If you don’t have time to read it, here are a few take-home messages:

  • People with diabetes have reduced blood flow, reduced tissue oxygenation, and less bioavailable nitric oxide.

  • Nasal breathing increases blood flow, improves tissue oxygenation, and might increase an essential form of bioactive nitric oxide.

3. Take a Deep Breath (American Physiological Society)

That’s the wonderful thing about it. There are no side effects. It’s cheap. And everyone has had the experience of taking a single deep breath—you take one, and you feel it; it’s relaxing.

- Jack Feldman, PhD, Distinguished Professor in Neurobiology at UCLA

This one started out slow, but wow, there was so much good information, especially in the last section on “Slow Breathing and the Brain.

Enjoy the excellent read:

Take a Deep Breath: Featured article from the January 2021 issue of The Physiologist Magazine

4. Why Most Breathing Advice for Beginners is Wrong

"Yes, in our hyperachieving, go-getter world, I’m telling you to lower the bar. Not because I don’t want you to achieve great things, but because I know that you need to start small in order to achieve them."

- BJ Fogg, Tiny Habits

Though well-meaning, most advice for starting a breath practice is wrong.

We’re told we need to do twenty minutes in the morning, twenty minutes before bed, and maybe six additional breathing "check-ins" throughout the day. It’s overwhelming just to think about it.

Sure, if your motivation is high, this approach might work. But it also might set you up for failure, instead of setting you up for long-term growth.

To make it stick, behavior change scientists say we need to start small. For example, starting with 1 minute is more valuable than starting with 1 hour.

And ironically, starting small is the only way to go big. As BJ tells us, "Over the last twenty years, I’ve found that the only consistent, sustainable way to grow big is to start small." Conversely, starting big often leads to giving up.

So let’s lower our breathing bars, start small, and create breathing habits that set us, and those we teach, up for lasting success.

Related: Stanford Researcher BJ Fogg on the ‘Tiny Habits’ That Lead to Big Breakthroughs

 
 

 
 

1 Quote

Oxygen is the life force, the source of life’s infinite possibilities.

- Michael J. Stephen, MD, Breath Taking

 
 

 
 

1 Answer

Answer: Over a lifetime, the average nose hair grows this long.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What is over 6 feet?

This is the same resource as last week, but this is too ridiculous not to share : )


In good breath,
Nick

P.S. The dmv be like…

 
 

The Lesser-Known Benefits of Nasal Breathing, Designed for Diabetes

 

As a person with type 1 diabetes, my experience with nasal breathing has been nothing short of miraculous.  It's been such a simple change, yet its impacts on my energy and blood sugars have been profound. I feel it would be irresponsible not to share it with other people with diabetes.

Luckily, people much brighter than me have become fascinated by the nose too.  Whole books have now been written on the topic.  It has been featured in popular sources such as Outside Magazine and the Cleveland Clinic.  An article published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience even concluded that “nasal stimulation represents the fundamental link between slow breathing techniques, brain and autonomic activities and psychological/behavioral outputs.”

But after several years of research, I have come to realize that the reasons nose breathing is so helpful for diabetes go far beyond the “obvious ones.” 

Of course, the usual suspects are essential, such as the warming and humidifying of the incoming air and the natural slowing of the breath.  But to fully understand the benefits for diabetes requires a synthesis of research from different fields, such as diabetic complications, the metabolites of nitric oxide, chronic stress, and sleep.

Let’s start with diabetic complications.

Oxidative Stress and Inflammation Reduce Blood Flow

Over time, the oxidative stress and chronic inflammation associated with diabetes can damage blood vessels, resulting in poor circulation

Less blood flow means that less oxygen reaches the cells, tissues, and organs

As a result of this poor circulation (and other complications), people with diabetes have an increased incidence of retinopathy, kidney disease, and foot problems.

Nose breathing—specifically inhaling through the nose—immediately helps with this.  For example, one small study showed that just five minutes of inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth increased tissue oxygenation by 10%.  This increase was due to nitric oxide.

Nitric oxide is continuously produced in the paranasal sinuses.  When you breathe in through your nose, nitric oxide is carried into the lungs, where it opens up the blood vessels and improves blood flow in the lungs.  This results in better gas exchange and better blood oxygenation.

But that’s only the beginning of NO’s benefits.

How Nitric Oxide Helps with Blood Flow and Oxygenation

Typically, the nitric oxide produced in your nose is treated separately from the nitric oxide produced throughout the rest of your body.  Although it is known that that inhaling nitric oxide has effects outside of the lungs, scientists have not known how. Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic have recently shed light on the issue.

In a 2019 study, they did something simple yet meaningful.  The researchers had participants inhale extra nitric oxide, and they measured what happened in the blood afterward.  If nitric oxide’s journey ended in the lungs, they wouldn’t see any signs of it in distant blood samples.

The results showed the opposite

They found that inhaling nitric oxide significantly increased circulating levels of a specific form of the molecule, SNO-Hb.  These findings matter because, in a separate study published in PNAS in 2015, a different group of researchers found that SNO-Hb played an essential role in whole-body oxygenation.  Without it, mice received less blood flow to the heart and even had smaller litter sizes.

Why This is Important to Diabetes

The complications of diabetes also impact nitric oxide.  Sustained high blood sugars alter how hemoglobin stores nitric oxide. 

The end result is that people with diabetes generally have less SNO-Hb

And, as we just learned, SNO-Hb is critical to blood flow and tissue oxygenation. 

So, putting it all together:

  • People with diabetes suffer from poor circulation and insufficient oxygen.

  • Our noses are a source of nitric oxide—breathing through our nose utilizes it.

  • Inhaling nitric oxide increases an essential form of NO called SNO-Hb.

  • SNO-Hb is critical to improving blood flow and increasing whole-body oxygenation.

Therefore, nose breathing could be especially helpful in diabetes by maintaining normal SNO-Hb levels and hence helping improve blood flow and oxygenation throughout the body.*  Mouth breathing would not provide these benefits.

How High Blood Sugars Reduce Oxygen Delivery

In addition to altering how nitric oxide is stored, high blood sugar also modifies the relationship between oxygen and hemoglobin.  Specifically, it tightens the bond between them.

As a result, less oxygen can be delivered to the places it is needed.  (For the breathing nerds out there, it causes a left shift in the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve.)  This problem might be further exacerbated by stress.

Chronic Stress and Carbon Dioxide Alter Oxygen Availability

Diabetes also causes chronic stress—a less intense but sustained fight or flight stress response.  This stress causes people with diabetes to have anywhere from 14% to 20% more cases of anxiety than those without it.  Moreover, it has been reported that up to 40% of the diabetic population show symptoms of anxiety.  A 2013 meta-analysis, including over 12,000 people with diabetes, also found significant associations between diabetes and an increased probability of anxiety disorder or anxiety symptoms.

Chronic stress and anxiety, such as that experienced in diabetes, are often associated with overbreathing.  Overbreathing, or hyperventilation, simply refers to breathing more than your metabolic demands at any given moment, and is often associated with mouth breathing. Consequently, the body gets rid of too much carbon dioxide, which alters the pH of the blood.

This has a similar effect on oxygen and hemoglobin as high blood sugar. 

That is, it tightens the bond between them, reducing the amount of oxygen that can be delivered to the cells and tissues (this is known as the Bohr effect).

Together, we see that the high blood sugar and chronic stress associated with diabetes combine to reduce oxygen availability to the cells and tissues.

When we switch to nose breathing, the volume of each breath is naturally reduced.  This helps normalize carbon dioxide levels and restore blood pH to normal levels, which will improve oxygen delivery.** 

Combining this with the earlier discussion on nitric oxide, we see how this one simple change (nose breathing) helps offset some diabetic complications.

Nose Breathing, Sleep, and Diabetes: The Missing Link to Better Blood Sugar Control

If we breathe nasally during sleep, all of the benefits of nose breathing continue throughout the night. Of all the things nose breathing helps with, this might be the most critical for diabetes.

We have already discussed that diabetes causes chronic stress, which can lead to more rapid breathing.  Nose breathing helps naturally slow down the breath.  This will help you shift from a stressful sympathetic state to a calming parasympathetic state.  This shift is significant for people with diabetes who exhibit less parasympathetic tone at night than non-diabetics.  Thus, nasal breathing at night helps us increase parasympathetic tone and enjoy better sleep.

Receptors in your nose also act to maintain rhythmic breathing during sleep.  This might help explain why nose breathing reduces the risk of obstructive sleep apnea when compared to mouth breathing.  Diabetes is associated with a significantly increased risk of obstructive sleep apnea. So, if nasal breathing at night can help reduce this risk, it could be especially beneficial.

Lastly, we know that inadequate sleep causes insulin resistance.  By getting deeper, more restorative sleep, insulin sensitivity can be improved.  This could potentially lead to better morning blood sugars (that was my experience), setting you up for a better day of glucose control.

The More Subjective but Most Important Benefit of Nasal Breathing for Diabetes

Altogether, nasal breathing increases blood flow, improves tissue oxygenation, and appears to increase an essential form of bioactive nitric oxide that people with diabetes have less of.  It also improves sleep quality by helping us flip to a more calming state and by reducing the incidence of sleep apnea.  This can help improve insulin sensitivity.

When we combine all of these together, nasal breathing's net benefit can be simply stated as:

It gives you more energy. 

And it’s harder to objectively measure, but perhaps the best aspect of increased energy levels is more motivation to take care of your blood sugars. 

Diabetes is an exhausting full-time job that can lead to physical and emotional burnout.  Having more energy and enthusiasm to manage the disease could be the most valuable aspect of something as simple as breathing through your nose.

Footnotes:

*The levels of NO inhaled in the 2019 Cleveland Clinic study were greater than those produced in the nose.  But, the study validated that there is a mechanism by which NO that is introduced into the lungs can be transported throughout the body as SNO-Hb.  Thus, nasal breathing would only act to bring SNO-Hb up to normal physiological levels, whereas mouth breathing would rob the body of this important physiological process.

**This discussion is centered around the regular blood sugar fluctuations associated with diabetes and not diabetic ketoacidosis.