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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.
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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)
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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…