oxygen

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Love, the Gift of Giving, and How Life Gets Measured

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Listen Instead of Reading

Sorry, no audio this week. I got sick on Saturday and couldn’t record. I hope to have it up by Tuesday or Wednesday.

If you enjoy listening, you can subscribe to the audio version on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Audible so you don’t even have to look at the email 😊

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Reading Time: 1 min 38 sec

I hope the next 24’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. Any Effort We Put Toward Love

“Just as our bodies are born to breathe air, we are born to love. That's why although it's good to address our fear, it's even better to focus on our love. Any effort we put toward love—truly, any effort at all—will self-perpetuate, bringing joy, health, and well-being into our lives.”

– Gladys McGarey, MD, The Well-Lived Life

One more time: “Any effort we put toward love…will self-perpetuate, bringing joy, health, and well-being into our lives.”

Sounds good to me 🙏

2. How to Practice Right Effort (hint: start with love & joy)

“Without love and joy motivating your efforts, you're not practicing right effort.”

- George Mumford, The Mindful Athlete

You can apply breathing & mindfulness for the wrong reasons: to rob a bank, manipulate people, and so on. That’s why right effort is critical.

There are several elements of “right effort,” but Mumford provides a simple starting point: make sure love & joy are motivating your efforts. If they are, you’re likely on the right track 🙏

3. Why Healing Hurts (at first)

Here’s David Goggins discussing a race where he had to take a break to let his thyroid reset:

“I decided to rest with no idea how long that process might take. I’d already run 120 miles. Predictably, within an hour, my body reacted as if the race was over. I started to swell and tighten up as my muscles shifted into recovery mode. … This would be a problem.”

It’s a nice reminder that swelling & tightness usually occur when we stop to rest & recover. Not only in endurance events, but in life in general. Just remember that feeling this pain is part of the process.

4. The Gift of Giving: Two Breathing Metaphors to Apply to Life

Reverse Breath Cycle

Think of the breath cycle starting an exhale, not an inhale. Use this as a reminder to give before you receive.

Extended Exhales

Make your exhale slightly longer than your inhale. Use this as a reminder to always give more than you receive.

1 Quote

“Ultimately, your life will be measured by what you gave, not what you received. Don’t hold out on the rest of us—we need you to contribute.””
— Todd Henry

1 Answer

Category: Oxygen Absorption

Answer: Humans only absorb about this percentage of the oxygen they inhale with each breath.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is 5%?

In good breath,

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

P.S. Start off your new year right

Upcoming Workshops

Saturday, Dec 30: Breathing for Better Brain Health

Coaching

Breathing & Mindfulness 1-on-1

Support this Newsletter

If you enjoy getting these each week, consider donating to keep me breathing. Anything helps and is appreciated 🙏

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.

 
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One Minute Stress Relief, Taste the Soup, and Positive Feelings

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Listen Instead of Reading

If you enjoy listening, you can subscribe to the audio version on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Audible so you don’t even have to look at the email 😊

 

4 Thoughts



1. Wim Hof’s 1-Minute Stress Relief (no hyperventilation needed)

“What I do for stress is one minute of humming and breathing. This always works for me. It taps into your parasympathetic nervous system—where the peace is inside—and calms down your hectic sympathetic nervous system.”

- Wim Hof, The Wim Hof Method

It’s not all big breathing for Wim. He says to deal with stress, we can simply set a timer for one minute, breathe in deeply, and hum in any way we’d like during the exhalation. Repeat until the timer goes off. Easy and highly effective 👏

2. Moving from Self-Explanation to Self-Expression

In learning, self-explanation is a powerful tool. Explaining a topic in your own words makes you think deeply and discover what you really understand about it.

In breathing, self-expression is paramount. It’s less about words, and more about expressing concepts through you, in your unique way, to feel beyond the words.

So here’s to less explanation, and more expression, this week 🙏

3. Taste the Soup: Breathing as a Can-Opener for the Life Force

“So how do you access the Life Force? You need tools. Imagine a can of soup. If you want to know what the soup tastes like, reading the side of the can won't help; you need to actually taste it. Unless you have the hand strength of a superhero, this is impossible without a can opener.”

- Barry Michels and Phil Stutz, Coming Alive

Breathing exercises are like can openers for the life force all around us.

It’s fun to read the ingredients, but tasting the soup is even better 😊 🍲

4. The Most Valuable Resource to Our Species (plus a gratitude breathing meditation)

“Oxygen, in fact, is the most valuable resource to our species. … Consider the last time you thought to yourself while taking a breath, ‘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.’”*

- Drs Jason Selk and Ellen Reed, Relentless Solution Focus

Try using that phrase next time you start a breathing practice, or anytime you need a break from all the negative mental chatter: “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.” <— 👏👏👏

1 Quote

“The breath is also our life force. No organ in the body can function without the supply of oxygen we get from the cycle of breathing in and breathing out.”
— Bhante Henepola Gunarantana
 

1 Answer

Category: Positive Feelings

Answer: Positive feelings (such as awe & gratitude) occur more frequently and easily when this is higher, providing a physiological reason why slow breathing helps us have more positive emotions.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is respiratory sinus arrhythmia?

In good breath,

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

P.S. I have a headache

Breathing for Diabetes Online Course ($99):

If you love learning about breathing, want to live a healthier life, or just want to support my work, I think you’ll really enjoy this class (diabetes or not).

 
 

* 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.

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

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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 🎧

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. 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.

 
 

Breathing for Diabetes Class, Mystics, and How to Reach the Ideal State

 
 

🎧 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. Calm & Energized: How to Achieve the Ideal Physiological State

“[Breathing] allows you to function at peak energy, yet without the physical and psychological costs of anxiety and adrenaline overload. In other words, being calm and energized is not only possible through the breath, but it is also the ideal state.”*

- Emma Seppälä, Ph.D., The Happiness Track

I’m a double espresso kind of person. I got through graduate school drinking 5-hour energies 🤦🏼‍♂️ But that’s not a sustainable way of living.

Enter the power of breathing practices. They optimally fuel your cells with energy (oxygen) and activate the calming parasympathetic nervous system.

Calm yet energized: “the ideal state.”

2. How to Enter Mystical Traditions w/o 20 Years

“Do you want to enter into the most mystical of traditions and gather their fruits?  Forget studying difficult languages and going into a cave for twenty years.  Just breathe on the sofa in the morning before breakfast.”

- Wim Hof, The Wim Hof Method

This made me laugh, but it’s also pretty accurate—not just for Wim’s method. It applies to slow breathing. To alternate nostril breathing. To all the techniques.

Breathing is a shortcut into mystical traditions. All you have to do is “breathe on the sofa in the morning before breakfast.” : )

3. A Renowned Scientist on Slow Breathing and HRV Biofeedback: Why isn’t Everyone Doing It?

“It’s a nondrug treatment with very powerful effects. It’s easy to learn. Why isn’t everyone doing it?”

- Paul Lehrer, Ph.D.

From Cure: A Journey into the Science of Mind over Body

I often feel crazy talking about all the benefits of slow breathing. But, here’s a pioneer in slow breathing and HRVB research expressing the same sentiment.

It’s cheap, easy to learn, and has “very powerful effects.”

Indeed, why isn’t everyone doing it?

4. Thich Nhat Hanh on Finding the Best Practice for You

“Only by using your intelligence and putting the teachings into practice can they bring you happiness. Please base your practice on your own life and your own experiences, your successes and your failures.”*

- Thich Nhat Hanh, The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching

Although this passage is about applying the Buddha’s teachings, I think it’s perfect advice for breathing, too.

Of course, we have to learn from others. But no one recipe fits everyone. So it’s ultimately up to us to base our practice on our own lives and experiences. 🙏

Extra: Breathing for Diabetes Workshop

I’m hosting my first-ever Breathing for Diabetes Workshop. I’m super excited, as it distilled 4 years of research and application into about 2 hours of fun : )

It’s happening virtually on March 5, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. eastern, and it’s $99.

  • If you can’t make this time, no worries, you get full access to the recording plus audio downloads of everything after the workshop.

  • As a bonus, you also get immediate access to a pre-recorded 40-minute Wim Hof and Diabetes Mini Masterclass when you sign up now.

You can learn about everything you’ll get below. I hope to see you there!

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

“Bearing all this in mind, welcome present circumstances and accept the things whose time has arrived. Be happy when you find that doctrines you have learned and analyzed are being tested by real events.”

- Epictetus

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Category: Breathing Muscles

Answer: Humans are the only mammals to keep this parallel to the ground, even during walking and running.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is the diaphragm?

In good breath,

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

P.S. LinkedIn contact requests be like

 
 
 

* 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.

 
 

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.

 
 

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.

 
 

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…

 
 

One-Sentence Ideas and Your Breathing Identity

 

Happy New Year!

Thanks for joining me for the first 411 of the year. Here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer for you to consider this week.

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS

1. 21 One-Sentence Breathing Ideas

"Weak is he who permits his thoughts to control his breath; strong is he who forces his breath to control his thoughts."

Breathing ideas are often long-winded, but they shouldn’t be.

Here are 21 one-sentence breathing ideas to kick off 2021. You’ll learn how breathing is the compound interest of health, the most effective way to breathe right now, and the best time to start a breathing practice. Enjoy!

P.S. Josh Spector’s excellent post on communication inspired this idea.

2. What Not to Focus On in 2021

"Just because you can measure something doesn’t mean it’s the most important thing." - James Clear, Atomic Habits

Focusing on any one outcome (e.g., CO2 tolerance or BOLT) is simplistic, even in breathing. The problem is, as James also states, "we optimize for what we measure." So, let’s avoid putting too much weight on any one measurement in 2021.

The alternative, James tells us, "is to build identity-based habits. With this approach, we start by focusing on who we wish to become." Measuring progress is important, but we don’t want our identity to be based on a measurement ("I have a high BOLT score"). Instead, we want the measurement to be an outcome of our identity ("I am someone who focuses on optimal breathing, so I have a high BOLT").

It’s a significant distinction.

3. "The Consequences of Sucking at Breathing"

"Without knowing it, you might be messing up your sleep, mood, digestion, heart, nervous system, muscles, brain, and even the development of your teeth and face structure." - Patrik Edblad, How to Breathe Properly – A (Surprisingly Important) Complete Guide

I love finding breathing articles from "non-breathing" people. It makes my heart (and lungs) happy. Even more so when they are excellently written, like this one.

My favorite part was that Patrik conveyed all the benefits of breathing without ever mentioning CO2. 👏 Enjoy the awesome read!

4. Harmonize the Butterflies in Your Stomach

"It's all right to have butterflies in your stomach. Just get them to fly in formation." - Dr. Rob Gilbert

Controlling your breathing is an easy way to help synchronize them.

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

"A hundred objective measurements didn't sum the worth of a garden; only the delight of its users did that. Only the use made it mean something."

- Lois McMaster Bujold

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: Approximately 2/3 of the mass of the human body is made up of this.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is oxygen?

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. A new reason to be upset

 
 

Exciting News: A New Breathing Gas Discovered

 

Happy Monday. There was a breakthrough in breathing research over the past few weeks: A new breathing gas has been discovered. I hope the extra hour of sleep you got this weekend will help this exciting news sink in even deeper.

OK, let’s get to it. Here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer for you to think about as we begin November.

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS

1. A New Breathing Gas Discovered

"Thus, H2S [hydrogen sulfide] produced by CBS surely has a crucial role in maintaining eupneic-pattern respiration."

- Nature, Communications Biology

Hydrogen sulfide. It’s toxic, and it’s what gives rotten eggs their rotten smell. It also helps maintain our breathing.

A study published in Nature: Communications Biology on October 16, 2020, found that a small amount of hydrogen sulfide is critical to maintaining normal breathing. It does this through modification of the neural connections in the region of the brain that controls breathing.

When hydrogen sulfide production was stopped in rats, normal breathing turned to gasping, implying that it is vital to maintaining rhythmic breathing.

From a practical perspective, I’m not sure what this means yet. At a minimum, breathing now appears to be a four-gas system: oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitric oxide, and hydrogen sulfide.

We’ve found ways to breathe to optimize the first three. However, it’s not yet clear if the way we breathe (or do anything else, for that matter) can influence hydrogen sulfide.

In any case, as a fellow breathing nerd, I hope you find this as fascinating and humbling as I did. Here’s to the joy of never-ending learning.

P.S. Here’s a short summary of these findings from ScienceDaily.

2. The Single Most Important Part of the Breath

"Interestingly, Törnberg et al. recently showed that more NO is released from the nasal passages during nasal inhalation compared with exhalation." - Lundberg et al. (2008)

Here is yet another reason why inhaling through your nose might be the single most important part of breathing: nitric oxide (NO) production is much greater during inhalation than exhalation.

Here’s the finding from the paper mentioned above: "There was a marked flow dependency of nasal NO output, with the highest levels observed during inhalation at flows similar to those seen during normal breathing." - Törnberg et al. (2002)

In hindsight, this makes complete sense. NO helps protect our lungs from inhaled pathogens and it redistributes blood flow in the lungs. So, of course our bodies would maximize it on the inhale. But it wasn’t until I read these two papers that it made sense to me.

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

3. What Focusing on the Breath Does to Your Brain

"Conversely, it may be possible to reduce fear and anxiety by slowing down our breath." - Greater Good, UC Berkeley

Here is a quick-reading article, packed full of excellent information, from The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. Anytime you see a headline like "Managing stress: Is it all in the breath?" you know it’s going to be a good read. Enjoy!

4. Sleep Scientists Call for the Elimination of Daylight Saving Time

"It is, therefore, the position of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine that these seasonal time changes should be abolished in favor of a fixed, national, year-round standard time."

- Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine

I hope you all enjoyed the extra hour of sleep you got this weekend. The world’s leading sleep scientists say your body will function better, and they suggest we keep it this way (Standard Time) forever.

The above article is pretty short. But if you’re interested, here’s an even more concise summary, along with a rather impressive list of organizations that support the permanent change to Standard Time.

Because nasal breathing at night changed my life, I am endlessly fascinated with sleep. So I hope we all enjoy the next few months of better sleep and better optimization of our body's wake-light cycles.

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.”

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: Average walking speed (~2-4 mph) is also around the average speed of this physiological function.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy music.)

…

Question: What is blood flow?

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. New life in a new city.

 
 

The Breathing 411 - Understand This, and You Will Understand Breathing

 

Happy Monday. I hope you enjoy this edition with a cup of coffee : )

Enjoy 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer (like "Jeopardy") related to breathing.

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS

1. Understand This, and You Will Understand Breathing

Breathing information is often contradictory:

  • Wim Hof tells you to breathe more oxygen.
    Patrick McKeown tells you to breathe less.

  • Oxygen is your body’s most important energy source.
    But the exhale is the most important part of the breath.

  • You need to teach yourself to tolerate higher levels of carbon dioxide.
    Carbon dioxide also causes fear in people who literally can’t feel fear.

  • Lung capacity determines longevity.
    But you also shouldn’t take big breaths.

  • And on & on

To understand breathing, you must accept that all of these are right, and all of them are wrong. It depends on the circumstance.

Despite its simplicity, breathing is one of the most complex functions in the human body. Blanket statements on "right or wrong" simply cannot be made without context. We must embrace the contradictions.

2. Should You Be Breathing Even Slower?

A study published in 2006 found that resonance frequency was inversely correlated with height. That is, the taller you are, the slower you need to breathe to synchronize your heart rate, breathing rate, and autonomic nervous system.

In their excellent book, The Healing Power of the Breath, Richard Brown and Patricia Gerbarg give this specific recommendation: "For people who are over six feet tall, the ideal resonant rate is three to three and a half breaths per minute."

So, if you’re over six feet tall, you might find that breathing slower than the typical recommendation of 5-6 breaths per minute works better for you. I fall into that category, and I’ve found 3 - 3.5 breaths per minute (currently 7 sec inhale, 11 sec exhale) to be my sweet spot.

3. What is Hyperventilation?

"Respiratory alkalosis is caused by hyperventilation or a respiratory rate in excess of that needed to maintain normal PCO2." - Essentials of Pathophysiology, pg. 205

"Hyperventilation is a term that describes breathing beyond that which is required to meet the metabolic needs of the body as reflected in the production of carbon dioxide." - Respiratory Physiology, pg. 128

Here are two different textbook definitions of hyperventilation. It’s actually pretty straightforward. And, as you can see, it doesn’t involve huffing and puffing. Thus, we can hyperventilate without even knowing it.

Two easy ways to check if you are overbreathing are the BOLT score and the CO2 Tolerance Test.

Two easy ways to fix it are to breathe through your nose and make your breathing quiet while at rest.

Thanks to 411 reader W.H. for inspiring this thought.

4. Is Breathing Woo-Woo?

It fascinates me that breathing, your body’s most important function, has kind of a "woo-woo" reputation. It shouldn’t. There is a mountain of scientific evidence showing its efficacy for health and wellness. For example, I have reviewed over 80 scientific papers, and HHPF seems to post a new one every day.

But you actually don’t need any of the science. Here is the quickest way to determine for yourself:

Hold your breath.

I think you will agree "breathing" isn’t woo-woo after only a few seconds.

Thanks to fellow breathing nerd R. vdC. for inspiring this thought.

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function."

- F. Scott Fitzgerald

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: The estimated prevalence of this condition is about 23% in women and 50% in men.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy music.)

…

Question: What is sleep-disordered breathing?

 
 

Breathing Actually Reduces Oxygen (by 97%)

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You’ve probably heard some variation of this by now: You can go weeks without eating, days without water, but only minutes with breathing.

But, have you stopped to think about what that really means?

I think we’d all agree that what we drink affects more than just hydration. (For example, weight loss and exercise performance.)

The same goes for eating. You would likely agree that what you eat is important to many aspects of health. For example, sleep and energy levels can be directly impacted by food.

However, when it comes to breathing, this is often overlooked. Most people think breathing is just about getting oxygen. But what if breathing actually limits oxygen?

Breathing: Is it Really About Oxygen?

Almost all “breathing techniques” are centered on oxygen. This makes sense. Oxygen is, after all, our #1 source of energy.

But what happens if we shift our perspective and look at breathing and circulation differently?

In the atmosphere, oxygen exerts a pressure of ~160 mmHg. In our cells, it exerts a pressure of ~5 mm Hg. From the time we inhale to the time the air reaches our cells, the oxygen pressure is reduced by 97%.

Therefore, our intricate oxygen transport system can be viewed as a way to limit the amount of oxygen getting to our cells. [1] Meaning, you can’t breathe more and “super-oxygenate” your body.

(Actually, breathing less is the only way to increase oxygen to your cells. But that only corrects under-oxygenation, it does not “super-oxygenate”.)

Breathing Goes Beyond Oxygen

I don’t think we’ll ever understand all of the functions of breathing. But, just like eating and drinking, breathing has impacts far beyond the obvious. Here are a few other reasons we breathe:

  • Circulate nitric oxide

  • Improve sleep

  • Improve cardiovascular health

  • Improve autonomic balance

  • Improve digestion

  • Increase energy levels (well, this is related to O2)

  • Synchronize brainwave oscillations

  • Improve cognitive function

  • Improve emotional control

  • Reduce stress and anxiety (or create it, depending on how you breathe)

That’s A Long List

And it should probably be longer.

But here’s the point: Breathing is Fundamental. It’s more important than what you eat, what you drink, or even how you sleep.

But you can’t just ignore these things either. In fact, I believe breathing should support you in your quest to optimize them. Health and well-being are not about any one thing. But, you have to start somewhere. So why not with your body’s most important function?

In good breath,
Nick

[1] This idea came from the great book “Oxygen” by Nick Lane. If you’re a super nerd, I highly recommend it.