Listen Instead of Reading
This week, you'll learn that breathing is only part of the solution, along with the ancient (and quite unexpected) secret to becoming a hero.
Enjoy!
4 Thoughts
1. Breathing as the XX% Solution
“Consider what life would be like if we gave up the idea of healthy or sick, zero versus one, and replaced it with the idea of multiple continuum. One minute, for example, we might score 60% on one health dimension, 30% on another, and perhaps 85% on yet a third. How would that change our lived experience?”
- Dr. Ellen Langer, Counterclockwise
I love this idea from Dr. Langer. It encourages us to forget “all or nothing” approaches and instead consider everything on a continuum. This perspective also provides a new way of finding solutions to our health problems.
Let’s say I only sleep 5 hours a night. Then, I start mouth taping and begin sleeping 6.5. That’s a 30% improvement. But let’s say you’re already sleeping 7 hours, and mouth tape gets you to 7.5. That’s only a 7% increase. But, that 7% might be all you need to feel your absolute best.
The point is that we’re all unique, and we’re all on different spots on the health continuum. My 80% solution might be your 30% one, and vice-versa.
So, instead of wondering what breathing (or the latest diet, the sauna, etc.) can fix for you, perhaps consider what percentage of the solution it is. “How would that change your lived experience?”
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Related Quote: “The people I distrust most are those who want to improve our lives but have only one course of action.” - Frank Herbert
2. Test Like a Pro
“You may feel your anxiety turning to panic. … To tackle this, watch your breathing. Just before you might go into panic mode, put your hand on your belly and try to draw air so deeply into your lungs that your hand moves up and down. This deep breathing can allow you to grow calmer and steadier.”
- Dr. Barbara Oakley and Olav Schewe, Learn Like a Pro
Last week, we discovered that to learn like a pro, we need to sleep like a pro. This week, Dr. Oakley and Olav Schewe give us their advice for testing like a pro: slow deep breathing.
This technique isn’t just for school tests, either. This is for any big event you’re facing. Of course, sometimes anxiety is good (see Kelly McGonigal’s amazing book, The Upside of Stress). But, in moments when you’re panicking, and it’s hampering your performance, here’s the perfect trick.
Place one hand on your belly and use your breathing to make it move. This activates the calming parasympathetic nervous system, helping you relax and gain mental focus. It’s free, available anytime, anywhere.
Here’s to approaching whatever tests life throws at us like pros, today.
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Related: A better state-of-mind: deep breathing reduces state anxiety and enhances test performance through regulating test cognitions in children (Check out the last two sentences of the abstract)
Related: This 2-Minute Breathing Exercise Can Help You Make Better Decisions, According to a New Study
3. From the Cleveland Clinic: “How Box Breathing Can Help You Destress”
“Box breathing’s simplicity is its greatest strength”
- Melissa Young, MD, How Box Breathing Can Help You Destress
The Cleveland Clinic is one of the most respected hospitals and research centers worldwide. So, it was awesome to see them release an article on box breathing this past week.
It’s a quick yet comprehensive guide on box breathing. Enjoy!
4. The Ancients’ Secret to Becoming a Hero (it’s not what you might think)
“True heroism, as the ancients understood, isn’t about strength, or boldness, or even courage. It’s about compassion.”
- Christopher McDougall, Natural Born Heroes
Heroes are compassionate. In fact, the word hero itself actually means “protector” in Greek, not “strength” or “courage.” That’s why we call our parents, big brothers and sisters, military, police, firefighters, doctors, nurses, and especially our dogs, heroes. They protect us.
And these heroes don’t just rely on boldness or brute strength, like movies and the news might make us believe. They rely on empathy and compassion for those they are protecting. As McDougall puts it:
“Empathy, the Greeks believed, was a source of strength, not softness; the more you recognized yourself in others and connected with their distress, the more endurance, wisdom, cunning, and determination you could tap into.”
Thus, we can all be heroes because we can all develop these traits. Sitting and breathing, meditating, or doing some yoga will increase your compassion and awareness for yourself and those around you. That’s how heroes are made.
So who can you show compassion and empathy for this week? You might just become their hero.
1 Quote
“In a crunch situation, I recommend you collapse your concentration to your breathing while maintaining relaxed awareness of the surroundings. Breathing deeply will greatly reduce the stress, slow your heart rate, and bring your nervous system back into balance.”
- Mark Divine, Retired Navy SEAL Commander
1 Answer
Category: Word Etymology
Answer: The word “breath” is derived from the Old English “brǣth,” which has this meaning.
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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)
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Question: What is ‘smell or scent’?
P.S. Thus, the word breath itself is related to the nose : )
In good breath,
Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
“Breathing is the compound interest of health & wellness.”
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Each Monday, I curate and synthesize information from scientific journals, books, articles, and podcasts to share 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer (like "Jeopardy!") related to breathing. It’s a fun way to learn something new each week.