Welcome to another edition of The Breathing 4.1.1.
Below, I do my best to provide you with 4 useful thoughts, 1 insightful quote, and 1 fun answer (like "Jeopardy") related to breathing. Enjoy!
4 THOUGHTS
1. Breathing is the Ultimate Self-Improvement Tool
"Never has there been a map, however carefully executed to detail and scale, which carried its owner over even one inch of ground."
- Og Mandino, The Greatest Salesman in the World
Action is the cornerstone of all improvement. We can read and learn all we want, but that is only storing potential energy. Action converts that energy into something useful.
Breathing is the most primitive form of taking action. It gives you something you can do, that actually does something. Breathing induces physiological and neurological changes in your state that are truly useful in any real-life situation.
It’s no wonder all ancient traditions focused on the breath. Before the internet, before you could major in positive psychology, before life coaches and Harvard studies, there was the breath. Breathing is the ultimate self-improvement tool.
2. Insomnia Identified as New Risk Factor for Type-2 Diabetes
"Insomnia was identified as a novel risk factor, with people with insomnia being 17% more likely to develop T2D than those without."
- ScienceDaily, 8 Sep 2020
I guess this shouldn’t be surprising, given that even one night of sleep deprivation significantly increases insulin resistance. But is there anything we can do about it? You’ve probably guessed my answer by now : )
Of course, "breathing" isn’t the cure for everything, and it certainly isn’t a magic pill for insomnia. But it might help.
Slow breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, relaxing the body, preparing it for sleep. Once asleep, nose breathing helps you wake up less (see last week’s 411), maintain rhythmic breathing, and ultimately sleep deeper. All of this might help reduce stress hormones and increase insulin sensitivity.
Overall, a simple change to your breathing, compounded over time, might help reduce your risk of type-2 diabetes (or at least help you manage it better), even if only the tiniest little bit.
Thanks to 411 reader R.D. whose interest in breathing and type-2 diabetes inspired this thought.
3. CO2 Tolerance and Chemoreceptor Flexibility
"Today, chemoreceptor flexibility is part of what distinguishes good athletes from great ones. […] All these people have trained their chemoreceptors to withstand extreme fluctuations in carbon dioxide without panic."
James Nestor, Breath, pg. 170
We discuss carbon dioxide tolerance a lot. But I prefer James’ terminology, using chemoreceptor flexibility rather than CO2 tolerance. Flexibility implies variability. It also implies robustness.
Of course, I believe the most critical part of this flexibility is the ability to withstand higher CO2, that is, CO2 tolerance. But let’s not forget about robustness and adaptability. Tension and relaxation. Stretching in both directions, not just one.
4. 100 Miles or 10 Minutes: Which is Harder?
I rucked 100 miles. It took almost thirty-six hours straight.
I’ve never made it 10 minutes "breathing" without getting distracted.
1 ANSWER
Answer: The average number of alveoli in your lungs.
…
(Cue the Jeopardy music.)
…
Question: What is about 480 million?
In good breath,
Nick