skin conductance

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A Clearer Life, Quiet Joy, and 3 Random Thoughts

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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 😊

Reading Time: 1 min 38 sec

I hope the next 20’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. A Clearer and More Vivid Life

“Think about a digital photograph. The vividness and clarity of the image depend on the number of pixels. Likewise, the vividness and clarity of the meditation object depend on the number of perceiving moments of attention whose content is the meditation object.”

– The Mind Illuminated

Although it’s about meditation, this analogy is perfect for life as a whole. The more “perceiving moments of attention” we bring to what’s happening (aka mindfulness), the more “pixels” we’ll add to our life image, and the clearer and more vivid they will become 👏

2. Tuning Out from Reality (and skipping with fairies)

“If you are already breathing at a normal rate, slowing it down further still can change your state of mind to the point where you tune out from reality and skip happily away with the fairies.”

– Caroline Williams, Move

This quote made me laugh. It’s a fun reminder that, although the breath is a gateway to mindfulness, we can also use slow breathing as a mini retreat from life, allowing us to “tune out from reality and skip happily away with the fairies.” 😊

3. Three Random Thoughts

1. Breathing, with awareness, is gratitude.

2. If you follow your breath, you may actually end up where you’re going.

3. Right now, to get a fresh perspective, you can view the breath cycle as starting on an exhale rather than an inhale. The insight comes from remembering that we can do this with almost everything in life.

4. Be Weird

“We’re able to connect with life best when we get juice from multiple places. A puzzle piece doesn’t just click in on one side; it clicks in on two, three, or four. What that looks like varies from person to person.”

- Gladys McGarey, MD (103-years-old)

A reminder that breathing and mindful living are not about sitting cross-legged all day or becoming a zen master. They’re about becoming more us: allowing ourselves to be weird, embracing our varied interests, and connecting with life’s bigger puzzle on multiple sides 👏

1 Quote

“There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.””
— Ralph H. Blum

1 Answer

Category: Skin and Nervous System

Answer: Slow breathing helps to reduce this skin-associated measure, which is thought to be a marker of nervous system activity.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is skin conductance?

In good breath,

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

P.S. a haunted house but…

There Is No Path

“Traveler, there is no path. The path is made by walking.” – Antonio Machado

Your breath, your mind, and your awareness are your most powerful tools for living a fulfilled life. Don’t limit yourself to one method or feel guilty about your varied interests—these are what make you, you. Embrace your curiosity and explore different teachings, understand their core principles, and forge your own path. Learn more.

The Breathing App for Diabetes

This is the first program specifically made for people with diabetes to help manage their stress through breathing and mindfulness practices. In addition to the amazing program inside the app, we have some really neat things coming up, so sign up now!

Learn more here.

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.

 

Sit Up Straight, a Language of Energy, and Two Hours instead of One?

 
 

🎧 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. Mindful Low-and-Slow Breathing is “Almost Always Helpful”

“Mindful low-and-slow breathing (Chapter 2) activates the parasympathetic (relaxation) nervous system and is therefore almost always helpful in reducing physiological arousal, including bringing down skin conductance. Reducing skin conductance with low-and-slow breathing is particularly helpful for a quick recovery break, between meetings, or as a break from challenging activities of the day.”

- Inna Khazan, PhD, Biofeedback and Mindfulness in Everyday Life

Mindful low-and-slow breathing is “almost always helpful in reducing physiological arousal.” <— sounds good to me.

Use it anytime, anywhere for a quick reset and recovery.

2. Sit Up Straight: Take a Full, Deep Breath

“Our thoracic curve affects lung function. When the thoracic curve become more pronounced (think hunchback), the lungs’ ability to expand decreases. Excessive thoracic curvature weakens respiratory muscles and restricts your ability to take a full, deep breath.”

- Pete Egoscue, Pain Free

We probably don’t need another reminder to sit up straight. We know good posture is essential for just about everything (especially breathing; and vice-versa, as good breathing can lead to better posture).

But, for some reason, it really stuck out here and has inspired me to make my posture a top priority. Maybe this passage will spark something for you too 🙏

3. Do This when Life Gets Complicated: Two Hours instead of One

“The non-negotiable part is key. When life gets complicated, these four practices are typically what we remove from our schedule, but the research shows this is the last choice we should make. When life gets complicated, lean into these practices, as they’re how you get the creativity needed to untangle the complicated.”

- Steven Kotler, The Art of Impossible

Kotler is discussing four key practices for “sustained peak performance” (which he says are gratitude, mindfulness, exercise, and sleep).

But the idea applies to anything we do for better health (like breathing).

When life gets absurdly busy, lean into these practices. As Gandhi said, “I have so much to accomplish today that I must meditate for two hours instead of one.”

4. Sleep Better with Breathing

Car accidents and heart attacks will spike today due to the time change (which is why I haven’t participated in two years—be the change you want to see style.)

However, most of us can’t just ignore it due to life and work obligations. The next best thing is protecting ourselves. Here’s how breathing can help:

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

“Within the rhythms and structure of your breath is coded a language of energy that your nervous system, glands, and mind understand.”

- Gurucharan Singh Khalsa, PhD, and Yogi Bhajan, PhD

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Category: Sleep

Answer: Before the invention of electric light, people used to sleep about this many hours.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is ten hours?

In good breath,

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

P.S. My favorite childhood memory

P.P.S. Thanks to Laura from the MAPS Institute for sharing that funny post.

 
 
 

* 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.

 
 

Breathe profoundly to reduce stress and anxiety

Profound-It-means-DEEP-2.jpg

Hi all,

Last week we learned some devastating statistics. (Do you remember that 1 in 3 adolescents meets the criteria for anxiety?)

The study I’m sharing this week shows you how to breathe (hint: deeply) to reduce anxiety.

The effectiveness of diaphragmatic breathing relaxation training for reducing anxiety
(Click here to read on website)

First, a quick rant. “Deep” breathing is not “big” breathing. Often, when someone says “take a deep breath,” we automatically take a big breath.

But, a deep breath simply brings air into the lower lungs (“right before the bottom”) where the largest concentration of blood is due to gravity. It doesn’t have to be (and usually shouldn’t be) big. Maybe we should call in “Profound Breathing”?

OK, rant complete.

In this study, patients with mild-to-moderate anxiety were given instructions on diaphragmatic breathing. They were told to take 10 diaphragmatic breaths, twice daily, which doesn’t sound like too much to ask. They performed this over an 8 week period.

The results showed that diaphragmatic breathing significantly reduced anxiety when assessed on the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) scale. Their average scores dropped from ~19 down to ~5 (lower is better).

The participants also improved physiological indicators of stress, including reducing their heart rate, breathing rate, and skin conductance.

Like I said last week, this isn’t woo-woo pseudoscience. Correct breathing changes your physiology to reduce stress and anxiety.

And the best part is that you can use deep breathing anytime you (or your clients or friends) feel stressed. And you can know that you are changing your physiology to promote relaxation.

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. Did you check out HHPF last week?