sleep breathing

The Breathing 411 - Before There Were Harvard Studies

 

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 QUOTE

"You can borrow knowledge, but not action."

- James Clear

 
 
 
 

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

P.S. Me Up at Night Worrying

 
 

The Breathing 411 - The lung microbiome, David Blaine, and a perfect breath

 

Happy Monday! Welcome to another edition of The Breathing 4.1.1.

Below you’ll find 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer (think "Jeopardy").

Thank you for reading!

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS

1. On Practicing the Fundamentals

"If someone at Kobe’s level needs to commit hours to practicing the fundamentals, then so do all of us. Kobe taught me a pivotal lesson that morning. The basics are simple, but not easy."
- Alan Stein Jr., Raise Your Game

Imagine the best basketball player on the planet allows you to watch him practice. Then, he spends hours working on his fundamentals. Nothing fancy, no showboating, just the basics. That’s exactly what Alan Stein saw when he watched Kobe Bryant practice during his prime.

We talk about breathing here, not the highest level of basketball ever played. But the message is the same.

With all the fancy breathing techniques and new approaches, it’s easy to be looking for the "next thing" (—> guilty here <— ). But let’s not forget that it all comes down to the basics. They’re simple, but they’re not easy.

(This idea, like many, was inspired by knowledge from the Optimize Program.)

2. Oxygen Therapy Harms the Lung Microbiome

We’ve discussed how inhaled oxygen can lead to adverse effects in people with diabetes. Specifically, high levels of inhaled oxygen can reduce arterial function. But there might be other problems with oxygen therapy, especially when done over prolonged periods.

For example, your lungs have their own microbiome (pretty neat). And a recent study showed that inhaled oxygen harms this microbiome, leading to an increased risk of lung damage. This idea is especially relevant during COVID-19:

“Upon hospitalization, these patients are administered oxygen in an attempt to bring their levels back up to normal. However, a new study hints that this universal therapy may have unintended consequences via an unexpected source -- the microbiome.”
- ScienceDaily

Read the whole summary from ScienceDaily here:

Oxygen Therapy Harms Lung Microbiome in Mice

3. David Blaine on Breath Holds, CO2, and 45 Minutes Without Air

David Blaine was recently on the Joe Rogan Podcast. They began talking about breath-holds within 5 minutes (this link should take you right to it).

Here are two quotes I loved from it:

"The breath-holding thing is all about like, a CO2 build up in the bloodstream, and it’s about a tolerance level to it…"

And when Joe asks about the panicked feeling you get when holding your breath, David’s reply is:

“That’s not an O2 deprivation. That’s a trigger from a CO2 build-up, which is giving you an alert…"

All of you "breathing nerds" already knew this. But it is little tidbits like these that help the general population learn.

He goes on to talk a little about pre-breath-hold hyperventilation, blacking out, and how we can go 45 minutes without air.

In addition to the breath-hold stuff, it’s a fascinating interview.

4. Is there a Perfect Breath?

“What is the perfect breath? Far from being some noble yet unreachable goal that takes years of rigorous practice to master, a perfect breath is any breath you take for which you are completely and mindfully aware.” - Al Lee & Don Campbell

That definition is, well, perfect. But let’s not forget about James Nestor’s perfect breath, which has deeper roots in science and physiology:

"They discovered that the optimum amount of air we should take in at rest per minute is 5.5 liters. The optimum breathing rate is about 5.5 breaths per minute. That’s 5.5-second inhales and 5.5-second exhales. This is the perfect breath."

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

"Your quality of sleep is closely related to how you breathe, both when you sleep and when you are awake."

- Anders Olsson

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: The amount of time it takes blood to circulate around your entire body.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy music.)

…

Question: What is one minute?*

(This fun fact came from James Nestor’s Breath.)

 
 

Our Breathing is Shallow and Irregular for 1/3 of Our Lives

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Two weeks ago, we discussed some surprising aspects of breathing during sleep.
Quick recap:

  • Breathing volume is significantly reduced (by 8-16%)

  • O2 drops and CO2 increases significantly

  • Breathing rate remains the same, or even increases

I often work backwards, reading one paper, then getting super excited and reading the papers it referenced. The study I’m sharing this is part of my trip down the rabbit hole of breathing during sleep.

Respiration During Sleep in Normal Man

(Click Here to Read the Full Summary)

Healthy participants were studied during sleep between the hours of 10 PM and 7 AM. None of the subjects reported sleep problems or sleep-disordered breathing (not that they would know, I guess).

They found that during non-REM sleep, breathing volume reduced between 6% and 8% from awake values. During REM sleep, breathing volume decreased by as much as 16%. Interestingly, most of these subjects had a faster breathing rate during sleep. This suggests that their breathing was shallower and lighter during sleep than while awake.

Their breathing patterns were also irregular, especially during REM sleep. (Some participants had somewhat regular breathing during non-REM sleep, but they all had unstable breathing during REM). This reduced and irregular breathing led to an estimated 39% decrease in gas exchange in the lungs, which then led to relative hypoxia (low O2) and hypercapnia (high CO2).

And the most interesting part? These findings are considered normal. These somewhat counterintuitive breathing patterns are what our bodies are meant to do during sleep.

Personally, I find it fascinating that during our body’s most restorative process (and when we have no control), our breathing is significantly reduced. If we naturally breathe less and increase CO2 during sleep, there is clearly something to it.

I’m not quite sure what to make of our shallow breathing during sleep. It might be that, because we’re lying down, we don’t need to bring air as deep into our lungs to match blood flow. In any case, it appears to be related to breathing less.

If we breathe less during sleep, and sleep is so important for health, maybe we should try it during the day sometimes too?

In good breath,
Nick

Our somewhat surprising breathing patterns during sleep

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We spend 1/3 of our life sleeping. And sleep is arguably one of the most important aspects of good health. Therefore, I expected that during sleep, breathing would be slow, deep, and rhythmic (i.e., “perfect”).

However, a review published in 1984 in Clinical Science showed that breathing rate is actually highly variable during sleep. In fact, breathing rates often increase and become irregular and shallow, especially during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

Although breathing rate might increase, the overall breathing volume is reduced, dropping as much as 16% from waking values.

This drop in volume is accompanied by relative hypoxia (low O2) and hypercapnia (high CO2). We discuss improving CO2 tolerance quite often. During sleep, your CO2 tolerance increases by as much as 66%.

What do these findings mean from a practical perspective?

Well, sleep is clearly a time when breathing should reduce and CO2 should increase. Therefore, if you are sleeping with your mouth open, you are likely overbreathing and not reaching the physiological states your body was meant to reach during sleep.

Luckily, this is an easy fix. Simply taping your mouth at night will restore nasal breathing and will provide the first step in reducing breathing volumes to their natural levels during sleep.

If you are not already, give it a shot. This one small change has had the greatest positive impact on my health and energy. It might do the same for you.

In good breath,
Nick