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Yesterday was 4-11.
Yesterday was World Breathing Day.
Yesterday was also my birthday.
It’s almost as if it was meant to be this week…
Alright, here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer for the week. Enjoy!
4 Thoughts
1. How To Be a Straight-A Breathing Student
One of my favorite stories is the “50 lbs = A” parable. I even kept a post-it of that phrase on my monitor during my post-doc. As it goes, a professor found that grading ceramics students based on quantity—50 lbs gets you an A—led to better quality than grading them on one “masterpiece.”
The moral of the story: Quantity leads to quality.
Quality is obviously essential to breathing. We do take more than 20,000 breaths per day, as it is. But, perhaps what’s more important is just starting and sticking to a consistent breathing practice.
So for breathing, we might say: Focused quantity leads to quality.
You might not begin with perfect diaphragmatic breathing, proper tongue placement, or proper volume. But with a consistent practice, you’ll naturally start noticing and improving these things.
So how about we write our own parable, where 50 breaths = A.
Or maybe just 5 breaths or 5 minutes. Regardless, it’s the focused, consistent quantity that counts. Here’s to becoming straight-A breathing students today.
Related: “If you want to master a habit, the key is to start with repetition, not perfection […] You just need to practice it.” - James Clear, Atomic Habits
2. Why the Power of Breathing is Actually Easy to Explain to People with Diabetes
Ask a diabetic what affects their blood sugar. They’ll either start laughing, or immediately blurt out “everything!”
So then, when you tell them that breathing literally impacts almost every bodily function, they’ll get it:
Everything affects my blood sugar. Breathing affects everything.
It just makes common sense for us diabetics to optimize it.
Related: The Lesser-Known Benefits of Nasal Breathing, Designed for Diabetes
Related Quote: “Breathing isn’t everything. But, breathing impacts everything.” - David Bidler
3. This Breathing Exercise Can Calm You Down in a Few Minutes
“Many people find benefit, no one reports side effects, and it’s something that engages the patient in their recovery with actively doing something.”
- Cynthia Stonnington, Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ
Here is yet another excellent article from Vice: This Breathing Exercise Can Calm you Down in a Few Minutes. In it, we learn about the power of resonant breathing from Cynthia Stonnington (above) and gain invaluable insights from a pioneer in breath research, Patricia Gerbarg.
Enjoy the awesome read!
Related: Decrease stress by using your breath (Mayo Clinic)
4. The Universal Structure of the Respiratory System
“There is something transcendent in the very structure of our respiratory system…Other examples of this configuration in nature abound—streaks of lightning converging into a single bolt only to diverge again as they approach the ground;
the tributaries of a riverbed unifying into one main waterway; the human body itself, branching from its trunk to arms and legs, then fingers and toes.
The lungs tap into something universal in their structure, maximizing uptake of the life force that surrounds all of us.”
- Michael J Stephen, MD, Breath Taking
Here's another gem from Breath Taking's prologue, reminding us just how remarkable, yet universal, the structure of our respiratory system is.
1 Quote
“The daily use of breath practices can turn back the tide of stress, counteract disease progression, and improve overall quality of life.”
- Richard Brown & Patricia Gerbarg
1 Answer
Answer: For every tooth you lose as an adult, your risk of this increases by 2%.
…
(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)
…
Question: What is obstructive sleep apnea?
(I learned this in Breath)
In good breath,
Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
Diabetes is Tiny. You are Mighty.
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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.