Batch 4

Exciting News: A New Breathing Gas Discovered

 

Happy Monday. There was a breakthrough in breathing research over the past few weeks: A new breathing gas has been discovered. I hope the extra hour of sleep you got this weekend will help this exciting news sink in even deeper.

OK, let’s get to it. Here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer for you to think about as we begin November.

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS

1. A New Breathing Gas Discovered

"Thus, H2S [hydrogen sulfide] produced by CBS surely has a crucial role in maintaining eupneic-pattern respiration."

- Nature, Communications Biology

Hydrogen sulfide. It’s toxic, and it’s what gives rotten eggs their rotten smell. It also helps maintain our breathing.

A study published in Nature: Communications Biology on October 16, 2020, found that a small amount of hydrogen sulfide is critical to maintaining normal breathing. It does this through modification of the neural connections in the region of the brain that controls breathing.

When hydrogen sulfide production was stopped in rats, normal breathing turned to gasping, implying that it is vital to maintaining rhythmic breathing.

From a practical perspective, I’m not sure what this means yet. At a minimum, breathing now appears to be a four-gas system: oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitric oxide, and hydrogen sulfide.

We’ve found ways to breathe to optimize the first three. However, it’s not yet clear if the way we breathe (or do anything else, for that matter) can influence hydrogen sulfide.

In any case, as a fellow breathing nerd, I hope you find this as fascinating and humbling as I did. Here’s to the joy of never-ending learning.

P.S. Here’s a short summary of these findings from ScienceDaily.

2. The Single Most Important Part of the Breath

"Interestingly, Törnberg et al. recently showed that more NO is released from the nasal passages during nasal inhalation compared with exhalation." - Lundberg et al. (2008)

Here is yet another reason why inhaling through your nose might be the single most important part of breathing: nitric oxide (NO) production is much greater during inhalation than exhalation.

Here’s the finding from the paper mentioned above: "There was a marked flow dependency of nasal NO output, with the highest levels observed during inhalation at flows similar to those seen during normal breathing." - Törnberg et al. (2002)

In hindsight, this makes complete sense. NO helps protect our lungs from inhaled pathogens and it redistributes blood flow in the lungs. So, of course our bodies would maximize it on the inhale. But it wasn’t until I read these two papers that it made sense to me.

"The obvious is that which is never seen until someone expresses it simply.” - Kahlil Gibran

3. What Focusing on the Breath Does to Your Brain

"Conversely, it may be possible to reduce fear and anxiety by slowing down our breath." - Greater Good, UC Berkeley

Here is a quick-reading article, packed full of excellent information, from The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. Anytime you see a headline like "Managing stress: Is it all in the breath?" you know it’s going to be a good read. Enjoy!

4. Sleep Scientists Call for the Elimination of Daylight Saving Time

"It is, therefore, the position of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine that these seasonal time changes should be abolished in favor of a fixed, national, year-round standard time."

- Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine

I hope you all enjoyed the extra hour of sleep you got this weekend. The world’s leading sleep scientists say your body will function better, and they suggest we keep it this way (Standard Time) forever.

The above article is pretty short. But if you’re interested, here’s an even more concise summary, along with a rather impressive list of organizations that support the permanent change to Standard Time.

Because nasal breathing at night changed my life, I am endlessly fascinated with sleep. So I hope we all enjoy the next few months of better sleep and better optimization of our body's wake-light cycles.

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.”

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: Average walking speed (~2-4 mph) is also around the average speed of this physiological function.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy music.)

…

Question: What is blood flow?

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. New life in a new city.

 
 

Is This Stuff Really in Textbooks? And A New Nose-Opening Method

 

Hello, and happy Monday. Here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer for you to consider as we wrap up October.

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS

1. Is this Stuff Really in Textbooks?

Carbon dioxide (CO2) and the Bohr effect have motivated almost all the interest in breathing for health and performance.

CO2 is said to loosen the bond between oxygen and hemoglobin, allowing more efficient release into the tissues (the Bohr effect). Thus, counterintuitively, by breathing less (retaining more CO2), we actually get more oxygen.

It is often stated that this is just basic (but underappreciated) physiology that is in all the medical textbooks. Luckily, I find joy in reading medical books I don’t fully understand : ) Here’s what I have found:

- “Hemoglobin’s affinity for oxygen is also influenced by pH, carbon dioxide concentration, and body temperature…it releases it more readily under conditions of…increased carbon dioxide concentration." - Essentials of Pathophysiology, pg. 534

- “The shift of the curve to the right may be seen as a compensation that results in greater release of oxygen to the tissues…Temperature affects the relationship (increases in body temperature shift the curve to the right), as do carbon dioxide." - Respiratory Physiology, A Clinical Approach, pg. 110

- “Most of the effect of PCO2, which is known as the Bohr effect, can be attributed to its action on H+ concentration. A rightward shift means more unloading of O2 at a given PO2 in a tissue capillary." - Respiratory Physiology, The Essentials, pg. 91

So yes, this is basic physiology. It’s nothing new. But knowledge is only potential energy. What we’re doing is applying this knowledge in a simple way. Breathe less, get more.

2. A New Nose-Unblocking Exercise

Patrick McKeown’s nose unblocking exercise is phenomenal. It’s simple, and you feel it immediately. However, no one knows precisely how it works. My hypothesis is that it’s primarily due to nasal nitric oxide (but have no way of testing this, except on myself).

It just so happens that last week we discovered a way of breathing that increases nasal nitric oxide (nose in - mouth out). It also just so happens that I got a terribly stuffy nose during that same time.

So, here was my N=1 test. If the unblocking exercise works due to NO, it would stand that performing nasal-in, mouth-out breathing would help clear my nose.

So here’s what I did. I inhaled through my nose, pinched my nose, slowly exhaled through my mouth as long as I could comfortably, and repeated. And, lo and behold, it helped.

However, it took much longer than Patrick’s method (about 2 minutes for me). And, it wasn’t nearly as dramatic. Each breath only opened it slightly more. Conversely, in Patrick’s version, you go from blocked to open almost instantly.

What does this mean? Well, nothing, really. There are many factors to consider. But it *might* be suggesting that NO is, in fact, the “unblocking” mechanism.

So, here’s my request: If you get a stuffy nose this cold season, give it a try and let me know if it does anything for you. N=1 means nothing statistically, but it’s better than nothing practically.

3. For the Practice or For the Results? Why Not Both?

"How do you best move toward mastery? To put it simply, you practice diligently, but you practice primarily for the sake of the practice itself." - Robert Greene, Mastery

Why do you practice breathing? For the practice itself, or for the outcome?

What I love about breathing is that it can be both. In fact, you automatically take care of both, regardless of which one you are focusing on. It’s health and mastery, wrapped in our body’s most important function.

4. Woo-Woo or Wu-Wei?

"It refers to the dynamic, effortless, and unselfconscious state of mind of a person who is optimally active and effective."

- Edward Slingerland, Trying Not to Try

Wu-Wei literally means "effortless action." If it didn’t sound so much like "woo-woo," it might be the perfect definition of ideal breathing.

We train our breathing so that we don’t have to think about it. We train our breathing to achieve this state of effortless yet highly effective action.

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

“It’s not enough to understand; you’ve got to do something.”

- Sandra Day O’Connor

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: On one breath, the world record for this movement is 81.6 meters.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy music.)

…

Question: What is underwater walking?

(P.S. The video is pretty amazing. Watch out Laird.)

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. Very Scary.

 
 

The Simplest Way to Increase Nitric Oxide Through Nasal Breathing

 

Hello, and happy Monday. Here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer (like "Jeopardy") related to breathing that I hope you enjoy.

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS

1. Can Mouth Breathing Increase Nitric Oxide?

Yes, but only if done on the exhale.

Nitric oxide (NO) is continuously produced in the nasal cavity. When we inhale through the nose, we harness this wondrous molecule and its benefits in the airways and lungs.

But if we also exhale through our nose, some of it gets washed out. Conversely, if we exhale through our mouth, the NO continues to accumulate in the nasal cavity. Then, more is brought in with the next nasal inhale.

In through the nose, out through the mouth.

Here’s what a researcher at the UCLA School of Medicine says:

"Exhaling through the nose is highly wasteful in that the NO would be expelled away from the lungs, where it is needed most." - Louis J. Ignarro, Inhaled NO and COVID-19

While I personally don’t recommend exhaling through the mouth all the time, there are clearly times when it might be beneficial, even if only for short periods.

The next thought has a few ideas about putting this knowledge into practice.

2. Increase Oxygenation by 10% (without increasing carbon dioxide)

"The subject inhaled through the nose with the mouth closed and exhaled through the mouth with the nose blocked. Thereby, a maximum of NO from the nasal airways is inhaled while a minimum is lost during exhalation." - Lundberg et al. (1996)

This protocol, nose in - mouth out, led to a 10% increase in tissue oxygenation when compared with mouth in-nasal out.

Notably, there were no significant carbon dioxide changes between protocols. Thus, by inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth, we can increase tissue oxygenation without increasing carbon dioxide.

It’s all due to nitric oxide.

We should not base all our breathing on any one conclusion. And many factors need to be weighed, such as moisture and heat loss from exhaling through the mouth. But these results are intriguing nonetheless.

Here’s a simple way I put them into practice: I start each slow breathing session with 3-5 nose in - mouth out breaths before switching to nose in - nose out.

This study also implies that nose in - mouth out could increase oxygenation to the working muscles during exercise. So, if you’re uncomfortable with nasal-only breathing during your workout, switching to nose in - mouth out could be a beneficial compromise from an oxygenation perspective.

3. Why Slowing Your Breathing Helps You Relax

"By repeatedly stimulating the vagus nerve during those long exhalations, slow breathing may shift the nervous system towards that more restful state, resulting in positive changes like a lower heart rate and lower blood pressure." (my emphasis)

- BBC, Why Slowing Your Breathing Helps You Relax

It’s always fun to find an article reporting the science behind slow breathing from a news outlet like BBC. They even present some information you might not have considered, like how taking "big breaths" might benefit relaxation.

The article also touches on everything from pain to arthritis and provides many useful references. It's an excellent summary. Enjoy!

Thanks to 411 reader A. P. for inspiring this thought.

4. What is Breathing? And is it Woo-Woo (part II)?

When I was drafting last week’s thought about breathing being woo-woo, my grammar editor said that I was using the word "breathe" too much. Almost ironically, the synonym it suggested was: live.

I thought, "funny that a word synonymous with life itself is often considered woo-woo." But at the same time, interchanging "breath" with "life" is borderline woo-woo : )

But this is an appropriate synonym. Because at its root, what is breathing? At the risk of sounding a bit woo-woo myself, here is one answer: breathing is living.

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

"For breath is life, and if you breathe well you will live long on the earth."

- Sanskrit Proverb

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: This is the lowest blood oxygen saturation recorded in a human climbing Mount Everest.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy music.)

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Question: What is 34.4%?

Wim Hof

"Fainting is okay, it just means you went deep." – Wim Hof

Maybe Wim Hof has some crazy ideas, but he has done more for "breathing" than just about anyone on this planet. I am incredibly grateful for him and his work.

His new book comes out tomorrow. I ordered a copy and hope you will too.

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. We’ve Been Ordering Pizza All Wrong

 
 

The Breathing 411 - Understand This, and You Will Understand Breathing

 

Happy Monday. I hope you enjoy this edition with a cup of coffee : )

Enjoy 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer (like "Jeopardy") related to breathing.

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS

1. Understand This, and You Will Understand Breathing

Breathing information is often contradictory:

  • Wim Hof tells you to breathe more oxygen.
    Patrick McKeown tells you to breathe less.

  • Oxygen is your body’s most important energy source.
    But the exhale is the most important part of the breath.

  • You need to teach yourself to tolerate higher levels of carbon dioxide.
    Carbon dioxide also causes fear in people who literally can’t feel fear.

  • Lung capacity determines longevity.
    But you also shouldn’t take big breaths.

  • And on & on

To understand breathing, you must accept that all of these are right, and all of them are wrong. It depends on the circumstance.

Despite its simplicity, breathing is one of the most complex functions in the human body. Blanket statements on "right or wrong" simply cannot be made without context. We must embrace the contradictions.

2. Should You Be Breathing Even Slower?

A study published in 2006 found that resonance frequency was inversely correlated with height. That is, the taller you are, the slower you need to breathe to synchronize your heart rate, breathing rate, and autonomic nervous system.

In their excellent book, The Healing Power of the Breath, Richard Brown and Patricia Gerbarg give this specific recommendation: "For people who are over six feet tall, the ideal resonant rate is three to three and a half breaths per minute."

So, if you’re over six feet tall, you might find that breathing slower than the typical recommendation of 5-6 breaths per minute works better for you. I fall into that category, and I’ve found 3 - 3.5 breaths per minute (currently 7 sec inhale, 11 sec exhale) to be my sweet spot.

3. What is Hyperventilation?

"Respiratory alkalosis is caused by hyperventilation or a respiratory rate in excess of that needed to maintain normal PCO2." - Essentials of Pathophysiology, pg. 205

"Hyperventilation is a term that describes breathing beyond that which is required to meet the metabolic needs of the body as reflected in the production of carbon dioxide." - Respiratory Physiology, pg. 128

Here are two different textbook definitions of hyperventilation. It’s actually pretty straightforward. And, as you can see, it doesn’t involve huffing and puffing. Thus, we can hyperventilate without even knowing it.

Two easy ways to check if you are overbreathing are the BOLT score and the CO2 Tolerance Test.

Two easy ways to fix it are to breathe through your nose and make your breathing quiet while at rest.

Thanks to 411 reader W.H. for inspiring this thought.

4. Is Breathing Woo-Woo?

It fascinates me that breathing, your body’s most important function, has kind of a "woo-woo" reputation. It shouldn’t. There is a mountain of scientific evidence showing its efficacy for health and wellness. For example, I have reviewed over 80 scientific papers, and HHPF seems to post a new one every day.

But you actually don’t need any of the science. Here is the quickest way to determine for yourself:

Hold your breath.

I think you will agree "breathing" isn’t woo-woo after only a few seconds.

Thanks to fellow breathing nerd R. vdC. for inspiring this thought.

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function."

- F. Scott Fitzgerald

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: The estimated prevalence of this condition is about 23% in women and 50% in men.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy music.)

…

Question: What is sleep-disordered breathing?

 
 

The Breathing 411 - On Becoming Indisfunctionable

 

Welcome to October and another edition of The Breathing 4.1.1.

Below, you’ll find 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer (like "Jeopardy") related to all things breathing. Enjoy!

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS

1. Breathing to Gain Traction

"On the left side is distraction, the opposite of traction...the word means the 'drawing away of the mind.' Distractions impede us from making progress toward the life we envision."

- Nir Eyal, Indistractable

I’ve never thought of "distraction" being the opposite of "traction." (Pretty neat.) Distraction, as Nir Eyal states, is the drawing away of the mind.

But what can we do to bring it back, to gain traction?

"It has long been claimed by Yogis and Buddhists that meditation and ancient breath-focused practices… strengthen our ability to focus on tasks. A new study explains for the first time the neurophysiological link between breathing and attention.…
The way we breathe, in other words, directly affects the chemistry of our brains in a way that can enhance our attention and improve our brain health." - ScienceDaily

That sounds like a great place to start. Here’s to combining ancient wisdom with modern science on our path to becoming indistractable.

(Thanks, a million times over, to Brian Johnson for inspiring so many of my thoughts.)

2. How to Become Indisfunctionable

In addition to improving focus, a staple of slow breathing is that it reverses autonomic dysfunction. It does this by promoting cardio-respiratory balance, in as little as two minutes, putting us back on the track to health and wellness.

In the process of becoming indistractable, we also become indisfunctionable.

3. Similar Lung Deficiencies in Diabetes and Asthma

"In a study of the pulmonary biopsies of 171 patients,(18) it was concluded that individuals with DM [diabetes mellitus] present an increase in basement membrane thickness similar to that seen in asthma patients." - Forgiarini et al. (2009)

I have often wondered why breathing principles that work so well for asthma also benefit people with diabetes. Here’s one interesting similarity: The oxidative stress from diabetes leads to similar lung structure changes seen in asthmatics.

Thanks to 411 reader T. P. for inspiring this thought.

4. Heavy Breathing at the Start of Exercise (it’s not just CO2)

Your breathing rate typically increases after just a few minutes of exercise…unless you’ve been reading this newsletter long enough :)

By now, we would all probably agree this increase in breathing is due to a build-up of CO2. But is that truly the case?

"The increase in ventilation does not appear to be the consequence of changes in arterial blood gases." - Respiratory Physiology pg 187

The reason is perhaps more impressive. It’s what this textbook calls "Phase 1: The Neurological Phase" of exercise. The movement itself might be sending neurological messages to the brain, instructing it to begin breathing more.

That is, your body has a built-in, anticipatory mechanism that links movement to the respiratory controller in the brain to help prevent blood-gas imbalances from ever happening. The result is that changes in breathing precede changes in CO2.

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

Same goes for breathing:

"It is easy to be heavy; hard to be light."

- G.K. Chesterton

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: The time it takes gas exchange to occur in the lungs.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy music.)

…

Question: What is about 0.25 seconds?

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. Didn’t see that coming.

 
 

The Breathing 411 - Intermittent Fasting and Time-Restricted Breathing

 

Welcome to another week of The Breathing 4.1.1. Let’s get right to it.

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS

1. Time-Restricted Breathing?

Every now and then, skipping a meal or two ("intermittent fasting") can be good for you. Studies have even found that just compressing your eating window (that is, "time-restricted eating") is beneficial for metabolism and weight loss.

You can do this on a much smaller scale with breathing. It’s called "intermittent breathing," or simply holding your breath. Maybe it’s only 30 seconds instead of 30 hours. Still, the idea is similar: Restrict your body from something it’s used to, and it elicits beneficial responses.

Similarly (although the analogy breaks down some), "time-restricted breathing" can also be done by setting aside time each day to breathe less. You might only do this for five minutes. But, like how time-restricted eating makes the meals you do eat more useful, time-restricted breathing improves your oxygen metabolism, making those other 20,000+ breaths you take each day more effective.

2. Slow Breathing as a Treatment for Insomnia

"Practicing the 0.1 Hz rate before sleep was shown to improve sleep onset latency and quality in insomniacs and enhance the stability of their sleep pattern (13). Thus, we suggest 0.1 Hz as the optimal frequency for a slow breathing technique." - Self-Regulation of Breathing as an Adjunctive Treatment of Insomnia

Last week, I mentioned that slow breathing might be a way to help with insomnia, based purely on deductive reasoning. With insomnia on my radar, this article jumped off the page at me. I cannot recommend it enough. Choosing only one quote was nearly impossible.

Even if you do not care about insomnia, their sections on "Cardiorespiratory Synchronization" and "Slow Deep Breathing" are phenomenal. They will be the motivation of several future thoughts…

In the meantime, let us slow down our breathing before bed (to say, 6 breaths per minute, also known as 0.1 Hz) to help increase cardiorespiratory synchronization, increase parasympathetic tone, and have a restful night’s sleep.

3. Why You Need Efficient Breathing: 18x the Energy

"Anaerobic metabolism…is relatively inefficient compared with aerobic processes. Only two ATP molecules are produced…In contrast, the body reaps 36 molecules of ATP for each molecule of glucose metabolized aerobically."

- Respiratory Physiology: A Clinical Approach

That means that aerobic metabolism (with oxygen) is about 18x more efficient than anaerobic metabolism (without oxygen). Therefore, the more efficient you are at using oxygen, the more efficient you are at producing energy.

A practical way to improve your oxygen efficiency? Time-restricted breathing.

4. A Simple Way to Breathe Better Right Now

Make your breathing quiet. This might be the easiest, most practical thing you can do anytime, anyplace, to improve your breathing (after nose breathing, of course). Give it a try now, if you feel so inspired.

Make sure you cannot hear your breathing, even internally. You’ll naturally slow down your breathing and naturally breathe less. It’s fantastic, and it’s easy.

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

"Gandhi became absolutely motionless. His absorption was so profound that he scarcely seemed to breathe"

- Eknath Easwaran, Gandhi The Man

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: The average number of breaths in a lifetime.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy music.)

…

Question: What is over 600 million?

BONUS THOUGHT

"And if the traveler is fortunate—that is, if the path is complex and profound enough—the destination is two miles farther away for every mile he or she travels." - George Leonard

I am fortunate to be traveling with you. Thank you for reading.

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. You’re Wrong and College Has Failed You

 
 

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 Best (and Second Best) Time to Start

 

Welcome to another edition of The Breathing 4.1.1. Below, you’ll find 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer (like "Jeopardy") related to breathing. Let’s jump right in.

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS

1. The Best Way to Invest in Your Health

Investing in your breathing is like putting your money in an S&P 500 index fund.

You’re investing a little bit into your body's many essential functions, including your respiration, autonomic nervous system, cardiovascular system, metabolism, and brain.

Suppose you picked only one of these areas to focus all of your attention on. If you got really lucky, it could make a massive difference in your life (like getting lucky with one stock). But with breathing, like with an index fund, you add a little to each bucket. Together, these gains add up to meaningful health benefits.

But unlike the stock market, there are no speculators, and there is no gambling. You just have to show up each day, add a little to your health fund, and enjoy the compounding over time.

2. A Never-Ending Cleanse?

"The waste that is collected by the blood and delivered to the lungs is expelled with the next inhale, but few people realize that 70 percent of the waste that our bodies generate is removed by the breath. Only 30 percent is removed via sweat and elimination."

- Al Lee and Don Campbell, Perfect Breathing

At first glance, that’s a pretty crazy statistic. But, it makes a lot of sense.

Those other ways of removing toxins (sweating, restroom breaks) only occur several times a day (or maybe not at all for sweating). We typically breathe 20,000+ times a day and upwards of 3000 gallons of air.

So, perhaps it is not surprising that our bodies use the breath to eliminate toxins. And maybe what’s more surprising is that optimizing breathing isn’t the first step of any "cleanse."

3. The Best (and Second Best) Time to Start a Breathing Practice

"Build before you have to.

- Build knowledge before you have to.
- Build strength before you have to.
- Build an emergency fund before you have to.

Let internal pressure drive you today, so you can handle external pressure tomorrow."

James Clear, 3-2-1 Newsletter (3 Sep 2020)

This excellent idea reminded me of the ancient Chinese proverb that begins: The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. If you want a tree now, you need to have planted it 20 years ago. If you need strength now, you need to have been building it previously.

The Chinese proverb, however, ends like this: The second best time is now.

With COVID-19 shining light on the importance of a healthy respiratory system, we all realized how critical a breathing practice is. With that in mind, I’d like to play off of that idea:

The best time to start a breathing practice was 12 months ago.
The second best time is now.

4. How Breathing Impacts Urination during Sleep

"But if the body has inadequate time in deep sleep, as it does when it experiences chronic sleep apnea, vasopressin won’t be secreted normally. The kidneys will release water, which triggers the need to urinate and signals to our brains that we should consume more liquid. We get thirsty, and we need to pee more."

- James Nestor, Breath, pg. 30

When people switch to nose breathing at night, they commonly notice they need to get up to pee less. Here, James explains why.

Vasopressin "communicates with cells to store more water," he tells us. When you get inadequate deep sleep, this communication is disrupted.

Nose breathing at night, as we know, reduces obstructive sleep apnea, leading to deeper sleep. This helps explain why we wake up less when we switch to nose breathing at night.

(Thanks to 411 reader J. M. for inspiring this thought!)

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

“One day I noticed that I wasn’t breathing—I was being breathed.”

– Byron Katie

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: The number of scents the human nose can smell.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy music.)

…

Question: What is 1 trillion?

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. Only once every 257 years