3 Rules of Optimal Breathing, 10 Minutes of Laughter, and Enlightenment

1. New YouTube Video: Slow Breathing for Stress and Anxiety

Last week I shared the first video in my new breathing science YouTube series. Another one is live this week. This one covers one of the most important studies ever published on breathing.

A 2023 meta-analysis in Nature Scientific Reports found that slow breathing reduces stress, anxiety, and depression to the same degree as CBT and mindfulness. The results were so robust it would take 69 additional studies showing zero effect to overturn them.

Watch the breakdown here 👇

2. What is Enlightenment?

“Defining enlightenment is notoriously tricky. Almost anything you say about it, no matter how true, may also be misleading. Having said that, here’s a place to start: you can think of enlightenment as a kind of permanent shift in perspective that comes about through direct realization that there is no thing called ‘self’ inside you.”

— Shinzen Young, The Science of Enlightenment

I’ve always shied away from the word “enlightenment” because of its obvious connotations. But I really like this practical, “executive summary” definition.

It almost makes it feel attainable in this lifetime 😅

3. The Three Simple Rules of Optimal Breathing

“Now, we could talk about breathing for a very long time. I’ve read basically every great book on breathing out there… For now, how about a quick look at the THREE simple rules of optimal breathing?

Here they are:

Breathe in through your nose.

Down into your belly.

Exhale slightly longer than your inhale.”

— Brian Johnson, Areté

Those sound like the perfect rules to me 👏

4. Ten Minutes of Belly Laughter

“I made the joyous discovery that ten minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anesthetic effect and would give me at least two hours of pain-free sleep.”

— Norman Cousins

Just our weekly reminder to laugh as much as possible—it’s always the most healing breathing exercise.

“The silence around us may contain a lot, but the most interesting kind of silence is the one that lies within. A silence which each of us must create.”

— Erling Kagge

In good breath,

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

P.S. the greatest video humanity has created

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.