A Buffet of 13 Interesting Breathing Articles

1. Study Shows How Slow Breathing Induces Tranquility

“Breathe slowly and smoothly. A pervasive sense of calm descends. Now breathe rapidly and frenetically. Tension mounts. Why? It’s a question that has never been answered by science, until now.”

- Stanford Medicine News Center

We all know that slow breathing calms us, and fast breathing stimulates us. But in this great article, we learn that there are specific neurons “spying” on our breathing, “reporting their finding to another structure in the brainstem.”

Enjoy the interesting read!

Thanks to new 411 reader A.L. for inspiring this thought!

Related: Feeling anxious? The way you breathe could be adding to it

Related: What Focusing on the Breath Does to Your Brain

2. This Ridiculously Simple Breathing Technique Is Scientifically Proven to Improve Mental Focus

“I can't promise that it will make everything go smoothly, or take all your jitters away. But I can guarantee that you'll feel more focused and calm than you did before.”

- Inc. Magazine

Perfectly said. If you need a quick way to increase focus, it might be as simple as making “your exhalations longer than your inhalations.”

Enjoy the super quick read.

And, if you want to dive deeper down the rabbit hole, here are a few more:

Related: Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercises and Your Vagus Nerve

Related: Longer Exhalations Are an Easy Way to Hack Your Vagus Nerve

Related: Slower Breathing Facilitates Eudaimonia via Your Vagus Nerve

Related: This 2-Minute Breathing Exercise Can Help You Make Better Decisions, According to a New Study

3. The Importance of Breathing, from the American Institute of Stress

Please do yourself and favor and check out this issue of Contentment from the American Institute of Stress. They dedicated the entire thing to breathing.

Here’s what’s included:

• The Health Benefits of Nose Breathing

• Healing Power Of The Breath

• The Setup Breath: Exhaling Deeply First

• Re-Association: Fusing Awareness and Sound with Deep Breathing Practices

• Take A Deep Breath

• Yogic Breathing: Ancient and Modern

• One-Minute Relaxation Exercise for Busy People

The first two were my favorites. You’re sure to find one or two you enjoy too.

P.S. I found this through an excellent Medium blog post.

4. Significant Brain Changes Found in Children Who Regularly Snore

“Children who regularly snore have structural changes in their brain that may account for the behavioral problems associated with the condition including lack of focus, hyperactivity, and learning difficulties at school.”

- Significant Brain Changes Found in Children Who Regularly Snore

This was a somewhat troubling read on how sleep-disordered breathing might explain hyperactivity and aggression in children.

With complex issues like these, it’s likely not as simple as “one thing.” But, this is an important read, especially if you have or work with children.

Thanks to great friend E.S. for sharing this with me.

Related: The influence of snoring, mouth breathing and apnoea on facial morphology in late childhood: a three-dimensional study. Thanks to HHPF for sharing this one.

Related Quote: “If respiration truly acts as a fundamental organizer of oscillatory brain activity, then surely its modulation could be utilized to modulate brain activity to promote sleep.” - Frontiers in Psychiatry (2019)

“In a single breath, more molecules of air will pass through your nose than all the grains of sand on all the world’s beaches—trillions and trillions of them.”

- James Nestor, Breath

Answer: In the early 1770s, this gas was independently discovered in England and Sweden.

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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What is oxygen?

In good breath,

Nick Heath, T1D, PhD
Diabetes is Tiny. You are Mighty.

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