Build-a-Breath, How to Work with Emotions, and Carrying Great Power

1. Build-a-Breath: Breath Stages and the Nervous System

“Vagal activity is enhanced during the postinspiratory period and inhibited during the postexpiratory period.” - Kromenacker et al. (2018)

When I read this somewhat unassuming sentence, it actually led to a pretty big “aha moment” for me. It means: 

• Inhalations: Sympathetic

• Inhale-Pauses: Parasympathetic

• Exhalations: Parasympathetic 

• Exhale-Pauses: Sympathetic (I had never actually thought about this one and just assumed it was parasympathetic.)

Let’s apply this to a real-world example: the popular 4-7-8 breath. Using the above relationships, we see that 4 seconds are spent in sympathetic and 15 parasympathetic—no wonder it’s so relaxing.

With this information, you can now assemble and tailor a breath to meet your needs using a simple app like Breathe: & Android.

The power is yours…have fun with it 🙏

2. One Way to Stop Overbreathing: Mouth Tape at Night

“Taping the mouth at night ensures the benefits of good breathing during sleep, allowing you to fall asleep more quickly, stay asleep longer, and wake feeling energized.”

– Patrick McKeown, The Oxygen Advantage

And if that’s not enough, it’s also one way (among many changes we need to make) to train our bodies to breathe less in general.

As Patrick says, “Spending a guaranteed eight hours breathing through your nose while you sleep is an opportune way to reeducate your respiratory center to adjust to a more normal breathing volume.” 👏 👏 👏

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P.S. If you want more amazing wisdom from The Oxygen Advantage, I just released a Book 411 summary on it in the Learning Center.

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