Listen Instead of Reading

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4 THOUGHTS

1. The Smiling of Breathing

Slow breathing is to breath exercises what smiling is to facial expressions.

2. Slow Breathing Might Reduce the Risk of Alzheimer’s

“As far as we can tell from the published literature and ClinicalTrials.gov searches, this study provides the first evidence of a behavioral intervention that reduces Aβ levels (measured with plasma, CSF or PET) compared to a randomized control group.”
– Nature Sci Rep (2023)

This recently-published study found that 20-40 minutes of daily slow breathing reduces levels of amyloid-β, a key Alzheimer’s biomarker, in younger and older adults, suggesting that it may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and promote healthy brain aging.

Pretty remarkable stuff 👏

3. How to Find the Perfect Practice

If you studied basketball in great detail, you could probably find a lot of health benefits.
If you studied surfing in great detail, you could probably find a lot of health benefits.
If you studied tennis in great detail, you could probably find a lot of health benefits.

Likewise:

If you study slow breathing in great detail, you’ll find a lot of health benefits.
If you study mindfulness in great detail, you’ll find a lot of health benefits.
If you study yoga in great detail, you’ll find a lot of health benefits.

The difference?

People choose sports based on joy and pleasure, but often choose a contemplative path just based on the science and health benefits.

Let’s do our best to balance both, but emphasize joy. If we focus on joy, the benefits of any practice will take care of themselves.

4. Nose vs Mouth: A Mindful Observation of Nature’s Design

You can have your mouth open or closed. But there’s no such thing as having your nose “opened or closed.” Your nose is always open, always ready to be breathed through.

There’s a lesson from nature in there…

***

P.S. Of course, this breaks down if you’re sick, have bad allergies, or have another medical condition blocking it. But you get the idea : )

1 Quote

“Mindfulness lets us see things in a new light and believe in the possibility of change.””

— Ellen Langer, Ph.D.

1 Answer

Category: Breathing & the Brain

Answer: Slow deep breathing impacts this fluid, which plays a critical role in “cushioning” the brain and spinal cord while also distributing nutrients and hormones.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What is cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)?

In good breath,

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

P.S. There are two types of people

The Garlic Breath of the Week

Here is the most-liked post this past week.

* An asterisk by a quote indicates that I listened to this book on Audible. Therefore, the quotation might not be correct, but is my best attempt at reproducing the punctuation based on the narrator’s pace, tone, and pauses.

🎧 Listen Instead of Reading 🎧

If you enjoy listening, you can subscribe to the audio version on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Audible so you don’t even have to look at the email 😊

4 Thoughts

1. A Tiny Thought on the Power of the Breath

In any situation:

If we control our breath, we control our environment.
If we do not, our environment controls us.

2. How Deep Breathing Reduces Stress According to 3 Studies

“Diaphragmatic breathing has the potential to offer a readily available and inexpensive treatment to help manage stress on a daily basis.”
- Hopper et al. (2019)

This systematic review of 3 studies found that slow diaphragmatic breathing reduces the following markers of stress:

Blood pressure
Salivary cortisol
DASS-21 scores
(a questionnaire on anxiety and stress)

Although the studies were not “top tier” (few are in breathing), these results are still powerful given stress’s negative impact on basically everything.

Breathe slowly, reduce stress, and live better.

3. Mind-Wandering is a Hidden Superpower (and how to do it correctly)

“In fact, when you look back over the history of science and engineering, many great breakthroughs don’t happen during periods of focus—they happen during mind-wandering.”
- Johann Hari, Stolen Focus

As someone who spends so much time focusing and reading, I found Hari’s section on mind-wandering life-changing. It is a genuine superpower.

And it’s simple enough. Just take time to do nothing—no phone, no books, no goals—and let your brain do what it does best: connect and form novel ideas.

However, there is one critical tip to remember: “In situations of low stress and safety, mind-wandering will be a gift, a pleasure, a creative force. In situations of high stress or danger, mind-wandering will be a torment.”

So, if you’re going to set aside time for mind-wandering, do it when you feel safe and calm…like after a slow breathing practice…😊

4. Life Force in Action

“There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action…”
- Martha Graham

And that action is breathing.

Breathing is life force translated through you into action.

***

P.S. I know I’m taking the quote out of context…it’s what I do best : )

1 QUOTE

“In the beginning was the voice. Voice is sounding breath, the audible sign of life.”
- Otto Jespersen (from Breath Taking)

1 ANSWER

Category: Sound and Breath

Answer: To generate sound, these vibrate rapidly from between 110 to 300 cycles per second in most people.

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(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

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Question: What are the vocal cords?