consistency

The 5 Exhales, Spirit, and How One Word Makes Breath Holds Easier

 
 

Listen Instead of Reading

 
 
 

4 Thoughts


1. The 5 Exhales of Slow Breathing

Here are 5 different exhales you can try during your slow breathing practice. Give them a shot and see which one brings you the most relaxation.

  1. Nasal exhale

  2. Audible pursed-lips (like blowing out birthday candles)

  3. Barely audible pursed-lips (like blowing on hot soup)

  4. Ujjayi

  5. Humming

I do a mix of these depending on how I’m feeling, but my defaults are 1 and 3.

2. How Changing One Word Makes Breath Holds Easier

Instead of saying “hold” your breath, use (or think) the word “pause.”

Holding implies tension and effort. Pausing is natural and effortless.

It’s a subtle change, but it can make a significant difference.

***

P.S. This idea was inspired by Eddie Stern’s Pranayama Week. He used the word “pause” instead of hold several times, and I found it brilliant.

3. Why Mindless Breathing is Good, Part II

“We now know that somewhere between 40% and 80% of what we do is done automatically … This is the exact strategy the brain uses to conserve energy, but especially if we've got the wrong habits, it can wreak havoc on our lives.”

- Steven Kotler, The Art of Impossible

Coming back to last week’s thought on mindless breathing, here’s another way of looking at it: 40-80%(!) of what we do is automatic. And with breathing, it’s probably 96-99%, depending on how much you practice.

But this isn’t a bad thing—it’s actually a blessing we can put to good use.

If we’re diligent and consistent with our precious gift of breath control, a mindful 1-4% investment can pay dividends on the other unmindful 96+%.

Which comes back to the main point: The goal of mindful breathing is to improve our mindless breathing.

4. A Beautiful Message and NOSEvember

“Breathwork is life changing. Whether reducing stress, controlling or eliminating disease symptoms, improving sleep, or even being a better person at work and at home. I truly believe that the breath is the key to unlocking our bodies abilities to heal themselves and perform at optimal capacity.”

- Dr. Tanya Bentley, HHPF Co-Founder & CEO

A beautiful message from a beautiful human being. Check out NOSEvember and consider supporting HHPF’s phenomenal mission. 🙏

 
 

Extra Thought (minus the bi-annual rant)

We just had another time change. I’ll spare you my normal rant on how almost every sleep scientist on the planet thinks it’s awful to change the time twice a year. But alas, we still do it : )

And if you’ve read this a while, you know I decided to ignore the time change when we “sprung forward” in March (be the change you want to see style). I loved it, and I plan on doing the same again with this one, if life allows…

 
 

1 QUOTE

“It means that breath is the root of the essence and of the soul, the life source and the ruler of the spirit.”

- The Primordial Breath, Volume I

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Category: Exhalation and Nasal Nitric Oxide

Answer: This exhalation technique can increase nasal nitric oxide by as much as 15-fold.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is humming?

In good breath,

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

P.S. The true test of longevity

 
 
 

Sign Up For The Breathing 411

Each Monday, I curate and synthesize information from scientific journals, books, articles, and podcasts to share 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer (like "Jeopardy!") related to breathing. It’s a fun way to learn something new each week.

 
 

The Joy of Breathwork is _________, and The 3 Best Ways to be Consistent

 
 

Listen Instead of Reading

 
 
 

4 Thoughts


1. The Joy of Breathwork is _________

If you’ve read any books on breathwork, or heard any podcasts, or taken any classes, you’ve inevitably heard some incredible stories of healing.

People use different breathing methods to help various health conditions under different settings. They all seem to work, and there’s no one-size-fits-all.

It highlights a simple yet profound truth: The joy of breathwork is breathing.

***

Quote that inspired this thought: “I realized: These were tears of joy, and the joy of movement is moving.” - Kelly McGonigal, PhD, The Joy of Movement

2. The 3 Best Ways to be Consistent with Your Breathing Practice

“A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules.”

– Anthony Trollope

1. Start very tiny. Even if it's 1 breath or 30 seconds. Just pick something so small you can't fail.

2. Do it at the same time every day. Pick a consistent cue (e.g., brushing your teeth, etc.) that will trigger your tiny practice.

3. Celebrate. This is most important. Do something silly that you find rewarding (fist bump, etc.). Celebration releases dopamine, which will trick your brain into looking forward to your practice.

***

P.S. Here’s my celebration: “That’s like me to do another breathing session!”

P.P.S. These concepts come from the excellent book Tiny Habits.

3. Marginal Gains: Why Being Consistent Matters

“It is so easy to overestimate the importance of one defining moment and underestimate the value of making small improvements on a daily basis. … Meanwhile, improving by 1 percent isn’t particularly notable—sometimes it isn’t even noticeable—but it can be far more meaningful, especially in the long run.”

- James Clear

And there’s why being consistent is so important. Those tiny 1% gains are far more meaningful in the long run than they might at first seem. As my favorite teacher Brian Johnson says, “when you aggregate and compound enough of those tiny little incremental optimizations MAGIC happens.” 🙏

***

Related: Breathing is the Compound Interest of Health and Wellness

Related Quote: “Any practice, whether spiritual, physical, or artistic, only begins to pay off when it is done with regularity and sincerity.” - Eddie Stern, One Simple Thing

4. The Pleiotropic Benefits of Breathing

“Eating well, exercising, getting enough sleep, and managing stress will always be the foundational pillars of health and wellness. One reason for this is that these interventions are what scientists call pleiotropic—they provide a wide range of benefits that aren’t limited to a particular health condition.”

– Chris Kresser

Breathwork is also pleiotropic: it provides wide-ranging benefits, which aren’t limited to one health condition. (That’s also why it often seems like a panacea.)

Combining this idea with Thoughts 2 & 3, we see why breathing is the compound interest of health and wellness: When done consistently, the marginal gains from its wide-ranging, “pleiotropic” benefits aggregate into magic.

Sounds good to me : )

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

“The breath is something that is readily available to us simply because we are human beings. We do not need anything else to qualify. How marvelous!”

- The Tibetan Yoga of Breath

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Category: Nasal Breathing

Answer: Nitric oxide, which is one of the most important benefits of nasal breathing, is produced in this region of the upper airways.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What are the paranasal sinuses?

In good breath,

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

P.S. Nothing like changing your appearance

 
 
 

Sign Up For The Breathing 411

Each Monday, I curate and synthesize information from scientific journals, books, articles, and podcasts to share 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer (like "Jeopardy!") related to breathing. It’s a fun way to learn something new each week.

 
 

Breathing is the Compound Interest of Health

 
 

"He who labors diligently need never despair; for all things are accomplished by diligence and labor." - Menander (342 BC - 292 BC) 

 
 
 
Compound_Interest_Final.png
 
 

Correct breathing synchronizes many systems in the body. This coherence compounds over time.


Breathing improves your sleep [1,2]. Better sleep improves your cardiovascular system [3].


Breathing improves your cardiovascular system [4,5]. This improves your sleep.


Breathing restores autonomic balance [6]. Better autonomic control increases heart rate variability and baroreflex sensitivity [7,8].


Correct breathing improves tissue oxygenation [9]. This improves autonomic balance [10]. And insulin sensitivity [11].


The more control you have over your breathing, the more control you have over your emotions [12].


The more control you have over your emotions, the more control you have over your breathing [13].


The more control you have over your breathing, the more control you have over all the systems mentioned above [14].

Thus, all of these benefits are not isolated but integrated. It would still be rather amazing if breathing helped just one or two of these systems (since it’s free and everything). But, it helps so many different aspects of health and these benefits aggregate and compound over time.

But Nothing Happens Overnight

Well, maybe it does, because my first night of sleeping with my mouth closed literally changed my life.

But just like in financial investing, we have to keep contributing small amounts to our health consistently. Over time, those contributions will grow into something great, without any additional effort.

In good breath,

Nick

P.S. Best part of quarantine: No airports.

References

[1] Mouth breathing during sleep significantly increases upper airway resistance and obstructive sleep apnea

[2] The many important roles of the nose during sleep

[3] Obstructive sleep apnea causes hypertension

[4] Meta-Analysis: Slow Breathing Reduces Systolic Blood Pressure by 5.62 mmHg

[5] Slow breathing improves blood pressure in hypertensive type II diabetics

[6] Two minutes of slow breathing restores autonomic and respiratory balance

[7] Slow breathing decreases blood pressure and increases heart rate variability in hypertensive diabetics

[8] Slow breathing improves autonomic function in type 1 diabetics

[9] Nitric oxide might outweigh all other benefits of nose breathing

[10] Treat & reverse the root cause of diabetic complications (tissue hypoxia) with slow breathing

[11] Hypoxia Decreases Insulin Signaling Pathways in Adipocytes

[12] Slow, controlled breathing improves anxiety independent of CO2

[13] Breathing center in brain has powerful effects on higher-order brain functions…calm yourself by breathing slowly

[14] How slow breathing improves physiological and psychological well-being (hint: it might be in your nose)