learn like a pro

Box Breathing for Stress, and the Ancients’ Code to Becoming a Hero

 
 

Listen Instead of Reading


 

This week, you'll learn that breathing is only part of the solution, along with the ancient (and quite unexpected) secret to becoming a hero.

Enjoy!

 
 

 
 

4 Thoughts


1. Breathing as the XX% Solution

Consider what life would be like if we gave up the idea of healthy or sick, zero versus one, and replaced it with the idea of multiple continuum. One minute, for example, we might score 60% on one health dimension, 30% on another, and perhaps 85% on yet a third. How would that change our lived experience?

- Dr. Ellen Langer, Counterclockwise

I love this idea from Dr. Langer. It encourages us to forget “all or nothing” approaches and instead consider everything on a continuum. This perspective also provides a new way of finding solutions to our health problems.

Let’s say I only sleep 5 hours a night. Then, I start mouth taping and begin sleeping 6.5. That’s a 30% improvement. But let’s say you’re already sleeping 7 hours, and mouth tape gets you to 7.5. That’s only a 7% increase. But, that 7% might be all you need to feel your absolute best.

The point is that we’re all unique, and we’re all on different spots on the health continuum. My 80% solution might be your 30% one, and vice-versa.

So, instead of wondering what breathing (or the latest diet, the sauna, etc.) can fix for you, perhaps consider what percentage of the solution it is. “How would that change your lived experience?

***

Related Quote: The people I distrust most are those who want to improve our lives but have only one course of action.” - Frank Herbert

2. Test Like a Pro

You may feel your anxiety turning to panic. … To tackle this, watch your breathing. Just before you might go into panic mode, put your hand on your belly and try to draw air so deeply into your lungs that your hand moves up and down. This deep breathing can allow you to grow calmer and steadier.

- Dr. Barbara Oakley and Olav Schewe, Learn Like a Pro

Last week, we discovered that to learn like a pro, we need to sleep like a pro. This week, Dr. Oakley and Olav Schewe give us their advice for testing like a pro: slow deep breathing.

This technique isn’t just for school tests, either. This is for any big event you’re facing. Of course, sometimes anxiety is good (see Kelly McGonigal’s amazing book, The Upside of Stress). But, in moments when you’re panicking, and it’s hampering your performance, here’s the perfect trick.

Place one hand on your belly and use your breathing to make it move. This activates the calming parasympathetic nervous system, helping you relax and gain mental focus. It’s free, available anytime, anywhere.

Here’s to approaching whatever tests life throws at us like pros, today.

***

Related: A better state-of-mind: deep breathing reduces state anxiety and enhances test performance through regulating test cognitions in children (Check out the last two sentences of the abstract)

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

3. From the Cleveland Clinic: “How Box Breathing Can Help You Destress”

Box breathing’s simplicity is its greatest strength

- Melissa Young, MD, How Box Breathing Can Help You Destress

The Cleveland Clinic is one of the most respected hospitals and research centers worldwide. So, it was awesome to see them release an article on box breathing this past week.

It’s a quick yet comprehensive guide on box breathing. Enjoy!

4. The Ancients’ Secret to Becoming a Hero (it’s not what you might think)

True heroism, as the ancients understood, isn’t about strength, or boldness, or even courage. It’s about compassion.

- Christopher McDougall, Natural Born Heroes

Heroes are compassionate. In fact, the word hero itself actually means “protector” in Greek, not “strength” or “courage.” That’s why we call our parents, big brothers and sisters, military, police, firefighters, doctors, nurses, and especially our dogs, heroes. They protect us.

And these heroes don’t just rely on boldness or brute strength, like movies and the news might make us believe. They rely on empathy and compassion for those they are protecting. As McDougall puts it:

Empathy, the Greeks believed, was a source of strength, not softness; the more you recognized yourself in others and connected with their distress, the more endurance, wisdom, cunning, and determination you could tap into.

Thus, we can all be heroes because we can all develop these traits. Sitting and breathing, meditating, or doing some yoga will increase your compassion and awareness for yourself and those around you. That’s how heroes are made.

So who can you show compassion and empathy for this week? You might just become their hero.

 
 

 
 

1 Quote

“In a crunch situation, I recommend you collapse your concentration to your breathing while maintaining relaxed awareness of the surroundings. Breathing deeply will greatly reduce the stress, slow your heart rate, and bring your nervous system back into balance.”

- Mark Divine, Retired Navy SEAL Commander

 
 

 
 

1 Answer

Category: Word Etymology

Answer: The word “breath” is derived from the Old English “brǣth,” which has this meaning.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What is ‘smell or scent’?

P.S. Thus, the word breath itself is related to the nose : )


In good breath,

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

P.S. wow, respect to these teen parents

 
 
 

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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 Science of Presence, Beating Gravity, and How to Sleep Like a Pro

 
 

Listen Instead of Reading


 

Greetings,

Here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer for this week.

I hope you enjoy it!

 
 

 
 

4 Thoughts


1. How to Sleep Like a Pro: Nose, 4-4-6-2, Repeat

Breathe deeply and regularly…Try to breathe through your nose, keeping your mouth closed if at all possible. The more you breathe through your nose, the easier you will find it to breathe through your nose. In other words, use it or lose it.

- Dr. Barbara Oakley and Olav Schewe, Learn Like a Pro

I didn’t expect to find anything about breathing in a book called “Learn Like a Pro,” which is geared mainly toward college students. But, to learn well, you need to sleep well. Enter: the power of the breath.

And their advice for falling asleep? Inhale for 4 sec, hold for 4 sec, exhale for 6 sec, hold for 2 sec. “This type of breathing balances both the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in your body and allows you to relax more deeply.

It’s just so awesome to see slow nasal breathing make its way into random places like this. If put into practice, these few sentences could change a student’s life forever. Simply amazing.

Here’s to sleeping (and learning) like a pro, tonight.

***

P.S. I’ve been having a little self-induced stress insomnia recently (such is life), so it was perfect timing for this passage.

Related: Self-Regulation of Breathing as an Adjunctive Treatment of Insomnia

2. Beating Gravity with Your Nose

The results presented in this work provide evidence that the development of a substantial production of NO in the upper airways of humans may be an important part of our adaptation to life on two legs to ameliorate the influence of gravity on pulmonary blood flow distribution.

- Nasal nitric oxide and regulation of human pulmonary blood flow in the upright position

Translation: Nasal nitric oxide might have been an evolutionary adaptation to counteract gravity, allowing us to sit and walk upright. 🤯

Gravity moves blood flow toward the base of the lungs. Nitric oxide, however, redistributes blood flow help better utilize the massive surface area of the lungs. This allows us to get more oxygen in the upright position.

So go take a walk, breathe through your nose, oxygenate your body, and enjoy this gift evolution has given us.

***

Related Quote:Our own physical body possesses a wisdom which we who inhabit the body lack.” - Henry Miller

3. Psychology Today: “The Simplest Stress Management Skill”

It may seem incredible that such a simple exercise can make a huge difference in a person’s ability to feel less stressed.

- Dianne Grande, Ph.D., The Simplest Stress Management Skill

Of course, that “simple exercise” is slow deep breathing : )

This quick and excellent article touches on the vagus nerve and equal versus extended exhalations. It also provides some straightforward and practical guidelines for a “minimum effective dose” of slow breathing. Enjoy!

4. The Making of the Present Moment

Your experience of the present moment is based on the activity of your nervous system at that moment.

- Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Neurodharma

We are always in the moment. As Howard Cohn says, “In truth, we are always present. We only imagine ourselves to be in one place or another.

So what “presence” really refers to is experiencing our current moment. And as Dr. Hanson reminds us, our experience of any moment is just our nervous system at that moment. And the fastest way to access that? Our breath.

So experience your breath to experience presence. Or better yet, change your breath, change your nervous system, and use this science and physiology of presence to make your own moments.

***

Related Quote:Breathe and you dwell in the here and now.” - Annabel Laity

Related Quote:As such, the state of the autonomic nervous system underlies all psychological and physiological functioning, whether we are conscious of it or not. However, there is a bridge between our conscious mind and the subconscious action of the autonomic nervous system – breathing.” - The New Science of Breath

 
 

 
 

1 Quote

Everything I have earned today was at least partially a result of breathing.  My best performance.  My emotional control. My ability to endure.  Breathing gave me all of this.

- Rickson Gracie, Breathe: A Life in Flow

P.S. I listened to Breathe, so I apologize if the punctuation is incorrect.

 
 

 
 

1 Answer

Category: Breathing in the Womb

Answer: Babies are supplied oxygen in the womb through this tube-like structure.

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

Question: What is the umbilical cord?


In good breath,

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

P.S. it comes very naturally

 
 
 

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.