long-term benefits

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4 Lessons in 4 Years, Behind the Scenes, and Establishing Inner Calm

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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 😊


A Special Week + Behind the Scenes

Today marks 4 years of sending this newsletter every week. That blows my mind. To mark the occasion, I have a “behind the scenes” look at the newsletter at the bottom of this edition.

Thank you for reading 🙏

4 Thoughts



1. Four Lessons from 4 Years of Writing this Newsletter

I think these can be applied in all aspects of life.

  1. Let Go of Expectations: I get so excited about these thoughts, so I just have to remind myself it's just a newsletter, and I have no clue what will resonate with you, the reader.

  2. Deadlines are Diamonds: Having a deadline (preferably self-imposed—I hate when people tell me what to do 😂) is the driving force behind completing anything.

  3. The Process Brings the Most Joy: Cliché but true. Putting together the newsletter is what brings me joy.

  4. Less is Always More.

2. When’s the Big Performance?

“[A]n observed quipped, ‘Practice, practice, practice! All you ever do is practice! When's the performance?’ After a muted wave of chuckles rolled through the meditation hall, our teacher went on to say that there is indeed a performance scheduled; it's called ‘Your Daily Life.’”

- Barbara Fredrickson, PhD, Love 2.0

That’s what all our breathing, meditation, exercise, yoga, etc., practice is all about. It’s training for the biggest performance we’ll ever be a part of: Our daily lives.

3. Flip Your Perspective to Understand Long-Term Benefits

“[J]ust as repeated activation of the fight-or-flight response can lead to sustained problems in the body and its mechanics, so too can repeated activation of the relaxation response reverse those trends and mend the internal wear and tear brought on by stress.”

- Herbert Benson, MD, Timeless Healing

 

It’s easy to see how chronic stress can add up to all sorts of health problems. 

But let’s not forget that the opposite is also true: repeated elicitation of positive states can reverse those negative trends.

4. Growing Grass or Pulling Weeds?

“When I was working for the St. Louis Rams, I asked the head groundskeeper, Scott Parker, how I could get rid of the weeds in my yard at home. With great confidence, he replied, ‘Grow more grass.’ Growing more grass chokes out the weeds.”

 - Drs Jason Selk & Ellen Reed, Relentless Solution Focus

 

This is a profound mindset shift. When trying to resolve a challenging problem or life situation, let’s ask: “Am I growing grass or pulling weeds?”

Become More You

“Paradoxically, it takes time to become what we already are.” – Rick Hanson, PhD

I think it takes ~30 minutes a week.

Here’s exactly how.

1 Quote

“Once you establish an inner calm, you will transmit it naturally to others.””
— Richard Brown and Patricia Gerbarg

1 Answer

Category: Nose

Answer: When the thin wall between your nostrils is displaced to one side, it’s called this.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is a deviated septum?

In good breath,

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


P.S. That’s not how averages work

Behind the Scenes of The Breathing 411

I’ve never posted about the newsletter itself, so for the 4th anniversary, here are some random things about it:

First Edition: January 27, 2019

(3 recipients: me, my other email address, and my wife, 😂 😂)

Subscribers as of Today: 1,372

(That’s probably awful for how long I’ve been doing it, lol. But, it makes me proud as hell because (1) you all are awesome, (2) I write about breathing, and (3) it’s all been word of mouth and w/o lead magnets, advertising, etc.).

Open Rates: 50-60+%

(I’m awful and don’t track things like I should, but this seems to be my average.)

Time I Spend on It: ~8 hours/week

(This doesn’t include all the background reading and research that goes into it. Eight hours is just writing and all the nonsense logistics.)

Hardest Part: Finding ideas for the “1 Answer” each week.

Best Part: When people reply and say what resonated with them.

(Sometimes I jump up and run around, and sometimes it brings tears to my eyes.)

Joy: I absolutely love writing this newsletter. Putting it together is one of my biggest sources of joy.

Support: If you enjoy these emails and would like to support them, share them with a friend.

If you’d like to help even more to keep the newsletter around, join the Learning Center or purchase the Breathing for Diabetes Course 🙏

* 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.

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.

 

More Time, Long-Term Benefits, and How to Hold Your Breath for 6 Hours

 
 

🎧 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. How to Hold Your Breath for 6 Hours (hint: you already do)

  • Let’s say you take an average of 15 breaths/min, or 21,600 per day.

  • Let’s also say, like me, you’re a decent (but not perfect) breather.

  • Thus, at the end of each of those 21,600 breaths, there’s a short pause.

  • For simplicity, let’s say that pause is 1-sec (sometimes shorter or longer).

  • That adds up to 21,600 seconds without breathing each day.

  • That’s a 6-hour breath hold each day.

  • That’s 1/4 of your day.

  • That’s 1/4 of your life.

  • That’s 🤯 🤯 🤯

***

P.S. This thought was inspired by this +1 on heart beats.

2. Ancient Wisdom meets Modern Science: Alternate Nostril Breathing and the Brain

“Idā, which is activated by directing the breath through the left nostril, is said to establish a calm, introspective awareness, and have a cooling effect. Pingalā, the more stimulating side, is heating and mobilizing, and is activated through right-nostril breathing. Alternating the breath through both nostrils is said to cultivate balance and equanimity.”

- Robin Rothenberg, Restoring Prana

A recent study published in Nature tested these ancient yogic claims using EEG. Short story: the yogis were basically right. Left-nostril breathing activates brain regions “associated with a more relaxed state and introspective thinking.”

The right-nostril results were less certain, but the practice did lead to “higher activity compared to left airway UNB in all frequency bands across the whole scalp except in posterior areas.”

Of course, there are always caveats and limitations. However, one thing seems pretty clear: Left-nostril breathing can be used to reach calm and introspective states anytime we need them. I use it all the time—I hope you will too.

3. More Time: Breathing Exercises Get More Enjoyable with Practice

“How you feel the first time you try a new form of exercise is not necessarily how you’ll feel after you gain more experience.  For many, exercise is an acquired pleasure.  The joys of an activity reveal themselves slowly as the body and brain adapt.”

- Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., The Joy of Movement

And the exact same is true for breathing exercises.

Give them time (I suggest about a week) so your body and brain can adapt. The benefits will gradually reveal themselves, and you’ll soon look forward to, and even find bliss in, your practice.

4. The Long-Term Benefits of Breathing Exercises: Normalize Cortisol and Be Calmer

“The long-term effects of a daily breathing practice, just like those of a daily exercise routine, are even more pronounced. Preliminary studies have found that regularly practicing breathing exercises normalizes your level of cortisol, the ‘stress hormone.’ As a regular practice, breathing can recondition your body to a state of greater calm, helping it bounce back from stress more quickly and perhaps reducing reactivity in the face of challenges…you can use daily breathing exercises to prepare your nervous system to be resilient in the face of stressful events.”*

- Emma Sepällä, Ph.D., The Happiness Track

And once your body and brain adapt, here’s why it’s so important to stick with these breathing exercises. You can recondition your body & nervous system to be calmer, then watch the benefits aggregate and compound over time 🙏

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

“In the deepest sense, the breath itself is the ultimate gift of spirit.”

- Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go There You Are

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Category: The Nose

Answer: The two nostrils are physically distinct, and each one has its own unique supply of these.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What are blood flow and nerve endings?

In good breath,

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

P.S. 99. Smoke signal

 
 
 

* 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.

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’s Indirect and Unseen Benefits

 

Welcome to another edition of The Breathing 411:

Here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer for you to consider this week. Enjoy!

 
 
 
 

4 THOUGHTS


1. The Science of Breathing’s Indirect Benefits

Last week we learned that breathing is the only true compounding health habit. However, I believe the real magic occurs when breathing begins improving other areas of our lives. I’ve never had a reasonable explanation for these "indirect effects." They just seemed to happen. But now I do, thanks to Tiny Habits.

In this excellent book, behavioral scientist BJ Fogg shows us how tiny changes in one area of your life can lead to massive changes in others. It all comes down to a simple equation: B = MAP

A Behavior happens when Motivation, Ability, and a Prompt all come together. Makes sense. But the significant breakthrough Fogg discovered is the curved (nonlinear) relationship for when action occurs (adapted from his book below):

Befor_and_After.jpg

In this hypothetical example, we see how a breathing practice might help you exercise by increasing your motivation and physical ability (e.g., better sleep and oxygenation). The exercise prompt is now above the action line, and you exercise.

This is behavioral science, not physics. So there are no exact numbers for "motivation" or "ability." It will be unique from person-to-person. But this is where the real magic of compounding occurs. We move beyond just breathing, and begin fulfilling our own individual goals and ambitions.

P.S. Some examples from my life:

  • Walking 100 miles.

  • Having more energy to manage my diabetes.

  • Waking up before 4 a.m. every day for breathing research.

2. Health is What You Don’t See

"But the truth is that wealth is what you don't see. Wealth is the nice cars not purchased. The diamonds not bought. The watches not worn, the clothes forgone and the first-class upgrade declined."

- Morgan Housel, The Psychology of Money

Similarly, health is what you don’t see. It’s the cold you didn’t get, the late night you didn’t have, the stress you didn’t experience, the breathlessness you didn’t have after a brisk walk to catch your flight.

This is why the benefits of a long-term breathing practice might not be immediately apparent. You can’t measure the number of health issues that breathing helped you avoid. But that makes them no less important.


3. Longer Exhalations Are An Easy Way to Hack Your Vagus Nerve

"Just two minutes of deep breathing with longer exhalation engages the vagus nerve, increases HRV, and improves decision-making."

- Christopher Bergland, Psychology Today

Here’s another gem from Psychology Today on slow breathing, stress, and the vagus nerve. I may or may not have visualized "squirting some stress-busting vagusstoff" onto my heart when I took my next slow breath : )

4. Breath Matching

Rather than focus on any specific method, focus on your goals: to reduce anxiety, to increase focus, to improve autonomic function, to fall asleep, and on and on.

Then, based on those aspirations, find the right match. For combatting anxiety, you might choose extended exhales. For focus, you might pick box breathing.

But it’s not about the method; it’s about the outcome you wish to experience.

 
 
 
 

1 QUOTE

"Life and respiration are complementary. There is nothing living which does not breathe nor anything breathing which does not live."

- William Harvey, 1653, Lectures on the Whole of Anatomy

 
 
 
 

1 ANSWER

Answer: More than 60% of primary care physician visits are related to this condition.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is stress?

In good breath,
Nick

P.S. Really made me stop and think