slow breathing

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New Breath-Brain Study, Coffee Jokes, and How to Induce Creativity

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Reading Time: 1 min 51 sec

I hope the next 22-ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. A Brand New Study on Breathing & the Brain

“This work establishes respiratory rhythm as a physiologically tunable entry point for modulating anxiety states, providing a mechanistic roadmap for developing targeted bioelectronic strategies. Therapeutically, our findings validate slow breathing not as a mere placebo but as a form of endogenous, circuit-specific neuromodulation.”

- Bi et al. (2026)

I talk a lot about breathing and the brain—and this new study shows exactly why. They found that slow breathing activates circuitry in the brain that literally reduces our amygdala’s anxiety output.

Thus, they essentially reframe breathing practices as a brain-based intervention that directly influences anxiety pathways. Pretty neat.

2. How to Induce Creativity via Deep Rest

“Psychologist Norbert Schwarz of the University of Michigan and his associates suggest that positive mood allows for more divergent and playful thinking because it signifies that all is well. When you aren't worried about threats in your environment…you have the leisure time to devote to exploration of new ideas. You can play around with alternate solutions to problems and make playful connections between ideas because your mind is not occupied with survival.”

- Shelley Carson, Ph.D.,
Your Creative Brain

This goes beautifully with the idea of Deep Rest we explored last week.

When we create physical and psychological safety—then pair it with slow breathing to turn off the threat response—we open the door not only to cellular healing, but also to creativity.

3. One of the Biggest Breathing Mistakes

The biggest mistake people make with slow breathing is quite literal: it’s breathing “too big.”

Slow does not mean large. It means quiet, light, and controlled. This is critical for getting the most benefits for stress and anxiety.

P.S. I know most of you know this by now 😊. But Always good to be reminded of the basics.

4. Coffee, Meditation, and Bad Dad Jokes

Shinzen Young, in The Science of Enlightenment:

“For me, coffee is a natural complement to meditation, because it helps to keep you alert. When I think of coffee, I think about how it makes my mind clear…”

[me abruptly interrupting on my 4th cup]

Say no more, sensei. Just take my credit card.

That’s my terrible attempt at a newsletter dad joke. It’s just a friendly reminder for all of us not to take ourselves or our practice too seriously.

1 Quote

“Our anxiety doesn’t come from thinking about the future but from wanting to control it.””
— Kahlil Gibran

1 GOOD BOOK

The Science of Enlightenment by Shinzen Young

The title made me hesitant for a long time, but it surprised me how good this book was. It’s one I suspect I’ll revisit every few years to understand it even more deeply.

In good breath,

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


P.S. hack for falling asleep faster


Synthesizing 454 studies to provide a structured, research-based breath system for regulating anxiety at the nervous system and brain levels.

Get it today.

Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.

 
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Stolen Focus, 3 Ingredients, and a Fascinating Aspect of Slow Breathing

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Reading Time: 1 min 30 sec

I hope the next 18-ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. Remarkable Effects on Physiology

Breath work—learning how to change breathing habits and practicing specific breathing techniques—has remarkable effects on physiology. It cannot cause harm, requires no equipment, and costs nothing…and is the most effective treatment I know for anxiety.”

Andrew Weil, MD, Mind Over Meds

👏👏👏

2. The Three Ingredients of Deep Rest

A 2024 review coined the idea of deep rest.

It has three primary ingredients:

  • Physical safety

  • Psychological safety

  • Parasympathetic dominance

Physical and and psychological safety come from set & setting. Parasympathetic dominance comes from slow, rhythmic breathing.

When all three are present, energy is redirected from stress to cellular repair and healing.

Safety + slow breathing = restoration.

3. One of the Most Fascinating Aspects of Slow Breathing

One of the most fascinating aspects of slow breathing isn’t just what it does to the nervous system…it’s what it does to the brain.

For example, in one study, slow breathing caused:

  • Greater power in slower brainwave frequencies (the rhythms associated with calm focus)

  • Increased connectivity across brain regions

  • Stronger coupling between theta (slower waves) and high-beta (faster waves)

Thus, slow breathing isn’t just calming the body. It’s appears to also reorganize patterns in the brain to promote calm and coherence.

If you’re interested, I explain how to apply this science in The Anxious Person’s Breath Manual.

4. Slowness, Memory, and Mindfulness

“The degree of slowness is directly proportional to the intensity of memory; the degree of speed is directly proportional to the intensity of forgetting.”

– Milan Kundera

That’s a simple and elegant heuristic for living. The more you slow down, the more you remember. And since “mindfulness” comes from a Pali word meaning “to remember,” we might playfully adapt Kundera’s line as:

The degree of slowness is directly proportional to the depth of our mindfulness. 👏

1 Quote

“But when you practice moving at a speed that is compatible with human nature—and you build that into your daily life—you begin to train your attention and focus.””
— Johann Hari

1 GOOD BOOK

Stolen Focus by Johann Hari

An awesome look at why we can’t concentrate. Hari combines research, interviews, and a 3-month phone-free experiment to show how we can begin to reclaim our focus.

In good breath,

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


P.S. my favorite childhood memory


Synthesizing 454 studies to provide a structured, research-based breath system for regulating anxiety at the nervous system and brain levels.

Get it today.

Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.

 
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Is Anxiety Overbreathing?, Breath→Body→Mind, and The Walking Diabetic

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Reading Time: 1 min 47 sec

I hope the next 22-ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. The Key to Breath-Linked Mind Control

“Research where people consciously change their breathing rates has shown that different ways of breathing can encourage particular frequencies to dominate across the brain, which can take us to a more alert and focused state or to a more relaxed and drowsy one. There’s only one catch…breath-linked mind control only works if you breathe through your nose.”

- Caroline Williams, Move

Nothing to add to this one 😊

2. The Breath->Body->Mind Pathway

“If mind and body are one, we can do more than change the body by changing the mind; we can change the mind by changing the body.”

- Ellen Langer, Ph.D., The Mindful Body

Although Dr. Langer wasn’t referring to breathing, this principle has been demonstrated perfectly in breath research.

A 2002 study found that emotional states produce similar breathing patterns across people. Remarkably, the opposite was also true: breathing in specific patterns can induce specific emotions.

In other words, we can influence how we feel by changing how we breathe…we can “change the mind by changing the body.”

3. What if Anxiety is Partially Just Over Breathing?

Anxiety isn’t just in your your. It may also be worsened overbreathing.

Here’s how it works:

  1. When we breathe too much, CO₂ drops.

  2. When CO₂ drops, cerebral blood flow drops.

  3. When cerebral blood flow drops, anxiety gets worse.

Slow breathing—when done correctly—helps interrupt that loop.

If you’d like the blueprint and reference sheets on how to do it right, check out The Anxious Person’s Breath Manual.

P.S. Physiology is always more complex than a single sentence. But the CO₂–brain blood flow relationship is so robust that researchers even quantify it: For every 1 mmHg decrease in arterial CO₂, cerebral blood flow reduces roughly 2%. Pretty crazy.

4. The Walking Diabetic

“Another beautiful thing about walking is that it doesn’t require a membership, a monthly pass or a sign-up sheet. Simply put on your shoes and walk out the door.”

- Libby DeLana, Do Walk

Some days, I consider rebranding myself as “The Walking Diabetic” (or “The Reading Diabetic” 😂). But in the end, they’re all part of the same practice.

So this is our friendly reminder to get out and move to complement our meditative practices.

1 Quote

“Because all health conditions have some stress component, it is no overstatement to say that virtually every single health problem and disease can be improved with a mind body approach.””
— Herbert Benson

1 GOOD BOOK

Relaxation Revolution by Herbert Benson, MD

A foundational book in the mind–body world, providing the science and stories on how the relaxation response heals.

In good breath,

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


P.S. no thanks, I’m trying to cut back


Synthesizing 454 studies to provide a structured, research-based breath system for regulating anxiety at the nervous system and brain levels.

Get it today.

Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.

 
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How to Accomplish More, Gaining Control, and Doing Brooklyn Yoga

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Reading Time: 2 min 6 sec

I hope the next 25-ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. How Conscious Breathing Helps Give Us Control in Challenging Situations

“Conscious breathing can create enduring states of focus, presence, and mindful observation, so that life’s challenging situations do not completely highjack us, allowing a greater degree of control. While we cannot control life, we can learn to shape our response to it; conscious breathing is a valuable tool to support that.”

– Eddie Stern,
Healing Through Breathing

 

That sums it up nicely 👏

2. The Human Brain and Mindfulness

“Our brains, unlike those of any other animal, can hold information as a verbal story and elaborate on it with imagination. We like to believe that we are the “rational” species… But, in fact, our thoughts and decisions are driven largely by what's happening at the emotional levels of our brains.

This means that your brilliant human mind often reacts more to the yawp of the inner almond and the emotional flash of fear than to your actual situation.”

- Martha Beck,
Beyond Anxiety

This is why mindfulness and other contemplative practices are so powerful. By teaching us to observe reality—our actual situation—instead of the scenarios we make up in our heads, we experience less stress, more peace, and greater joy.

3. How to Accomplish More and Do a Better Job

“It may sound paradoxical, but however tight our schedule, however many things clamor to be done, we don’t need to hurry. If we can keep our mind calm and go about our business with undivided attention, we will not only accomplish more but we’ll do a better job – and find ourselves more patient, more at peace.”

- Eknath Easwaran,
Take Your Time

Just a reminder (especially to myself 😅) that no matter how many things we have on our to-do list, we don’t need to hurry. Keeping our mind calm and doing one thing at a time will always help us accomplish more—and do a better job.

4. Was That Breath Boring? (Brooklyn Yoga)

One new meditator kept coming to interviews with a chronic lament, “The breath is so boring.” Finally I asked him if he’d ever heard of Brooklyn yoga. He said no. I told him to close his mouth tight and close off both nostrils with his fingers. We sat that way for some time until, finally, he let go of his nose and gasped for air. “Was that breath boring?” I said.

- Larry Rosenberg,
Breath by Breath

I’ve shared this before, but it always makes me laugh, and it serves as a perfect reminder that the breath is not boring—it’s all about perspective 😊.

1 Quote

“Remember that you are neither your feelings nor the story your mind tells about you to make sense of them. You are the vast silence that knows of their emergence and their disappearance.””
— Haemin Sunim

1 GOOD BOOK

The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down by Haemin Sunim

This is an easy-reading, poetic, and practical book on mindful living. If you’re drawn to contemplative practices, you’ll certainly be happy you added this one to your library.

In good breath,

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

P.S. finally, some advice I can follow

Wisdom Meditation: Bridging the Second Gap

Wisdom Meditation is a simple, science-grounded practice designed to change how you actually live. In just 12 minutes a day, it helps you encode wisdom into your nervous system so calm, clarity, and better choices show up in real life.

Learn more here.

Treat Yourself to Less Stress & Better Breathing




Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.

 
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Dissolve Your Problems, Slow Breathing’s Healing, & the Joy of Meditation

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Reading Time: 1 min 44 sec

I hope the next 21-ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. How Much Time Should You Spend Practicing?

“I think the amount of time that you spend on this work is not that important…what is important here is the regularity of doing this work. You want to do this every day without fail because you are attempting to change rhythms in your nervous system, and it’s the constancy of the input, it’s the regularity of the input, that is going to produce these changes over time.”

– Andrew Weil, MD,
Breathing: The Master Key to Self Healing

 

A great reminder when it comes to breathing or any contemplative practice: We’re changing the rhythms of our nervous systems (and minds), so the exact amount of time matters much less than the daily consistency of showing up 🙏

2. Slow Breathing & the Healing Touch of Prayer

“In many ways, this resonant breathing offered the same benefits as meditation for people who didn’t want to meditate. Or yoga for people who didn’t like to get off the couch. It offered the healing touch of prayer for people who weren’t religious.”

– James Nestor, Breath

Nothing to add 👏

3. Don’t Solve Your Problems—Dissolve Them

“You don’t solve your problems in this practice, it is sometimes said, you dissolve them.”

- Larry Rosenberg, Breath by Breath

A perfect reframe for the power of our practice. It’s not about solving every problem. It’s about giving us perspective so that they naturally dissolve on their own.

4. The Joy of Meditation

Meditation is offering your genuine presence to yourself in every moment. It’s the capacity to recognize clearly that every moment is a gift of life, a gift from the Earth and sky. In Zen, this is known as the “joy of meditation.”

- Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Breath

I’m not suggesting I get to this state in my practice every morning (far from it 😅). But what a perfect reminder that, at their core, many contemplative practices are about recognizing just how lucky we are to be alive.

1 Quote

““The point of meditation is not to eliminate emotions. It is to learn how to accommodate them skillfully and with compassion for oneself and others.””
— Erika Rosenberg, PhD

1 GOOD BOOK

Biofeedback and Mindfulness in Everyday Life by Inna Khazan, Ph.D.

Although I’m not a huge fan of biofeedback personally, this is an excellent book on breathing, mindfulness, and their application in everyday life. It also has a great basic physiology section, written in an accessible way. Definitely worth the read if you want to nerd out a little.

In good breath,

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

P.S. sound on

Wisdom Meditation: Bridging the Second Gap

Wisdom Meditation is a simple, science-grounded practice designed to change how you actually live. In just 12 minutes a day, it helps you encode wisdom into your nervous system so calm, clarity, and better choices show up in real life.

Learn more here.

Treat Yourself to Less Stress & Better Breathing




Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.

 
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A Trained Mind, Created By the Breath, and How To Be Better At Anything

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Reading Time: 1 min 45 sec

I hope the next 21-ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. Slow Breathing Helps Across Various Conditions

“The results of this review provide evidence that HRVB and PB [paced breathing] at approximately six breaths per minute have positive effects on a variety of physical, behavioral, and cognitive conditions. The overall effect sizes are modest but highly significant, suggesting that these methods may not be sufficient for treating any one problem but may be useful as a complementary intervention…The method is easy to learn and can easily be used along with other forms of intervention, with rare side effects.”

- Lehrer et al. (2020), Appl. Psychophysiol. Biofeedback

A powerful but grounded takeaway from a meta-analysis showing that slow breathing helps across many areas of health and performance 👏

2. The Body is Created and Sustained by the Breath

“The flow of breath, then, is constantly helping to shape the pattern of energy flow that underlies and sustains the physical body. If we can grasp the significance of this, if we can understand the crucial way in which the energizing effects of the breath support the metabolic processes of different parts of the body, we can begin to understand how the physical aspects and activities of our body are created by and dependent on the process of breathing.”

– Science of Breath

In other words, the body is created and sustained by the breath. This helps explain why breathing has such wide-reaching effects.

3. A Well-Trained Mind Can Resist Stress

“A person whose mind is well trained can manage in the midst of a stressful environment. Noise and pollution will take their toll on the body, but vitality and resistance will remain high. By contrast, a person whose mind is out of control can suffer from stress while lying on a quiet beach in Saint-Tropez.”

- Eknath Easwaran, Original Goodness

Just an excellent reminder: a well-trained mind remains resilient to stress, while an untrained mind can find stress anywhere (I know I’m guilty of this 🤦‍♂️).

4. Spiral Back Into Control

Contemplative practices allow you to spiral back into control, for a change.

1 Quote

“We spend so much time looking outward for validation that we don’t develop the incredible strengths that already lie within.” ”
— Scott Barry Kaufman, PhD

1 GOOD BOOK

How To Be Better At (Almost) Everything by Pat Flynn

Does this have a cheesy title? Yes. But is it still one of my favorites of all time? Definitely. I read it about 6 years ago, and it had a huge impact on my life. If you love learning, make sure you check this one out 👏

In good breath,

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

P.S. are you ok?

Wisdom Meditation: Bridging the Second Gap

Wisdom Meditation is a simple, science-grounded practice designed to change how you actually live. In just 12 minutes a day, it helps you encode wisdom into your nervous system so calm, clarity, and better choices show up in real life.

Learn more here.

Treat Yourself to Less Stress & Better Breathing




Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.

 
,

A Better Life, 30-Second Science, and the Tibetan Yoga of Breath

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Reading Time: 1 min 45 sec

I hope the next 21-ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. A Better Life Outside of Practice

“We expand our inner presence and relaxation…and, over time, we find more and more of that inner expansion and relaxation in daily life. The same is true of doing deep meditation (more inner silence in life), yoga postures (more flexibility in life) and other yoga practices on a daily basis. It all ends up enhancing our life outside the practices. This is the real benefit of doing yoga practices, and the primary reason for doing them.”

– Yogani, Spinal Breathing Pranayama

This is true for any contemplative or relaxation practice we do. It’s not just about escaping life; it’s about creating a better life outside of practice.

2. Accessing Your Inner Silence

“I believe it’s possible for everyone to discover this silence within themselves. It is there all the time, even when we are surrounded by constant noise. Deep down in the ocean, below the waves and ripples, you can find your internal silence.”

– Erling Kagge, Silence in the Age of Noise

A way to find that? Breathe deeply (but lightly) into your belly, below the turmoil of your thinking mind. There, you can find some internal silence, which is always present but often requires a little help to access.

3. The 30-Second Science of Accessing Inner Silence

“Respiratory rhythm is one of the main oscillating rhythms of the body, which is the main source of interoceptive information for the brain…This study combined paced breathing with the threat uncertainty task to create a new experimental paradigm for the first time. The self-reported results found that slow-paced breathing was associated with lower valence and arousal, which means that compared with fast-paced breathing rate, slow-paced breathing is a beneficial intervention response to uncertain threat information.”

- Luo et al. (2025), Nat. Sci. Rep.

We often assume meaningful change takes time. But this study found that even 30 seconds of slow breathing before a stressful event can reduce anticipatory anxiety. Not because the situation changed, but because the body did.

4. Travel Light

When it comes to thinking, travel light.

1 Quote

“If we practice mindfulness and appreciate training in the breath, we have an incredible number of opportunities to balance the body and mind every day.””
— Anyen Rinpoche & Allison Choying Zangmo

1 GOOD BOOK

The Tibetan Yoga of Breath by Anyen Rinpoche & Allison Choying Zangmo

An excellent book on the healing power of breathing (or as they call it, “wind energy training”). It blends wisdom with practical exercises you can start using right away. I definitely recommend it.

In good breath,

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

P.S. a daily struggle

Wisdom Meditation: Bridging the Second Gap

Wisdom Meditation is a simple, science-grounded practice designed to change how you actually live. In just 12 minutes a day, it helps you encode wisdom into your nervous system so calm, clarity, and better choices show up in real life.

Learn more here.

Treat Yourself to Less Stress & Better Breathing




Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.

 
,

Glimmers over Triggers, More from Your Mind, and a Celebration of Life

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Reading Time: 1 min 46 sec

I hope the next 21-ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. Glimmers over Triggers

“A glimmer is the opposite of a trigger; it’s any object or experience that creates a moment of unforced ease or joy. It works the same way as a negative trigger…but instead of sounding an alarm, they turn on the green light. The sight, sound, smell, taste, feel, or memory of a glimmer automatically creates a little bubble of gratitude and appreciation.”

- Martha Beck,
Beyond Anxiety

We all know certain things or situations can trigger us, sometimes for reasons we don’t even understand. But the opposite is also true: some things naturally elicit gratitude and appreciation.

Our task is to find those “glimmers” and deliberately add them to our lives—in our meditation corners, offices, rooms, etc.—so we can experience more comfort and joy each day.

2. Get the Most Out of Your Mind

“There is now enough robust science to show that mastering the simple movements needed to control the rate, depth and route by which you get air into your body can become a handy tool to steer thoughts and feelings in useful ways. Mastering this range of bodily movements can allow us to dial into the workings of the brain and the rest of the body, change the settings of both and get the very best out of the mind.”

– Caroline Williams,
Move

Nothing to add 👌

3. You Become What You Rehearse

Meditation doesn’t magically turn you into a better person, but it does make your mind malleable. What you expose your brain to in that relaxed state is what’s critical.

That’s why Wisdom Meditation is so powerful. By consistently rehearsing wisdom in that malleable state, it becomes second nature in the rest of your life. In other words, you become what you rehearse—that’s the core mechanism behind Wisdom Meditation.

If you’re curious, you can learn more here.

4. A Reminder of the Simplicity of Breathing

A large review of 29 studies on slow breathing to help chronic disease management came to a simple conclusion:

  • breathe slowly (about 5–6 breaths/min)

  • use a slightly longer exhale than inhale

  • employ nasal, abdominal breathing

  • practice about 10 minutes per day

  • getting a little human guidance helps

Hard to argue with that 😊

1 Quote

“The greatest of all miracles is to be alive, and when you breathe in, you touch that miracle. Therefore, your breathing can be a celebration of life.””
— Thich Nhat Hanh

1 GOOD BOOK

The Oxygen Advantage by Patrick McKeown

This one doesn’t need much explanation. If you’ve had it on your reading (or re-reading) list, here’s a nudge to pick it up.

In good breath,

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

P.S. this time it’ll work

Wisdom Meditation: Bridging the Second Gap

Wisdom Meditation is a simple, science-grounded practice designed to change how you actually live. In just 12 minutes a day, it helps you encode wisdom into your nervous system so calm, clarity, and better choices show up in real life.

Learn more here.

Treat Yourself to Less Stress & Better Breathing




Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.

 
,

Universal Stress Reduction, Feeling at Ease, and No Need to Worry

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Reading Time: 1 min 36 sec

I hope the next 19-ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. A Universal Way to Reduce Any Stress Reaction

“Every time you breathe out, your heartbeat slows a little. Exhaling taps the brakes on your fight-or-flight response so that your heart rate can’t get dangerously high. That’s why—across hundreds of human cultures and even other species—a long, slow outbreath is a universal way to begin reducing any stress reaction.”

- Martha Beck,
Beyond Anxiety

Nothing to add to this one 👌

2. The Subtle Habit That Keeps Us from Feeling at Ease

“Unfortunately, the pleasure principle also makes it difficult for us to just be. In virtually every moment we’re attempting to adjust our experience, trying to hold on to pleasant moments and avoid unpleasant ones. This makes it very difficult to relax fully and feel at ease or satisfied.”

- Ronald Siegel, PsyD,
The Mindfulness Solution

Definitely guilty here. And while mindfulness doesn’t instantly (or ever completely) fix this, it does make it easier to be with how things are rather than how we wish they would be 🙏

3. Thoughts, Thinking, and Insights

  • Thoughts: What your mind produces naturally. We can’t stop them; only allow them to arise and go on their own.

  • Thinking: Engaging with thoughts. This is usually what we mean by “mind wandering,” and it’s where rumination, worry, and anxiety typically pop up.

  • Insights: Valuable thoughts. They are the spontaneous sparks of wisdom that arise without thinking.

This distinction is one of my favorite parts of my new ebook on Wisdom Meditation. In it, I explore how this simple reframe can significantly enhance how we relate to our meditation practice.

4. There Is No Need to Worry

“If there is a solution, there is no need to worry, and if there is no solution, there is no reason to worry either.”

- Matthieu Ricard,
found in The No-Nonsense Meditation Book

This quote has been said by many different people in different ways, but it’s always a welcome reminder of the futility of worrying.

1 Quote

“Our capacity to control our breathing and to breathe consciously is very beneficial to the brain. That’s why I like breathing meditation so much.””
— Steven Laureys, MD

1 GOOD BOOK

The No-Nonsense Meditation Book by Steven Laureys, MD

This is a great book on the science of meditation (along with many fun anecdotes and practical suggestions). There’s even a whole chapter on breathing 😊

In good breath,

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

P.S. inner applause

Wisdom Meditation: Bridging the Second Gap

Wisdom Meditation is a simple, science-grounded practice designed to change how you actually live. In just 12 minutes a day, it helps you encode wisdom into your nervous system so calm, clarity, and better choices show up in real life.

Learn more here.

Treat Yourself to Less Stress & Better Breathing




Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.

 
,

Why We Want High HRV, Monk Brains, and How to Make Decisions

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Reading Time: 2 min 0 sec

I hope the next 24-ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. Why We Want High HRV (and how to get it)

“High heart rate variability is associated with smooth, efficient prefrontal cortex activity and executive-function tasks including working memory and inhibitory control. This means that by increasing your heart rate variability, you improve your prefrontal lobe activity and with it your ability to self-regulate, inhibit negative thoughts, make objective decisions, and remember what you learn.”

- Leah Lagos, Psy.D.,
Heart Breath Mind

And one of the fastest (if not the fastest) and most reliable ways to increase HRV? Slow breathing, of course 😊

2. How the Brains of Meditating Monks Give Hope

In Beyond Anxiety, Martha Beck describes how reading a single meditation study influenced her life. I’m sharing it as a powerful reminder of what contemplative practices can offer:

“Each new study I read gave me more hope, especially a study where neurologists peered into the brains of Tibetan monks who had spent years in meditation. These men, it was found, had unusually dense tissue in the brain regions associated with happiness, compassion, and calm. … In the end, my career was based less on my intellectual training than on my near-pathological conviction that every one of us can fulfill our deepest longing and make the world a better place. After I read the Tibetan monk study, this conviction grew roots so deep nothing could shake it. I was convinced I could fix my brain.”

3. How to Make Decisions Right

“Rather than recommending endless analysis, my experience and research suggest taking a limited amount of information available at the time and going ahead and choosing an option. Then, rather than worry about whether the decision was right, we should try to make it work. Look at any advantages that accrue from whatever happens, and then play it as the “right decision.” That is, don’t try to make the right decision, make the decision right.”

- Ellen Langer, Ph.D.,
The Mindful Body

I’m not sure if I fully agree with this (lol), but I always appreciate viewpoints that make me pause and think. Perhaps we can never truly know whether a decision was “right,” so the better practice is to learn how to “make the decision right.” 🤔

4. The Beauty of Doing Something Daily

Here is the beauty of doing something daily: it enables us to see clearly, know deeply, and understand our world more intimately.

- Libby Delana,
Do Walk

Just an excellent reminder of the value of a daily practice, whether it’s breathing, meditation, walking, or something else you enjoy.

1 Quote

“Getting more familiar and even comfortable with knowing that we don’t know is its own form of profound and healing intelligence.””
— Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD

1 GOOD BOOK

The Healing Power of Mindfulness by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D.

This is another excellent mindfulness book from Kabat-Zinn. I’d still recommend Full Catastrophe Living first, but this is a great follow-up, grounded in both science and practicality.

In good breath,

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

P.S. it would be a hit

Wisdom Meditation: Bridging the Second Gap

Wisdom Meditation is a simple, science-grounded practice designed to change how you actually live. In just 12 minutes a day, it helps you encode wisdom into your nervous system so calm, clarity, and better choices show up in real life.

Learn more here.

Treat Yourself to Less Stress & Better Breathing




Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.

 
,

Hum for Stress, Less Negative Emotions, and Find Your Life Flow

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Reading Time: 1 min 37 sec

I hope the next 19-ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. Humming to Reduce the Stress Response

“We ask that you stop for a moment and think about the importance of this therapeutic aspect of humming. The bottom line is that humming can reduce your heart rate and lower your blood pressure. Essentially, it can reduce your stress response. And that includes reducing all those nasty hormones associated with stress, such as cortisol.”

- Jonathan Goldman & Andi Goldman,
The Humming Effect

That’s definitely worth stopping to think about…and to practice.

2. What is Meditation Good For? (Hint: Everything)

“Because meditation elevates your base level of concentration power and because concentration power facilitates all human endeavors, the question “what's meditation good for?" has a simple answer: meditation is good for everything…Is meditation really that valuable? Yes it is, because a person's base level of concentration is, in a sense, the most valuable thing that they have.”

- Shinzen Young, The Science of Enlightenment

A helpful reminder that, because it enhances our base level of concentration, meditation can help us in essentially every aspect of life.

3. How to Reduce Your Chances of Negative Emotions

“In view of the close association between respiration, ANS activity, and emotions presented, it is apparent that individuals possess the ability to alter emotional states using the voluntary control of breathing and mindset.”

- Jerath et al. (2015),
Appl. Psychophysiol. Biofeedback.

This paper had a compelling finding: slow, deep breathing may reduce the body’s physiological capacity to experience negative emotions. Pretty neat stuff.

4. Finding Where Life Flows From

“Go into yourself and see how deep the place is from which your life flows.”

– Rainer Maria Rilke

Whether we’re doing a 10-minute meditation, a 100-mile run, or just taking 1 conscious breath, this is what all contemplative and physical activities have in common: We’re simply going into ourselves to see how deep the place is from which our life flows.

1 Quote

““You didn’t come into this world. You came out of it, like a wave from the ocean. You are not a stranger here.””
— Alan Watts

1 GOOD BOOK

Blue Mind by Wallace J Nichols

While this one isn’t about breathing or meditation per se, it’s an excellent book on the power of water (and nature more broadly) to help us naturally cultivate mindfulness. As a surfer and someone who loves the ocean, it’s one of my all-time favorites.

In good breath,

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

P.S. new year’s resolution

Treat Yourself to Less Stress & Better Breathing


The Breathing App for Diabetes is FREE Until Jan. 1

This is the first program specifically made for people with diabetes to help manage their stress through breathing and mindfulness practices. In addition to the amazing program inside the app, we have some really neat things coming up, so sign up now!

Learn more here.





Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.

 
,

You Can Do This Today, a New 2025 Study, and Positive Reinforcement

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Reading Time: 1 min 58 sec

I hope the next 24’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. Something You Can Do Today (that may really help)

A 2025 study published in Nature Scientific Reports found that just 30 seconds of slow breathing (6-second inhale, 6-second exhale) reduced heart rate and anticipatory anxiety when participants were presented with uncertainty.

As the authors said, “It may be that slow breathing prepares the individual physically and psychologically for future anxious events.”

So next time you’re waiting for something stressful, try three slow breaths. It certainly won’t solve everything, but sometimes the simplest tools are the most effective.

2. A New Study Shows that Slow Breathing Protects Against Future Stressors

“These findings highlight the practical potential of SB [slow breathing] as an accessible and cost-effective intervention for mitigating anxiety and preventing stress response escalation.”

- Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (2025)

To piggyback on #1, this study, published just 3 weeks ago, found that 5 minutes of slow breathing (4-second inhale, 6-second exhale) helped protect against future stressors.

In their words: “This highlights the potential of SB as a proactive strategy for building resilience against acute emotional challenges.” 👏

3. The Path to Peace

“The path to peace is not to pursue certainty but to relax into uncertainty. To surrender to the ebbs and flows of life and accept things as they are instead of how you think they should be. It's not about trying to force things to happen a certain way but about trusting that you will be okay no matter what happens.”

- Joseph Nguyen, Don’t Believe Everything You Think

Amen to that 🙏

4. This Feeling Can Reinforce Behavior

“In my lab at Stanford some years ago, we wanted to see if using humor was an effective way to promote recycling. We rigged a recycling bin so people would hear a funny audio clip from The Simpsons every time they put something in…When people used this bin, they were surprised and amused. Some people looked for errant scraps of paper to put into the bin to hear more funny clips. Other people removed things from our bin and put them back in…A positive feeling from humor can reinforce behavior.”

- BJ Fogg, Ph.D., Tiny Habits

How good is that? It begs the question: How might we use humor and positive feelings to reinforce our breathing and/or meditation habit (or, for that matter, any habit at all)?

1 Quote

“It is needful periodically to put aside the things of time so as to seek the timeless, to isolate ourselves from the outward world so as to seek an inward one.””
— Paul Brunton

1 GOOD BOOK

Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg, Ph.D.

This is my favorite book on habits. It truly changed my life about 4 years ago. When it comes to breathing, meditation, or anything else that makes us better, the practices are usually straightforward. The hardest part is consistency. This book makes that part easy.

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!


P.S. hanging out as adults


Get My New Guidebook: The Anxious Person’s Breath Manual

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This isn’t another “just breathe” guide. Every technique is backed by rigorous research showing that these breathing exercises:

  • Reduce anxiety as effectively as CBT

  • Activate your vagus nerve (your body’s built-in relaxation switch)

  • Work immediately but compound over time

  • Require no special equipment or meditation experience

Learn more and get the guide here.

The Breathing App for Diabetes

This is the first program specifically made for people with diabetes to help manage their stress through breathing and mindfulness practices. In addition to the amazing program inside the app, we have some really neat things coming up, so sign up now!

Learn more here.



Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.

 
,

Breathing 101, Feel-Good Hormones, and A Book I Really Loved

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Reading Time: 1 min 54 sec

I hope the next 23’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. Breathing 101: The Neuroendocrine Link

1. Slow breathing activates the calming branch of the nervous system, sending signals of safety to the brain.

2. In response, the brain dampens the hormonal stress response, which lowers stress hormones like cortisol.

This is an excellent example of the neuroendocrine system at work: the breath influences the nervous system, the nervous system influences the brain, and then the brain regulates hormonal activity.

2. Worrier Gets Things Exactly Backwards

“You could say the worrier gets things exactly backwards. He’s so terrified that he might not be able to rely on his inner resources, later on, when he reaches a bridge that needs crossing, that he makes superhuman efforts to bring the future under his control right now. In fact he should devote less energy to manipulating the future, and have more faith in his capacity to handle things once the challenge actually arrives.”

– Oliver Burkeman, Meditations for Mortals

This one needs no commentary from me. But I will add a slight touch of humor, which I found in Anthony de Mello’s Awareness: “Who says that worrying doesn’t help? It certainly does. Every time I worry about something, it doesn’t happen!”

3. How Slow, Diaphragmatic Breathing Increases Feel-Good Hormones

“The vagus nerve is our our biggest parasympathetic nerve and the biggest place of innervation is our diaphragm. So, when we take nice, easy, deep breaths, that's going to feed back to our brain that all is good with the world. [It] increases acetylcholine and then that increases, in turn, our feel-good hormones like serotonin and dopamine. [It’s] basically a natural Prozac.”

- Michael J Stephen, MD

Here’s that neuroendocrine feedback loop (described in Thought #1) in action. And while we often talk about it “reducing stress hormones,” this is a powerful reminder that it also increases feel-good ones, too 👏

4. Constantly Somewhere Else

“But we’re constantly somewhere else. As somebody said, ‘My favorite place is somewhere else.’”

- Anthony de Mello, Awareness

Here is another insight wrapped in humor from this book. It reminds me of this opposite but equally true gem: “In truth we are always present. We only imagine ourselves to be in one place or another.” – Howard Cohn

1 Quote

“Breath happens, but the curious thing is that you can get with the breath, and in getting with it, extraordinary things can happen.””
— Alan Watts

1 GOOD BOOK

Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

I can’t recommend this one enough. Reading the introduction was my favorite part, as it felt like Burkeman was expressing thoughts I’ve had but never known how to articulate. I’ve never felt so much resonance with a book. Check it out if it sounds interesting to you!

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!

P.S. this may be my calling

The Breathing App for Diabetes

This is the first program specifically made for people with diabetes to help manage their stress through breathing and mindfulness practices. In addition to the amazing program inside the app, we have some really neat things coming up, so sign up now!

Learn more here.

Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.

 
,

Healing Through Breathing, Breath and E-motions, and How to Go East

,

Reading Time: 1 min 46 sec

I hope the next 21’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. Breathing, and Energy in Motion

“So what can help us when rational thought can’t? In our cerebrally oriented life, many of us have forgotten one critical piece: the role of our body to help our mind. Because emotion is energy in motion, if we want to regain our ability to think clearly, it helps to process emotional energy through the body. And the fastest-acting way to do that is via breathing.”

– Emma Seppälä, Ph.D., Sovereign

“Emotion is energy in motion.” That’s so good (maybe we should spell it e-motion?). It’s a great reminder that emotions need movement and, perhaps unsurprisingly to us, that one of the best movements of all for processing them is breathing 👏

2. How We Know Slow Breathing Activates the Vagus Nerve

“The results of this study reveal that for participants at rest, respiration-driven changes in HRV power (RSA) are vagally mediated. … These findings raise the possibility that mind-body techniques that use slow breathing at rest exert their breathing-related relaxation effects through vagal mechanisms.”

– Kromenacker et al. (2018)

I was revisiting this study while putting together a presentation and thought it was worth resharing. The researchers used medications to separately block the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, allowing them to isolate which branch was responsible for changes in HRV during slow breathing. It was a really neat study.

Here’s an Instagram post I made a couple years ago that summarizes its core methods and findings 🙏

3. Three Random Breathing Thoughts

Breath is both a miniature model of life and the whole of life itself.

Rather than measuring ourselves by how long we practice each day, maybe a more meaningful metric is how little we need to practice to maintain our mental and physical wellness.

The greatest skill in breathing (like in life) is knowing when to go with the flow—and when to deliberately change it.

4. Want to Go East?

“If you want to go east, don't go west.”

– Sri Ramakrishna

Just a perfect reminder that, to achieve our goals, it’s often the things we don’t do that set us in the right direction.

1 Quote

“Beyond the mountains, more mountains””
— Haitian Proverb

1 GOOD BOOK

Healing Through Breathing by Eddie Stern

This is a short, practical guide to the power of breathing for healing our bodies and minds. It blends science with ancient wisdom to offer plenty of simple yet powerful advice. It also includes guided breathing to get you started. Can’t recommend it enough. (Note: It is only on Audible.)

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!

P.S. Apologies for my delayed response

The Breathing App for Diabetes

This is the first program specifically made for people with diabetes to help manage their stress through breathing and mindfulness practices. In addition to the amazing program inside the app, we have some really neat things coming up, so sign up now!

Learn more here.

Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.

 
,

MBSR Course, Reducing Anxiety, and a Funny Quote about Negative Feelings

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Reading Time: 1 min 54 sec

I hope the next 23’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.

4 THOUGHTS

1. MBSR 8-Week Course Starting Soon

“Mindfulness is a way of befriending ourselves and our experience.”

- Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D

My good friend, mentor, and all-around awesome human Paul Hunt is leading an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course starting on April 15th.

MBSR is a world-renowned program that changed Paul’s life, so now he shares it out of genuine care and passion. He even offers a pay-what-you-can option to ensure finances don’t hold you back.

If you’ve ever been curious about learning MBSR, this is a perfect way to begin.

Click Here to Learn More

2. Less Caught Up in the Noise of the World

“When you’ve immersed yourself in meditation, silence, breathing, and wisdom, then you’ll find it is so much easier not to get caught up in the noise of the world, the agendas, stories, and opinions. And even when you do get caught, you’re rarely fully entangled because there’s a part of you that notices you’re getting caught. So you can extricate yourself more easily.”

– Emma Seppälä, Ph.D., Sovereign

Just a reminder that when you immerse yourself “in meditation, silence, breathing, and wisdom” (like what we do here 😊), you become naturally shielded from the world’s noise. And with that security, you find a little sense of sovereignty.

3. Slow Breathing Helps Anticipatory Anxiety

“Through slow breathing exercises, participants’ responses to the emotional stimuli of an impending uncertain threat were diminished. It may be that slow breathing prepares the individual physically and psychologically for future anxious events.”

– Nature Scientific Reports (2025)​

​

​A new study found that just 30 seconds of slow breathing helps with anticipatory anxiety—the worry we feel before something stressful actually happens. In the experiment, slow breathing lowered self-reported anxiety, reduced heart rate, and slowed brainwaves, all of which may help the mind and body better handle uncertainty 👏

4. On Other’s Actions Controlling Your Feelings

“You’d better behave as I have decided, or I shall punish myself by having negative feelings.”

- Anthony de Mellow, Awareness

Ha! So good. Let’s do our best to stop punishing ourselves for the ways others act 😊

1 Quote

“It is easier to give up our material clutter than to shed our psychological baggage. Pride, ego, fear, and anger clutter our souls and minds in the same way that piles of clothes, furniture, and other belongings clutter our homes.””
— Satish Kumar

1 GOOD BOOK

Breath by Breath by Larry Rosenberg

Even if you’re not into meditation, this book is worth the read for all the great quotes, stories, and analogies about the breath. It’s one of the first “non-breathwork” breathing books I read many years ago that opened my eyes to the power of the breath as an analogy for life.

In good breath,

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

Enjoy these posts? Donate to say thanks!

P.S. Technology has gone too far

The Breathing App for Diabetes

This is the first program specifically made for people with diabetes to help manage their stress through breathing and mindfulness practices. In addition to the amazing program inside the app, we have some really neat things coming up, so sign up now!

Learn more here.

Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.

 
,

Breath & Anxiety, One Person, and How to Ease Your Troubles

,

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 😊

Reading Time: 1 min 31 sec

I hope the next 23’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. Breathing Helps with Anxiety: a Meta-Analysis

“Anxious individuals who are unable to withstand the anxiety that accompanies the possibility of something bad happening in the future may experience respiratory interventions as a means by which to control their physiology. This may generalize to a greater sense of anxiety control and self-efficacy in managing symptoms.”

- Leyro et al. (2021)

This meta-analysis found that breathing significantly improves anxiety, both immediately and over the long term, providing effects similar to the gold-standard treatment of cognitive behavioral therapy.

Check out the paper here or sign up for the Breath Learning Center to get my review and takeaways 🙏

2. It Takes Just One Person (each of us)

“Pressure is contagious, but so is good will. Just one person slowing down, one person not putting others under pressure, helps everyone else to relax too.”

- Eknath Easwaran, Take Your Time

Here’s a great reminder that when we use slow breathing, meditation, and other contemplative practices to slow down, we help those around us relax, too 🙏

3. The Effects of Focused Attention on the Body & Mind

“When one-pointed attention is strong, the nervous system kicks into a relaxed mode. Heart rate slows, metabolic rate declines, digestion picks up, and brain activity associated with worry and agitation goes into neutral. It was a major surprise for Western scientists to find that something as simple as concentration could have such profound effects on the body.”

- Mark Epstein, MD, Advice Not Given

👏👏👏

4. How to Ease Your Own Troubles

“Sharing another person’s feelings of distress need not be a downer. As Dr. Aaron Beck…has said, when you focus on someone else’s suffering, you forget your own troubles.”

— Daniel Goleman, Ph.D. & Richard Davidson, Ph.D.

1 Quote

“In addition, the mental component of breath is a sense of rhythmic expansion and contraction. And I think that connects us to every other living thing because all living organisms breathe. So that same rhythm is at the center of the heart of all life.””
— Andrew Weil, MD

1 Answer

Category: The Nose

Answer: The bone & cartilage separating your two nostrils (which sometimes gets displaced) is called this.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is the nasal septum?

In good breath,

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

P.S. beyond meditation

Breath Science & Wisdom Meditations for a Well-Lived Life

Learn to think, speak, and act in alignment with the person you want to be.

Start Today.

The Breathing App for Diabetes

This is the first program specifically made for people with diabetes to help manage their stress through breathing and mindfulness practices. In addition to the amazing program inside the app, we have some really neat things coming up, so sign up now!

Learn more here.

Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.

 
,

Smell the Flowers, a Test, and How to Pacify the Mind

,

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 😊

Audio Block
Double-click here to upload or link to a .mp3. Learn more

Reading Time: 1 min 33 sec

I hope the next 23’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. There, I Have Pacified Your Mind

This passage comes from Advice Not Given by Mark Epstein, MD. It’s a Zen story about Bodhidharma, a famous Buddhist monk, and Huike, who was intent on learning from him:

“Huike says to Bodhidharma, when finally given a chance to speak to him directly, ‘My mind is anxious. Please pacify it.’

To which Bodhidharma replies, ‘Bring me your mind, and I will pacify it.’

Huike says, ‘Although I've sought it, I cannot find it.’

Bodhidharma then says, ‘There, I have pacified your mind.’”

2. Wherever You Find Yourself

“The breath accompanies you the full length of life’s road: you learn about the body, feelings, mental formations, the mind itself, and, finally, the lawfulness of impermanence and emptiness of a substantial self.”

– Larry Rosenberg, Three Steps to Awakening

This is a wonderful reminder of the far-reaching utility of the breath. No matter what you’re currently interested in—the body, emotions, the mind, the self—the breath can be a metaphor or direct tool for studying it. As Rosenberg reminds us: “Wherever you find yourself, the breath is present.” 🙏

3. Smell the Flowers; Blow Out the Candles

“Just as emotions like worry and fear can trigger the body’s stress response, what we experience physically in the body can affect our emotions. Because of this, we can often begin to quiet our worries and calm the symptoms of anxiety simply by controlling one critical body function: breathing.”

– Jennifer Tucker, Breath as Prayer

Tucker provides a simple way to apply this: “Smell the flowers; blow out the candles.” Breathe in through your nose, into your abdomen, as if smelling flowers. Then, exhale slowly through pursed lips as if blowing out candles. Use it as needed today 🙏

4. A Test for You

“Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: if you’re alive, it isn’t.”

– Richard Bach

1 Quote

“The breath is not only a source of support for the physical body; it is also a support for mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.””
— Anyen Rinpoche &Allison Choying Zangmo

1 Answer

Category: Circulation

Answer: After being inhaled, it takes oxygen about this long to circulate throughout the body.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is around one minute?

In good breath,

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

P.S. 1890s guy

Breath Science & Wisdom Meditations for a Well-Lived Life

Learn to think, speak, and act in alignment with the person you want to be.

Start Today.

The Breathing App for Diabetes

This is the first program specifically made for people with diabetes to help manage their stress through breathing and mindfulness practices. In addition to the amazing program inside the app, we have some really neat things coming up, so sign up now!

Learn more here.

Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.

 
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Blue Mindfulness, Worry & Hurry, and a Natural Way to the Heart

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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 😊

Reading Time: 1 min 49 sec

I hope the next 27’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. Blue Mindfulness

“What science is also revealing is that there’s an additional simple, watery means to mindfulness. Indeed, think of it as Blue Mindfulness.”

– Wallace J Nichols, Blue Mind

This refers to the idea that being around water (and nature in general) can invoke mindfulness. And even if you can’t make it into nature, it turns out that just listening to the sound of water can elicit some of its benefits.

So, this is your nudge to get out into nature or put on some ocean noises during your next breathing or meditation practice to get a little extra “blue mindfulness” 😊

2. A Water Breathing Walk

“Importantly, rain washes away the vestiges of pollution. Air is always cleaner during and immediately after a downpour…As rain tumbles through the atmosphere, each drop attracts hundreds of pollutant particles…Leaving the air bracingly fresh, scrubbed clean.”

- Annabel Streets, 52 Ways to Walk

I’ve shared this one before, but it felt right to re-share after the previous thought. Consider getting out and breathing some freshly cleaned air after the next rain—it’s an effortless “breathing exercise” 😊

3. Why Worry Goes With Hurry

“Worry goes with hurry because people in a hurry don’t have time to think clearly and make clear decisions, so they are always worried about results. … If you slow down enough to think clearly and act wisely, you have no need to worry because you know you are doing your best.”

– Eknath Easwaran, Original Goodness

One way to slow down enough to think clearly and act wisely? Slow, mindful breathing, which slows body and mind, thus reducing worry.

***

P.S. Of course, thinking clearly and acting wisely doesn’t mean we’ll make perfect decisions. It just means we won’t have to worry as much because we’ll know we’re doing our best with what we have 🙏

4. Some Advice to Follow (for the rest of our lives)

“Receive wisdom skillfully. Try it on for size and see how it fits. Incorporate what’s useful. Let go of the rest. And no matter how credible the source, test and tune in to yourself to discover what works for you.”

– Rick Rubin, The Creative Act

Ironically, that advice goes for this passage, too 😊

1 Quote

“You know that our breathing is the inhaling and exhaling of air. The organ which serves for this is the lungs which lie round the heart. Thus breathing is a natural way to the heart.””
— Nicephorus the Solitary

1 Answer

Category: Synchronization

Answer: This refers to the measurement of the interaction between lungs and the heart during sleep.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is cardiopulmonary coupling?

In good breath,

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

P.S. We didn’t think everyone would bring a bag!

Breath Science & Wisdom Meditations for a Well-Lived Life

Learn to think, speak, and act in alignment with the person you want to be.

Start Today.

The Breathing App for Diabetes

This is the first program specifically made for people with diabetes to help manage their stress through breathing and mindfulness practices. In addition to the amazing program inside the app, we have some really neat things coming up, so sign up now!

Learn more here.

Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.

 
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Positive Stress, Open Heart, and a Poor Host for Disease

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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 😊

Reading Time: 1 min 29 sec

I hope the next 22’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. Slow Breathing as a Positive Stressor

“Slow breathing is, in fact, a type of positive stress in and of itself, because you are making an autonomic function of your body intentional…sometimes, as you might notice, your nervous system might resist a little to the changes you are suggesting, because it is not used to being told what to do.”

– Eddie Stern, Healing Through Breathing

I love this shift in perspective. It reminds us that when we teach or practice slow breathing, there might be resistance. That’s normal. But as Eddie also says, that tension “will melt away with time, practice, patience, and a gentle approach to slow breathing.” 👏

2. An Important Thing to Remember in Learning Breath Practices

“In learning breath practices the most important thing to remember is to relax. … Self-judgment adds another layer of stress. The less you judge yourself, the easier it will be to relax and experience the benefits … Try not to evaluate or judge what is happening. Just go with it.”

- Richard Brown, MD, and Patricia Gerbarg, MD

This reminds me of another gem from another MD—Herbert Benson—discussing the relaxation response: “The less you worry about the results, the better. Just let it happen.” 🙏

3. A Poor Host for Disease

“…this is one of the grandest secrets of health…Research evidence today suggests that emotional immunity to negative states of mind may well be linked to physical immunity, even resistance to disease. A person who is even minded, who doesn’t get shaken if people speak ill of him or excited when they praise her to the skies – such a person, I submit, is a poor host for disease.”

– Eknath Easwaran, Original Goodness

Of course, this doesn’t literally mean we’ll never get sick or that all our ailments will suddenly vanish if we’re even minded. But, I love this idea of training our minds to be steadier—through meditation and breathing—so we can at least become “a poor host for disease.” 🙏

4. An Open Heart to Have Open Eyes

“Ancient meditation texts describe compassion and mindfulness as two wings of a bird—emphasizing that we need an open heart to have open eyes.”

- Ronald Siegel, Psy.D., The Mindfulness Solution

1 Quote

“This is the deepest paradox in all of meditation: we want to get somewhere—we wouldn’t have taken up the practice if we didn’t—but the way to get there is just to be fully here.””
— Larry Rosenberg

1 Answer

Category: Contagious Breathing

Answer: One study found that our brains responds to the sound of this “breathing exercise” by preparing our facial muscles to join in.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is laughter?

In good breath,

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

P.S. me but at my breath memes

Breath Science & Wisdom Meditations for a Well-Lived Life

Learn to think, speak, and act in alignment with the person you want to be.

Start Today.

The Breathing App for Diabetes

This is the first program specifically made for people with diabetes to help manage their stress through breathing and mindfulness practices. In addition to the amazing program inside the app, we have some really neat things coming up, so sign up now!

Learn more here.

Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.

 
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Five Minutes, How to Heal the Mind, and 15 versus 300

,

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 😊

Reading Time: 1 min 29 sec

I hope the next 22’ish breaths are the most nourishing of your day.


4 THOUGHTS

1. The Entire Purpose of the Human Brain

“The entire purpose of the human brain is to produce movement. Movement is the only way we have of interacting with the world.”

– Daniel Wolpert, Ph.D., from The Joy of Movement

And the most fundamental movement the brain produces to interact with the world? The movement of air—our breathing 😊

2. Five Minutes for Meaningful Change

“The lack of significant association between effectiveness and session durations >= 5 min indicates that any session duration beyond 5 min can be effective…simply engaging in a breathing practice provides benefits, with sessions as short as 5 min yielding comparable benefits to longer sessions.”

– Bentley et al. (2023), Brain Sciences

This was the most surprising yet welcome result of this excellent paper: We only need five minutes of slow breathing practice to see significant improvements in stress and anxiety.

Of course, longer sessions can have different benefits. But if our goal is lowering stress (or we’re short on time), we can be pretty confident that even five minutes will make a meaningful difference in our day 🙏

3. It Isn’t Really a Wonder

“There are quite a few validated, scientific findings that suggest that controlled breathing has a wide range of beneficial effects…This makes a lot of sense…it isn’t really a wonder that the thing that keeps us alive also impacts how we experience life.”

- Eddie Stern, Healing Through Breathing

“It isn’t really a wonder that the thing that keeps us alive also impacts how we experience life.” That’s so good, so obvious, and so logical, which is why it’s so easy to overlook 👏

4. A House a Home, a Cup a Drink

Like how the space inside a house makes it a home, or the emptiness within a cup makes it useful for drinking, it is the breath inside the body that makes it so remarkable for living.

1 Quote

“Your mind cannot heal without laughter.””
— Catherine Rippenger Fenwick

1 Answer

Category: The Best Breathing Exercise

Answer: Children do this about 300-400 times a day while adults only do it about 15 times a day.

…

(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)

…

Question: What is laugh?

In good breath,

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

P.S. three day recovery period

Breath Science & Wisdom Meditations for a Well-Lived Life

Learn to think, speak, and act in alignment with the person you want to be.

Start Today.

The Breathing App for Diabetes

This is the first program specifically made for people with diabetes to help manage their stress through breathing and mindfulness practices. In addition to the amazing program inside the app, we have some really neat things coming up, so sign up now!

Learn more here.

Amazon Associate Disclosure

I’ve been recommending books for almost 6 years. Yet somehow, I just discovered that I could be an Amazon affiliate [face-palm]. In any case better late than never. Now, any Amazon link you click is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you’d like to support my work, buying books through these links is helpful : )

* 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.