I just finished reading, "Breath" by James Nestor. It's a fascinating read. I want to thank my friend, Lee, for gifting me this book. She's an expert in airway health and we've both experienced myofunctional therapy for our kids. Breathing correctly is something I definitely need to work on. You should read the book cover to cover, but the gist of the book is that breathing through your nose is the best way to breathe. I know that my default is to breathe through my mouth when I'm sleeping, so I'm trying to fix this. I've also had a lifetime of dealing with allergies and congestion. The book suggests that I might be able to remedy this aspect of my life if I learn how to breathe correctly. Here are some key takeaways from the book:
- Breathing through your mouth is bad, really bad. It results in spikes in stress hormones, potential sinus infections, erratic heart rate and an increase in blood pressure. You can think of it as breathing in unfiltered, unpressurized air. At night, mouth-breathing can lead to snoring and sleep apnea.
- Nasal breathing leads to an increased level of carbon dioxide in the body which has many benefits including reduction in stress and anxiety. Heart rate and blood pressure is normalized as a result of switching from mouth breathing to nasal breathing. Nasal breathing can stop snoring and sleep apnea completely and can also help overcome congestion. In athletic endeavors, nasal breathing can increase performance.
- Breathe slowly, less and though the nose with a big exhale. The correct way to breathe is by using your diaphragm. The perfect breathing cycle is inhaling using your diaphragm for 5.5 seconds and exhaling fully for 5.5 seconds and thinking of breathing as a circular motion. If you are breathing correctly, your stomach should expand as you inhale and flatten as you exhale. Most of us are taking shallow breaths just into and out of the chest. Today, I challenged my mouth breathing children to practice breathing through their noses at least 5 minutes per day. They both suffer from chronic congestion and I'm hoping that as soon as they realize that they can breath through their noses, it will just become natural to them. We'll gradually build the amount of time they breathe through their noses. I am also consciously breathing more slowly now, through my nose and with a full exhale. I'm actually thinking of mouth-taping in order to nasal breathe while sleeping. Prior to reading the book, I had already been experimenting with nasal breathing while running and I will continue to do that.
- This one was a doozy: chewing on hard substances actually results in bone growth in your face. This is important because the size and shape of your mouth can influence how well you breathe. So, the author recommends chewing gum throughout the day. I would recommend eating a raw salad for lunch every day. It's definitely a workout for your jaw. My favorite is very simple- it's raw broccoli, cauliflower and purple cabbage all chopped up. You can make a big batch and have it for a few days. It's easy to dress it up with nuts, dressing, sprouts, nutritional yeast, etc.
- I'm curious about Tummo and other breathing practices that can actually heat up your body. These techniques are short, intense sessions of over-breathing that can be therapeutic. Wim Hof made this technique mainstream. If you've seen that Goop Lab episode, you know what I'm talking about. He's the "Ice Man" and runs retreats where people use his technique and then jump into Alpine lakes or hike around in the snow with bare feet. Sounds crazy, but makes me curious to try it. I have never been able to take an ice bath after running, not even in the high heat and humidity of summertime. But maybe if I was able to master Tummo, I could get myself into a cold shower or an ice bath. It would be so great for combatting all of that inflammation after a long run.
- The book talks about mere mortals who have turned into superheroes by training themselves how to breathe. There are the freedivers, who have trained themselves to dive hundreds of feet below the surface on a single breath and those who have been able to ward of an injected endotoxin, by breathing in a such a way to stimulate the immune system. There are the stories of monks who can melt circles in the snow around their bodies. The amazing thing is that breathing technique and how to breathe have been documented in ancient texts. Restorative breathing has been practiced in Hinduism, Buddhism. Christianity and other religions. Breathing correctly is a pillar of overall health, one that I will focus on and try to improve.
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