Long, Slow, Deep Breathing Heals
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor (Riverhead Books, 2020). Reviewed by Steve Gladis, July 2020.
Overview: Because we all breathe, we might think that we’re experts on the topic. Wrong. Like most people, I’ve been what they call a “mouth breather” most of my life. That practice irritates the lungs, exacerbates asthma, interrupts sleep, and creates increased anxiety. Check all those boxes for me. The author, James Nestor, explored the impact and benefits of nose breathing. In a fascinating treatise, he explores what the ancients have taught us about meditative breathing, prayer, and yoga and how it is now supported by modern science. Indeed, long and slow nasal breathing delivers the right amount of oxygen to cells in proportion to carbon dioxide. This proportionate balance keeps our bodies in tune. But when it gets out of whack, our bodies and brains pay the price. The central message: Become a “nose breather.” [As a supplement, here’s a great podcast on NPR, in which Terry Gross interviews James Nestor, author of Breath.] What follows are some of Nestor’s key findings. And, the bottom line of the book: Breathe slow, less, and through your nose for optimal health.
1. Preventive Medicine. Many ailments are self-induced, and one big culprit is our own breathing. Many of our diseases are ailments of civilization—the water we drink, the food we eat and the air we breathe and how we breathe it. Indeed, the way we breathe has lasting effects on our health—enhancing our health or sending us into a tailspin.
2. Shut Up. Keeping your mouth shut and forcing yourself to breathe through your nose is the core theme of this book. Open-mouth breathers snore, have sleep apnea, and suffer from a host of diseases including asthma, fatigue, and autoimmune responses. By simply switching from being a “mouth breather” to a “nose breather,” you can make a big difference in your health.
3. Breathe Long, Slow and Deep (LSD). The author’s study of the ancients—yoga masters, meditators, and clergy—syncs up with what science now tells us: Breathing slowly and evenly through your nose, using your diaphragm, creates a delicate balance of blood gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide) necessary for optimal function.
4. Chew Unprocessed Food. Today, too little of our food requires the work that our jaws were intended for—chewing. Such activity increases as we eat less refined foods like fresh vegetables and fruits. The chewing motion of our jaws produces larger, healthier sinuses, stronger jaws and straighter teeth. The author’s exploration of skulls at the University of Pennsylvania is fascinating.
5. Practice Holding Your Breath. Working with neuroscientists and studying free divers who hold their breaths for minutes on end, the author discovered that holding your breath correctly increases your lung capacity. If done incorrectly or too often, it can exacerbate panic attacks.
It’s the fight-flight mechanism in all humans, the 2 amygdalae, that control our breathing. They especially control panic attacks when we gasp for air after submerging our faces in the pool or ocean. When there is too much carbon dioxide in our blood, the chemoreceptors in our bodies send a signal to our brain to take a breath of oxygen to rebalance the mixture in our lungs. Indeed, people who are anxious often hold their breath too often as they panic, which drives up the carbon dioxide that signals them to panic and breathe—pant to take in oxygen. Often this is how panic attacks occur. Anxious people take in too much oxygen, get lightheaded and even faint. [In fact, the quickest way to avert a panic attach is to breathe into a paper bag, which builds up carbon dioxide and helps rebalance the lung’s carbon/oxygen levels.] Thus, when having a panic attack, if you hold your breath, it can restore the balance. Thus, the author warns instead of telling people to take a deep breath, we should tell them to hold their breath! [Note: Related breathing studies by Dr Konstantin Buteyko show that practicing holding your breath enhances your health. Ancient Chinese scholars also found that breath holding leads to better health.]
6. There is a Right Way to Breathe. Whether studying the ancients or top researchers from major modern universities, the author found that the best way to breathe was to inhale slowly for 5.5 seconds and exhale slowly for 5.5 seconds. This is easy to practice and has major effects. Blood pressure can be reduced significantly by practicing this long slow breathing. This paused and measured breathing also helps with reducing panic attacks and focusing on problem solving.
7. Final Word on Breathing: Breathe slow, less, and through your nose for optimal health!