Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art + James Nestor
In a Nutshell
James Nestor's *Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art* reveals widespread breathing dysfunction from mouth breathing, over-breathing, and shrunken jaws due to soft modern diets, causing issues like sleep apnea, asthma, and crooked teeth—fixable by nasal breathing, reducing breaths to 10/min or fewer with light volume, and techniques like the physiological sigh (double inhale, long exhale). Key practices: tape mouth at night, use 4-7-8 or box breathing for calm, full exhalation exercises for lung capacity, and nose-only breathing during exercise/masks for nitric oxide benefits and efficiency. Self-experiments and studies show dramatic improvements in health, energy, and performance, reversing chronic issues without drugs.
These notes were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
James Nestor is in San Francisco at home. He is an author and journalist who has written for Scientific American, Outside magazine, New York Times. His book Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art explores how the human species has lost the ability to breathe properly and how to get it back. The book spent 18 weeks on the New York Times bestselling list in its first year and was awarded the best general nonfiction book of 2020 by the American Society of Journalists and Authors. He has spoken at Stanford, Harvard Medical School, United Nations.
Most of the population suffers from some sort of breathing dysfunction; for some it's small, for others it's ruining their lives. Acknowledge the problem, then figure out how to fix it.
- Breathe through your nose: Mouth breathing exposes us to toxins and pollutants, causes breathing too much, creates stress response, misses advantages of nasal breathing.
- Breathe less: Many breathe way too much air, like eating too much food; breathing more air gets less oxygen to cells due to CO2 importance (counterintuitive).
- Average person breathes about 15 times per minute. Healthier rate: 10 breaths per minute at rest; even better, 6 breaths per minute, but focus on light volume, not huge breaths.
- On occasion, forced hyperventilation (Wim Hof method, Tumo, pranayama, kundalini) for short periods provides benefits for mental and physical health; do briefly, then hold breath or soft breathe.
Started with chronic respiratory issues: surfing in San Francisco led to annual bronchitis, sometimes mild pneumonia. Doctors gave Z-pack antibiotics, but didn't address core issue. Later prescribed bronchodilator. Another doctor suggested breathing class; learned Sudarshan Kriya (likely 'Kaa' transcription error), had powerful experience.
As science journalist, pursued free divers who hold breath 8 minutes, dive 120-150 meters on one breath. This showed breathing's potential for blunting chronic disease symptoms, heating body, etc. Research began 9-10 years ago; changed his physiology—no bronchitis, pneumonia, wheezing, or respiratory issues since, starting within weeks.
Self-experimentation amplified scientists' findings; focused on science, not personal story, consulting experts and thousands of studies.
Compensation (getting by) differs from health. High rates of asthma, chronic sinusitis, snoring, sleep apnea indicate huge problem; pills treat symptoms, not core issue.
Skeletal record at largest pre-industrial skull collection (part of book, likely Smithsonian): pre-industrial skulls worldwide have perfectly straight teeth, powerful jaws, pronounced faces. Industrialization: within one generation, teeth grew crooked as mouths shrank too small, leading to smaller airways, breathing problems, upper palate pushing into sinuses, mouth breathing, lung infections.
Cause: Industrial foods are soft, reduce chewing stress needed for musculature and skeletal development. Breastfeeding (ancestors 2+ years) pulls face out, adds chewing stress. Other factors: sitting posture, mouth breathing from polluted air (causes adenoid face—narrow face profile).
Look at ancient skulls online vs. mirror; animals like dogs/cats have perfect teeth.
Nose provides resistance, pressurizes air, cleans/filters pollutants, viruses, bacteria, mold. Releases nitric oxide to battle viruses/bacteria. 25-50% habitual mouth breathers; at night, >60%.
Mouth breathing: air directly to lungs unfiltered.
Mouth taping at night: Use small piece of tape (e.g., painter's tape) on lips as reminder to keep mouth shut (not hermetic seal). Reduces snoring, sleep apnea risk, improves efficiency. Heard from Stanford breathing therapist, dentists; done for decades. Start daytime (30 min on mundane tasks like emails/dishes), build up over weeks to avoid misery. Tracks show transformed sleep, reduced/eliminated snoring.
Daytime conscious slow/light nasal breathing bleeds into night; effective for sleep apnea (reduces throat vibration/snoring). Harvard study upcoming on breathing techniques for sleep apnea.
Default: 15 breaths/min. Aim: 10 or 6 at rest, light volume. Habit change takes weeks/months; use daily moments (email, walking), phone timers hourly to check rate, depth, calm.
Most energy from air/oxygen, not food; efficient breathing boosts energy, repair, restoration.
Breath = life (anecdote: Will Henshall, Abundance 360 member, had heart attack/died/revived, reveres breath).
Physiological sigh (from Dr. Andrew Huberman, Stanford):
- For anxiety/tension reset (e.g., airport, before speaking).
- Two inhales one on top of the other: [description of double inhale], then calm exhale.
- Repeat 3-4 times, then slow breathe: 5-6 seconds in, 5-6 seconds out, for 1-2 minutes.
- Enters calm state, resets panic/anxiety loop; measure heart rate variability, blood pressure to verify (not placebo).
Skeptics claim breathing benefits are placebo; measure your own heart rate variability, blood pressure. James Nestor reduced his systolic blood pressure by 10 points using a cuff. Doctors rarely discuss breathing; Nestor went through 4 years of medical school without learning about it. His father-in-law, a pulmonologist for 40-50 years, hadn't heard 85% of the book's content.
4-7-8 breathing (inhale 4, hold 7, exhale 8) calms you down, ideal for sleep, planes, after busy days—not before interviews. Demo: inhale 1-2-3-4, hold 1-2-3-4-5-6-7, exhale 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8. Reduces to ~4 breaths per minute.
Box breathing: Inhale 4, hold 4, exhale 4, hold 4. Common element: 75% holding breath or exhaling, which lowers heart rate and calms you. Use anytime, anywhere; 4-7-8 powerful before bed, physiological sigh when out.
Tibetan monks sit in snow for 8 hours in thin sheets, melting snow around them—not magic. Alexandra David-Néel (French-Belgian anarchist opera singer) spent 14 years in Tibet, described Tummo breathing in My Journey to Lhasa (public domain). Common practice for survival.
Herbert Benson (1980s) tested monks: they heat bodies, melt snow, dry wet sheets. Videos and Nature study available on YouTube. Ancients knew this; now measurable.
Lost wisdom: breathing not taught in schools, society, families. Parallels nutrition—took 30-40 years for public to accept whole foods over Double Whopper.
Book on Audible will change your life, make you conscious of breathing.
Nose inhalation/exhalation: Habitual breathing should be nose in, nose out (not 24/7 strictly). Fine to mouth exhale in techniques like ocean breath, pranayama, Kundalini briefly; mouth breathing when laughing, zone 4/5 exercise. No other animals mouth breathe habitually.
Bernard (Italian researcher): Slow breathing at 13,000-15,000 feet increases O2 by 10 points. Altitude sickness tied to low CO2 from hyperventilation, not just low O2—needs balance.
Free divers are breathing fanatics. Average person holds breath 30 seconds-1 minute; with 30-40 minutes instruction, healthy people reach 2.5-4 minutes (mind over body). Take free diving course for static holds to tolerate CO2 rise. Asthmatics ~7 seconds.
Control heart rate: Hand over heart, inhale ~3, exhale ~8 (shorten if needed). Exhale slows heart rate. Box/4-7-8 emphasize hold/exhale for parasympathetic shift, lowers HR/BP.
Diaphragm: Huge piston pumps blood to heart, moves lymph. Slow diaphragm movement syncs respiration/heart rate (coherent breathing).
We rarely empty lungs fully due to stress/holding breath. Exercise: Exhale fully, count 1-10 aloud repeatedly (don't push). When out of breath, whisper, then mouth silently. 5-10 minutes/day trains full diaphragm stroke.
Like rowing: fewer full strokes efficient vs. short ones. Carl Stough treated severe emphysema patients (empyema)—restored health, they walked out. X-rays/data proven, yet not taught today (70 years later).
Masks without nose breathing advice caused issues. Mouth breathing with masks led to 'mask mouth': surge in periodontal disease/cavities after 1.5 years pandemic.
Wear mask: Nose breathe only. Initial CO2 rise adapts with benefits (see Dr. Mark Burhenne). No oxygen deficiency—use $15 pulse oximeter; surgeons wear for 20 hours. Restricted breathing boosts V2 max short-term.
No negative health effects from masks beyond anxiety/mental (O2 unchanged even with 3 masks).
Katharina Schroth (German teen with scoliosis) rejected brace/wheelchair; developed orthopedic breathing—deep breathing expands chest, improves posture. Straightened her spine, taught thousands. Initially called quack, later awarded by German government at 91. Taught at Johns Hopkins; works but requires effort.
Dr. John Mew built castle by hand. Since 1960s-70s: Braces/retraction devices shrink jaws, cause poor breathing, sleep apnea, ADHD. Controversial but logical (crowded teeth + headgear 3 years worsens). Supported by Jaws by Paul Erlich (Stanford, dedicates to Mew). Some claims unproven; field will change—no more current orthodontics in 10 years.
Nestor: 90+% nose breathing (not talking/laughing/podcasting). Nose during exercise, surfing. Sleep: 100% nose via sleep tape (lifelong for him, transformed sleep). Possible with training (Oxygen Advantage by Patrick McKeown, Brian McKenzie with Olympians—better performance, half recovery).
Next: Miniseries in development (preliminary).
Community notes: AMA Jan 24 (no politics/sports); Dr. Dina Ren Kovic (Gameto CEO) on longevity/female reproductive span/ovaries.
Those on social media interested in joining the Abundance Community can visit abundance.digital, an entrepreneurial community with around 3-4 thousand members. Abundance360.com is the CEO community.
Suggestions for keeping nasal passages and sinuses clear, especially in drier climates:
- Everyone is different; no blanket prescription.
- Some have structural issues like bumps or severely deviated septums; no sprays or pills help—see a responsible, conservative ENT for assistance.
- Avoid double turbinectomies, as some surgeons drill out too much; pressure in the air is needed.
- Maintain body moisture by breathing in and out through the nose: inhales humidify air, exhales collect humidity and moisture.
- In extreme environments like deserts or high altitude, noses can dry out.
- Use Neti pots; after long plane rides, first use a Neti pot upon arriving at a hotel.
- Sprays available that don't require mixing salt.
- Start with making nasal breathing a habit to let the body acclimate.
- Ancestors survived and thrived without Neti pots or such aids by acclimatizing to environments.
- Frank Herbert got it right in Dune with moisture collection coming into and out of the nose.
JamesNestor.com for more on breathing techniques and expert interviews. Google James Nestor. Thankful for reviving extraordinary forgotten work in human history. Thanks and Happy New Year to the community.
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