Summary - Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art is a deep dive into the science behind the breathing of humans and its effects. Author James Nestor presents a mountain of information from experts along with his own research and experience to explain the most beneficial way to breathe and the positive effects that come as a result.
The Stats
My Rating: 4/5
Goodreads Rating: 4.15/5
Amazon Rating: 4.7/5
Length: 214 Pages
Difficulty: 3/10
Genre: Health, Journalism, Science
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What is Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art About?
In Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, Nestor explains how humans have developed poor habits for breathing and the negative effects that have come as a result. The book is separated into three sections where he discusses:
The dangers of modern breathing habits
The best way to breathe
The ways that people have used the breath to achieve active benefits beyond normal breathing
The Dangers of Improper Breathing
According to Breath, the single worst breathing habit today is doing so through your mouth. Out of all the species of air breathing animals, humans are the only ones that routinely do not breathe through the nose. This is why humans are the only mammals to regularly develop crooked teeth, jaw disorders, and other dental issues.
If a child habitually mouth breathes, their tongue will spend less time on the roof of their mouth. The tongue acts as a palate expander and as the mouth develops, it will not grow to its necessary size if the nose is not regularly used to breathe. Mouth breathing also causes the palate to encroach on the nasal cavity. The reduced passage for air makes it even more difficult to nose breath, encouraging more mouth breathing in a negative feedback loop.
It is not only the dental effects that make mouth breathing detrimental to our health. In Breath, Nestor describes an experiment he underwent with a colleague to learn the effects of mouth breathing. The two men would block their noses so that they would be forced to mouth breathe for an entire month. After 10 days, the results were so concerning that the doctor tracking their vitals throughout the study told them it would be dangerous to continue any longer.
The effects that the men experienced were astounding. In the first day, Nestor's blood pressure went up 20 points and he went from being a non snorer to snoring 4 hours a night. As a result of the changes to his sleep, his blood oxygen would drop to 90% from the apnea. The two men would become increasingly more sleep deprived and stressed as the 10 days came to a close.
Following the mouth breathing experiment, the men would go the next 10 days breathing only through their noses. The change was immediate. Within a few hours their vitals returned to normal and they would feed refreshed. They would tape their mouths shut at night, reducing the snoring from the 4 hours down to under 10 minutes. Nose breathing appears to improve our health not only in our mouths, but in our heart, mind, and our full body experience.
Proper Breathing
We know that breathing through our mouth causes negative effects to our health, but what is it about the nose that makes it so much better?
In the 1980s, the Framingham Study used two decades of data from 5,200 subjects to find indicators of life span. They discovered that unexpectedly, the best correlation was not with diet, genetics, or exercise; it was with lung capacity. James Nestor explains in his book how breathing habits can result in not only increased lung capacity but many more health benefits which contribute to a reduction in all cause mortality.
When we breathe through our nose, this forces the air to pass through the sinuses and the nasal cavity before reaching the lungs. This gives the body time to filter, preheat, and raise moisture in the breath. These changes to the air allows the body to extract more oxygen from each breath that we would not get through the mouth.
Breathing through the nose also can increase nitric acid release up to six times as much as through the mouth. Nitric acid is an important molecule in the body that interacts with our hormonal systems. Increasing our levels of the molecule can improve circulation, mood, sexual performance, immune response, and hearth health.
Though it provides these benefits, breathing through the nose isn't enough to increase lung capacity on its own. The evidence shows that the best way to breathe is to do it slow and fully. Nestor says it is optimal to aim for an inhale of 5.5 seconds and an exhale of 5.5 seconds. Timing your breathing this way allows the body to use the oxygen available in each breath fully. It is also important to perform complete exhales. When we do not fully exhaust the lungs, the expandable range of the diaphragm is lowered. The result is a reduction in lung capacity and in the extreme can lead to respiratory issues such as asthma.
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art shows that breathing through our nose slowly and fully can lead to profound health improvements.
The Utility of Practiced Breathing
In the final chapters of Breathe, Nestor tells accounts of some who have pushed the boundaries of what is possible by controlling the breath. Martial artists, navy seals, and Buddhist monks all share the fact that they use breathing techniques as a tool to achieve a certain means.
The breath is deeply connected to the nervous system. By breathing slowly, the parasympathetic nervous system is activated. This can help the practitioner lower their heart rate and achieve a clear state of mind. Conversely, breathing rapidly can speed up heart rate and causes the sympathetic nervous system to respond. The sympathetic nervous system causes stress to the body and when used in a controlled manner, can lead to health benefits similar to exercise.
Nestor looks into some of these breathing practices that are used by many cultures to demonstrate the many uses of the breath for improving our minds and bodies.
Who Should Read This Book?
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art would be a great book for anyone who is interested in their health and how to improve it. If you struggle with apnea or any other breathing conditions, this book would be an informative read for you to learn more about the effects of your conditions. Also, if you practice yoga or meditation, you may learn more about how breathing plays a role in the benefits of these practices.
Here’s some more information if you are interested in reading Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art.
