How The 'Lost Art' Of Breathing Can Impact Sleep And Resilience - NPR

Breathing slowly and deeply through the nose is associated with a relaxation response, says James Nestor, author of Breath.

As the diaphragm lowers, you're allowing more air into your lungs and your body switches to a more relaxed state.

Breathing slowly and deeply through the nose is associated with a relaxation response, says James Nestor, author of Breath.

As the diaphragm lowers, you're allowing more air into your lungs and your body switches to a more relaxed state.

While researching the science and culture of breathing for his new book, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, Nestor participated in a study in which his nose was completely plugged for 10 days, forcing him to breathe solely through his mouth.

Nestor says the researchers he's talked to recommend taking time to "consciously listen to yourself and [to] feel how breath is affecting you." He notes taking "slow and low" breaths through the nose can help relieve stress and reduce blood pressure.

"It lowers the burden of the heart if we breathe properly and if we really engage the diaphragm.".

On why nose breathing is better than mouth breathing.

On how the nose has erectile tissue.

So blood pressure will decrease, [it] lowers temperature, cools the body, reduces anxiety as well.

On how breath affects anxiety.

So what happens when you breathe that much is you're constantly putting yourself into a state of stress.

And the way to change that is to breathe deeply.

Because if you think about it, if you're stressed out [and thinking] a tiger is going to come get you, [or] you're going to get hit by a car, [you] breathe, breathe, breathe as much as you can.

So the diaphragm lowers, you're allowing more air into your lungs and your body immediately switches to a relaxed state.

If you take a very slow inhale in, you're going to feel your heart speed up.

The diaphragm lowers when we take a breath in, and that sucks a bunch of blood — a huge profusion of blood — into the thoracic cavity.

So you can take a bunch of very short, stilted strokes and you're going to get to where you want to go.

On how free divers expand their lung capacity to hold their breath for several minutes