James Nestor is a journalist and bestselling author of Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us About Ourselves. His latest book, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, explores how the human species has lost the ability to breathe properly over the past several hundred thousand years and is now suffering from a laundry list of maladies—snoring, sleep apnea, asthma, autoimmune disease—because of it.
What you'll learn from this episode:
The many research-backed benefits of nasal breathing over the habitual mouth breathing practiced by a staggering 25 to 50 percent of the population.
How nasal breathing gives us a sixfold increase in nitric oxide, a crucial component to our cardiovascular, neurological, and sexual well-being—and humming increases it by 15 times!
Why taping your mouth shut before bedtime might sound like something a serial killer would do, but it can help ensure you're reaping the benefits of nasal breathing while you sleep (unlike possibly 70 percent of the population).
The surprising quickness with which the body responds to a change from mouth breathing to nasal breathing (and vice versa).
Why, if you have a deviated septum (along with 75 percent of the population), you should see what changes can be made by practicing nasal breathing before taking more extreme measures like septoplasty.
And so much more!
Resources from this episode:
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor
Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us About Ourselves by James Nestor
Breathing Videos | James Nestor
Breathing Study at Stanford | James Nestor, Facebook
Jayakar V. Nayak, MD, PhD | Stanford Health Care
Should I Breathe Through My Mouth or Through My Nose? | Cleveland Clinic
Proper Breathing Brings Better Health | Scientific American
Nobel Prize Awarded to Scientists for Nitric Oxide Discoveries | Circulation
Nitric Oxide & Mouth Breathing: Physiology You Want to Understand | LVI Global
It’s Time to Start Taping Your Mouth Shut While You Sleep | Sam Geurts, Medium
Mouth Breathing & Mouth Taping with Dr. Mark Burhenne | High Intensity Health
Why Being a "Mouth-Breather" Is Bad For You with James Nestor | The Joe Rogan Experience
Deviated Septum Diagnosis and Treatment | Mayo Clinic
Concha Bullosa: Diagnosis, Complications, and More | Healthline
How Nasal Dilator Strips Improve Snoring | Verywell Health
What is Cottle’s Maneuver? | Alabama Nasal and Sinus Center
Misconceptions About Evolution | Understanding Evolution
Explained: How Tibetan Monks Use Meditation to Raise Their Body Temperature | Buzzworthy
Behavioural Training Reduces Inflammation | Nature
Exploring the Stress Paradox to Prevent Disease | UCSF: The Campaign
Learning Diaphragmatic Breathing | Harvard Health
Are You Breathing? Do You Have Email Apnea? | Linda Stone
Are You Suffering from Continuous Partial Attention? | Oh, So Organized
Margaret Chesney | UCSF Profiles
Breathwork Basics, Uses, and Types | Healthline
These Are The Dangers Of Holotropic Breathwork | The List
How Psychedelics Might Fix Our Mental Health Crisis | Michael Pollan | The Genius Life 57
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