Book Review of Breath by James Nestor
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art is James Nestor’s 2020 book about how breathing properly can transform your physical and mental health. The book looks at how humans have lost their ability to breathe properly. James, a science journalist, shares the science behind how this happened and what dominos fall as a result of poor breathing. Then he investigates how we can organically or surgically aim for improvements. Many of these techniques he tries on himself.
I appreciate that James talked to a wide range of both scientists and “pulmonauts,”rogue tinkerers interested in gaining better health or performance using the powers of breathing. James gathers and compares their work in an easy to understand way.
A self experiment in nose versus mouth breathing
James and another searcher plugged their nose for 10 days forcing them to only breath through their mouth. Then, did the exact opposite, practiced nasal breathing for the next 10 days. At all stages in this experiment the two men were monitored, tested, and pushed their limits. On the first day of mouth breathing James’ blood pressure rose 20 points. At night he started snoring up to 4 hours as he developed sleep apnea.
Once he shifted to nasal breathing his snoring time reduced to just 10 minutes per night. Nasal breathing at night can be obtained with simple mouth taping. Just a small piece of paper surgical tape to hold the lips together is enough.
Longer and slower breaths
James encourages readers to make things as easy as possible for your body. Taking deep and long breaths will be more efficient and less tiring for your lungs. He recommends inhaling for 5.5 seconds, then exhaling for 5.5 seconds through the nose. This translates to about 5.5 breaths a minute. These breathing patterns are very similar to those used during religious chants, such as in Buddhism or when reciting the rosary. Plus, James cites references that support the health benefits of this type of breathing.
Full exhalations are seldom practiced. That is the easiest place to find improvement on your breathing.
Anxiety and breathing
The suggestions given for longer and fuller exhales are helpful for those with anxiety, panic, and asthma. James explains that the relaxing parasympathetic nervous system has nerves in the lower lobes. Deep, slow and soft breaths stimulates this. The opposite is true for the sympathetic nervous system. It has nerves at the top of the lungs so short, high breaths stimulate this, getting our bodies and minds ready for action. That can be great when used properly but should not be our habitual breathing pattern.
The book goes on to explain the role of carbon dioxide as an important respiratory gas.
My take on this book as a massage therapist
I’ve been a massage therapist for 19 years and my last 8 years has been focusing on jaw and face pain. At first I was focused on the muscles, bones, motion and pain. Someplace in that timeline a dental hygienist practicing myofunctional therapy pointed me to also consider the role of the bone formation, tongue and airway. Once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it. Books like Breath, Jaws: The Story of a Hidden Epidemic, and Tongue Tied tell the story of how we got to this state of small jaws and faces with compromised airways.
I appreciate that James addressed how a softer food diet has added to the smaller jaw formation. This change is not genetic and can be reversed through the generations with knowledge, choices, and action. He didn’t address tethered oral tissues limiting proper tongue placement. If the tongue isn’t able to press against the hard palate regularly and from a young age, then the jaw will grow more narrow and vaulted, also resulting in a compromised airway. This restricted motion of the tongue will reinforce a child to eat softer foods.
I think this book is written in a way that a lay person can understand. It contains some valuable takeaway information that is actionable, simple, and free to do. I hope it adds to conversations that my clients can have with me or their healthcare practitioners when addressing more complex breathing issues.
Is James sharing new information in this book? No, not really. He has gathered lots of old information, interviewed professionals and pulmonauts, and compared data. But James would tell you that. The nose / mouth breathing self-experiement did put a glorious bow on the story to both intrigue, add to the storyline, and pull the reader along. This knowledge might not be totally new to me or others in my field but is wonderful to have it in a consumable format for new airway learners.
My client’s sleep example
One of my regular clients with exercise induced asthma read Breath and used it to be curious about her own breathing potential and take some personal action. I taught her how to do mouth taping while sleeping. She also practiced nasal breathing for two weeks, using protocols from the book Oxygen Advantage by Patrick McKeown (referenced in the Breath book) and then when working out with her personal trainer. After two weeks, she had an at home sleep study lasting two nights. The first night she did not tape and the results showed she had moderate sleep apnea. The second night she did mouth taping and the results showed she had mild sleep apnea. We think this will be valuable information so she can make the best and least invasive medical decisions with her doctors.
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