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Huberman Lab
How to Breathe Correctly for Optimal Health, Mood, Learning & Performance
Feb 20, 2023
02:14:21
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Quick takeaways
- Breathing properly can reduce stress, improve mood, halt sleep apnea, and enhance facial aesthetics and immune system function.
- Nasal breathing during sleep can significantly reduce sleep apnea and snoring.
- The brain centers responsible for breathing include the pre-buttsinger complex and parafacial nucleus.
- Controlling your breath allows you to control your brain state and optimize brain function.
- Specific breathing techniques such as box breathing and cyclic hyperventilation can reduce stress and improve sleep.
Deep dives
The Importance of Breathing Correctly
Breathing is not only essential for life, but also crucial for mental and physical health and performance. Correct breathing can reduce stress, improve alertness, and enhance cognitive and physical abilities.
Mechanical and Chemical Aspects of Breathing
Breathing involves the mechanical components of the nose, mouth, lungs, diaphragm, and intercostal muscles. The chemical aspect revolves around the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the bloodstream, where carbon dioxide plays a vital role in delivering oxygen to the cells.
Nasal Breathing and Sleep Apnea
Nasal breathing during sleep, achieved through methods like taping the mouth shut, can significantly reduce sleep apnea and snoring. It is a cost-effective and behavioral solution that promotes optimal breathing patterns during sleep.
The Brain Centers for Breathing
The pre-buttsinger complex and parafacial nucleus are the two main brain centers that control breathing. The pre-buttsinger complex regulates rhythmic inhale-exhale patterns, while the parafacial nucleus controls variations in breathing patterns, such as pauses and double breaths.
The Mechanics of Breathing and Conscious Control
Conscious control of breathing involves the parafacial nucleus and the pre-buttsinger complex. The parafacial nucleus is responsible for rhythmic breathing, while the pre-buttsinger complex is involved in non-rhythmic breathing. Both brain structures work in parallel to ensure proper breathing.
Breathing and Its Influence on Brain State
Controlling your breathing allows you to control your brain state. When you consciously control your breath, you are regulating the excitability threshold of your neurons. Proper breathing ensures that enough oxygen reaches the brain and optimizes brain function.
The Benefits of Breathing Practices
Practicing specific breathing techniques has been shown to reduce stress and improve mood. Brief structured respiration practices, such as box breathing and cyclic sighing, are effective in reducing stress and improving sleep. These practices, done for as little as five minutes a day, lead to greater reductions in stress compared to meditation alone.
Breathing Techniques for Various Purposes
Different breathing techniques can be used to achieve specific outcomes. Extended exhales and physiological sighs help reduce heart rate and induce calmness. Hyperexhaling and cyclic hyperventilation increase heart rate and arousal levels. Understanding the relationship between breathing and heart rate can be useful in controlling heart rate quickly and efficiently.
Benefits of Cyclic Hyperventilation and Breath Holds
Cyclic hyperventilation, such as the Wim Hof method, followed by breath holds can lead to positive physiological changes and stress mitigation. The technique involves exhaling more carbon dioxide than usual, reducing the impulse to breathe and increasing adrenaline and epinephrine levels during breath holds. This form of self-induced stress inoculation can help individuals learn how to effectively control the release of adrenaline and maintain a calm state of mind under stressful conditions.
The Influence of Breathing on Learning and Memory
Research suggests that inhaling through the nose enhances memory retrieval, reaction time, and the ability to detect novel stimuli. Inhalation activates brain areas associated with the olfactory system and the hippocampus, improving cognitive function. Nasal breathing also increases blood flow and the delivery of nitric oxide, benefiting lung health and overall well-being. Inhaling air through the nose, as opposed to mouth breathing, is recommended as the default breathing pattern, offering aesthetic and health benefits.
29.
Short Structured Breathwork Practices, Enhance Mood and Reduce Physiological Arousal
2min
In this episode, I explain the biology of breathing (respiration), how it delivers oxygen and carbon dioxide to the cells and tissues of the body and how is best to breathe—nose versus mouth, fast versus slow, deliberately versus reflexively, etc., depending on your health and performance needs. I discuss the positive benefits of breathing properly for mood, to reduce psychological and physiological stress, to halt sleep apnea, and improve facial aesthetics and immune system function. I also compare what is known about the effects and effectiveness of different breathing techniques, including physiological sighs, box breathing and cyclic hyperventilation, “Wim Hof Method,” Prānāyāma yogic breathing and more. I also describe how to breath to optimize learning, memory and reaction time and I explain breathing at high altitudes, why “overbreathing” is bad, and how to breathe specifically to relieve cramps and hiccups. Breathwork practices are zero-cost and require minimal time yet provide a unique and powerful avenue to improve overall quality of life that is grounded in clear physiology. Anyone interesting in improving their mental and physical health or performance in any endeavor ought to benefit from the information and tools in this episode.
For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com.
Thank you to our sponsors
AG1: https://athleticgreens.com/huberman
LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman
Supplements from Momentous
https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman
Timestamps
(00:00:00) Breathing
(00:05:57) Sponsor: LMNT
(00:09:36) Respiration, Oxygen & Carbon Dioxide
(00:18:18) Breathing Mechanics
(00:26:30) Sponsor: AG1
(00:31:23) Chemistry of Breathing, Hyperventilation
(00:40:35) High Altitudes, Oxygen & Breathing
(00:47:16) Tool: Sleep Apnea, Nasal Breathing
(00:51:50) Brain Centers & Breathing Rhythm
(00:57:23) Brain, Hyperventilation & “Over-breathing”
(01:03:53) What is Healthy Breathing?
(01:09:44) Tool: Train Healthy Breathing, Carbon Dioxide Tolerance Test & Box Breathing
(01:22:39) Tool: Breathwork & Stress Reduction; Cyclic Sighing
(01:33:56) Tool: Physiological Sighing & Exercise Side Cramp
(01:39:16) Breathing & Heart Rate Variability
(01:46:21) Tool: How to Stop Hiccups
(01:51:17) Tool: Stress Management & Cyclic Hyperventilation, “Wim Hof Method”
(01:57:11) Deliberate Cold Exposure & Breathing
(01:59:54) Tool: Inhales & Learning; Exhales & Movement
(02:09:15) Mouth vs. Nasal Breathing, Aesthetics
(02:16:19) Zero-Cost Support, Spotify & Apple Reviews, YouTube Feedback, Sponsors, Momentous, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter
Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac
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