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Huberman Lab
Dr. Jack Feldman: Breathing for Mental & Physical Health & Performance
Jan 10, 2022
02:18:29
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Quick takeaways
- Breathing patterns influence mental state, fear, memory, and reaction time.
- The prebotzinger complex and facial nucleus control breathing movements for oxygen exchange.
- Physiological sighs play a vital role in preventing lung function deterioration.
- Breathing exercises can regulate emotions, induce relaxation, and impact brain activity.
- Transitions between different breathwork patterns may be more crucial than specific breathing rhythms for optimizing brain function.
Deep dives
The Importance of Breathing for Organ Health and Function
Breathing is not only essential for bringing oxygen to all cells, but it also influences organ health and function. The depth and frequency of our breathing, as well as the ratio of inhales to exhales, can predict our level of focus, sleep quality, and ability to calm down quickly. Doctor Jack Feldman's research identified the brain centers that control these different patterns of breathing, shedding light on their impact on mental and physical states.
The Discovery of Two Brain Centers for Breathing
Doctor Feldman's research unveiled the prebotzinger complex as the primary brain center responsible for generating the rhythm of breathing, controlling inspiration. Another brain region near the facial nucleus was identified as the oscillator in charge of active expiration. These two oscillators work together to regulate breathing movements and maintain a healthy flow of oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange in the lungs.
The Significance of Physiological Sighs
Physiological sighs are deep breaths that occur every few minutes and serve to prevent the collapse of alveoli in the lungs. When alveoli collapse, oxygen intake and carbon dioxide removal are compromised. Studies have shown that suppressing sighs in animals can lead to significant deterioration of lung function. Understanding the importance of sighs can provide insights into respiratory health and the potential implications for specific pathologies.
The Relationship Between Brain State, Breathing, and Internal State
Breathing is closely connected to brain state and emotional states. Changes in breathing patterns are observed during stress, relaxation, and various emotional states. Moreover, breathing exercises can influence our internal state, allowing us to regulate emotions and induce relaxation. Research has also highlighted the reciprocal relationship between brain rhythms and breathing, suggesting that alterations in breathing can impact brain activity and vice versa.
Breathing and its Effects on Brain State
Breathing has a significant impact on brain state and emotional processing. It has been found that slowing down the breathing rate can induce a calming effect. Research conducted on rodents showed that teaching mice to breathe slowly for 30 minutes a day resulted in a significant reduction in fear response. This suggests that the breathing practice influenced the brain's fear processing centers. Moreover, breathing patterns can affect the oscillations in the brain, which play a role in signal processing and memory formation. Overall, these findings highlight the potential of breathwork practices in modulating emotional states and optimizing brain function.
Exploring Different Breathing Practices
While there are various breathwork practices, the specific pattern of breathing may not be as crucial as experiencing transitions between different breathing states. The transitions between breathwork patterns can be powerful in understanding the relationship between different breathing rhythms and their effects on brain-states. A simple and effective breathwork practice is box breathing, where inhales, holds, exhales, and pauses are set at a steady rhythm, such as five seconds for each. Researchers emphasize the importance of individual experimentation and finding a breathwork practice that resonates personally. The aim is to introduce variability within the practice and explore different breathing patterns to optimize cognitive and emotional function.
The Potential of Breathwork and the Need for Further Research
Breathwork shows promise in modulating brain states and emotions, with considerable benefits reported with relatively short practice durations. However, there is still much to learn about the specific mechanisms and optimal breathwork techniques. Further controlled experiments, both in animals and humans, are needed to understand how different breathing practices affect the brain, neurotransmitter systems, and signal processing. It is important for researchers to explore various breathwork approaches, such as manipulating durations or exploring different breathing rhythms, to uncover the full potential and benefits of breathwork for individual well-being and cognitive function.
Improving cognitive and muscular performance through breathing techniques
The podcast episode discusses the potential benefits of breathing techniques in enhancing cognitive and muscular performance. The host mentions a study conducted on a patient with weakness in ankle extension due to a stroke. The patient's ankle extension strength significantly improved after exposure to episodic hypoxia. The host suggests that exploring these techniques may have implications for spinal cord rehab, neuro-muscular performance, and even athletic performance. They propose a potential project involving golfers to study the effects of breathing techniques on golf performance. The host also emphasizes the importance of breathing techniques in recovering from traumatic brain injuries and mentions the potential value of such protocols in various pathologic states.
The impact of nasal breathing and magnesium supplementation on memory and cognitive function
The podcast episode delves into the influence of nasal breathing and magnesium supplementation on memory and cognitive function. The host refers to studies that highlight the advantages of nasal breathing over mouth breathing in terms of olfactory memory and hippocampal activity. The respiratory modulation in the brain is found to be more significant during nasal breathing. The conversation also touches on the potential impact of unilateral nostril breathing and how breathing patterns can affect various aspects of brain function, including fear response, reaction time, and motor coordination. The episode concludes with a discussion on magnesium supplementation, specifically magnesium threonate, which has shown promising results in improving cognitive function and sleep quality in both animal studies and human trials.
21.
I'm a Student at the University of Michigan, and I've Worked With Kevin, and He's a Great Guy
3min
This episode my guest is Dr. Jack Feldman, Distinguished Professor of Neurobiology at the University of California, Los Angeles and a pioneering world expert in the science of respiration (breathing). We discuss how and why humans breathe the way we do, the function of the diaphragm and how it serves to increase oxygenation of the brain and body. We discuss how breathing influences mental state, fear, memory, reaction time, and more. And we discuss specific breathing protocols such as box-breathing, cyclic hyperventilation (similar to Wim Hof breathing), nasal versus mouth breathing, unilateral breathing, and how these each affect the brain and body. We discuss physiological sighs, peptides expressed by specific neurons controlling breathing, and magnesium compounds that can improve cognitive ability and how they work. This conversation serves as a sort of "Master Class" on the science of breathing and breathing-related tools for health and performance.
For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com.
Thank you to our sponsors
AG1 (Athletic Greens): https://athleticgreens.com/huberman
LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman
Supplements from Momentous
https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman
Our Breath Collective
https://www.ourbreathcollective.com/huberman
Timestamps
(00:00:00) Introducing Dr. Jack Feldman
(00:03:20) Sponsors: AG1, LMNT
(00:10:35) Why We Breathe
(00:14:35) Neural Control of Breathing: “Pre-Botzinger Complex”
(00:16:20) Nose vs Mouth Breathing
(00:18:18) Skeletal vs. Smooth Muscles: Diaphragm, Intracostals & Airway Muscles
(00:20:11) Two Breathing Oscillators: Pre-Botzinger Complex & Parafacial Nucleus
(00:26:20) How We Breathe Is Special (Compared to Non-Mammals)
(00:33:40) Stomach & Chest Movements During Breathing
(00:36:23) Physiological Sighs, Alveoli Re-Filling, Bombesin
(00:49:39) If We Don’t Sigh, Our Lung (& General) Health Suffers
(01:00:42) Breathing, Brain States & Emotions
(01:05:34) Meditating Mice, Eliminating Fear
(01:11:00) Brain States, Amygdala, Locked-In Syndrome, Laughing
(01:16:25) Facial Expressions
(01:19:00) Locus Coeruleus & Alertness
(01:29:40) Breath Holds, Apnea, Episodic Hypoxia, Hypercapnia
(01:35:22) Stroke, Muscle Strength, TBI
(01:38:08) Cyclic Hyperventilation
(01:39:50) Hyperbaric Chambers
(01:40:41) Nasal Breathing, Memory, Right vs. Left Nostril
(01:44:50) Breathing Coordinates Everything: Reaction Time, Fear, etc.
(01:57:13) Dr. Feldman’s Breathwork Protocols, Post-Lunch
(02:02:05) Deliberately Variable Breathwork: The Feldman Protocol
(02:06:29) Magnesium Threonate & Cognition & Memory
(02:18:27) Gratitude for Dr. Feldman’s Highly Impactful Work
(02:20:53) Zero-Cost Support, Sponsors, Instagram, Twitter, Supplements
Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac
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