Look Up THE LOOK: This Week
A close look every week at the science, news, media and more, inspiring the world to… Look Up.

Breath & the Nervous System — the latest science

We cannot think our way into a regulated nervous system, but we can breathe our way into one. The book's standard is in for four through the nose, out for six to eight through the mouth — the exhale longer than the inhale — because the long exhale carries the vagal message of safety, and the nervous system can downshift within a single breath cycle.

From Look Up: The New Science of Vitality in the Age of AI — the book's position, in its own words. Go deeper: the science behind Look Up.

The latest, verified

'Cyclic sighing' can help breathe away anxiety
Stanford’s own write-up: five minutes of exhale-heavy sighing beat mindfulness for next-day mood. · Stanford Scope, February 9, 2023 · Our view: AGREE
Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal
Five minutes of exhale-first breathing improved mood more than mindfulness meditation. · Cell Reports Medicine (via PubMed), January 17, 2023 · Our view: AGREE
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art
One journalist’s book made breathing a mainstream health obsession — two million copies and counting. · Penguin Random House (Riverhead), May 26, 2020 · Our view: AGREE
Effect of different sitting postures on lung capacity, expiratory flow, and lumbar lordosis
Slumped sitting measurably shrank lung capacity and breath flow — in the same people, minutes apart. · Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (via PubMed), April 1, 2006 · Our view: AGREE
Look Up — the book cover
The book behind The Look
Look Up — The New Science of Vitality in the Age of AI

Every verdict on The Look traces back to one book — the research, the stories, and the 20-Second Lift. By Dr. Jason Deitch, Dr. Gilles A. LaMarche and Dr. Jeff Langmaid.

Get the book

Chiropractors & influencers: the practice edition of The Look: This Week carries waiting-room case pricing and patient lines — subscribe free.

More themes: Posture · Vision · Sleep · Kids & Screens · Attention · Movement · All of The Look