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Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art

May 26, 2020 · Penguin Random House (Riverhead) · Read the original ↗

James Nestor's Breath — a New York Times bestseller with more than two million copies sold — argues that how we breathe shapes sleep, energy, and health, and that modern life has quietly degraded the skill. Breathing became a mainstream health obsession on the strength of one book.

The Look Up read
A journalist owns the breath conversation in the public mind. The profession that has taught breath-and-posture for a century is a footnote.
The Look Up View: AGREE
The Look Up view
A journalist made breath mainstream; the underlying point is nature-first and old: how we breathe shapes sleep and energy, and the nose was built for the job.
●●●  Reference — no causal claim · For: Adults
☀ Use it — One book, one habit: breathe through your nose on your next walk. That's Nestor's bestseller in a single rep.

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More on Breath

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
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
'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