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Breathing Through the Nose May Offer Unique Brain Benefits

nytimes.com

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Re: Breathing Through the Nose May Offer Unique Brain Benefits

#91

Post by feanaro »

aham_34 wrote: post #51
aryamaan wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> first 3-7 years of intensive physical practices then only begin to investigate pranyama. I would say this is slightly far stretched and discouraging for newcomers along with being misleading. Being regular with yoga for a few months (if not weeks), one can start doing pranayama. Having a person to guide you along is highly recommended but saying that investing multiple years and then exploring as a suggestion makes…

It's not exaggeration. These things require serious commitment.

Why?

Re: Breathing Through the Nose May Offer Unique Brain Benefits

#92

Post by guiambros »

For anyone interested in the topic, I strongly recommend reading "What Doesn't Kill Us" [1], by Scott Carney. Scott is an investigative journalist who initially planned to debunk Wim Hof's [2] (aka the Iceman) methods, and ended becoming one of Wim's biggest followers, and publishing a NYT best-selling book telling his journey.

It's a fascinating story, and covers a lot of the science behind breathing techniques, how our autoimmune system works, and step-by-step process to take advantage yourself.

ps: if you want a TL;DR, here's an interview [3] with Scott that summarizes the book well.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/What-Doesnt-Kill-Environmental-Condit...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wim_Hof

[3] https://www.dragondoor.com/interview_with_scott_carney_autho...

Re: Breathing Through the Nose May Offer Unique Brain Benefits

#93

Post by yayana »

protomok wrote: post #36
kaycebasques wrote: post #15

I’ve been working on breathing through my nose more over the last few weeks. One area where I’m noticing improvement is better sleep. When I used to breathe through my mouth I would dry out my mouth severely multiple times during the night. This possibly reduced sleep quality because I would roll over to drink a glass of water whenever the dryness got uncomfortable. Maybe it was increasing dehydration, too. I resiste…

Same problem here - deviated septum is such an annoyance. I find I often have to breathe out of my mouth as breathing out of my nose is sometimes not possible as one or both nostrils are frequently unusable. Curious how others work around this ? I understand there is a surgery that can correct a deviated septum , but surgery is always a last resort in my view.

I tried the Buteyko method about 10 years back.. I wouldn't believe any of the theories of action, but the method worked to nose breathe and have tolerable sinuses.

One observation from Buteyko materials that sounds right (and would be easy to verify) is that only one nostril should be active when you aren't exercising, and there is a ~3? hour cycle where they swap dilation repeatedly through the day and night. When you are healthy you won't notice this (unless someone asks you to gently test), if you panic and fight to keep them both open, it will cause you more trouble.

Re: Breathing Through the Nose May Offer Unique Brain Benefits

#94

Post by marcsquared »

jokoon wrote: post #68

No idea why I'm often unable to breath through my nose, it's clogged. I have a history of chronic rhinitis. Even when I blow my nose and remove what's in it, it seems the inside of my sinus is completely swollen. I already have done allergy tests, without results. No idea if it's a result of hygiene, or some chemical that it's a soap or food, acarians, some fungi, or else. I've read that a deviated septum is a common…

You might be overbreathing:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16402650

Your nose will not be clogged if your co2 levels rise. Beynd a certain level. If these levels drop, yout body will try to prevent this by closing the inlet/outlet system so to speak.

Google the Buteyko method for more information. This trick may help you:

https://www.normalbreathing.com/art-stuffy-nose-clear.php

More:

https://www.normalbreathing.com/c/sinusitis.php

https://www.normalbreathing.com/c/nasal-congestion.php

Re: Breathing Through the Nose May Offer Unique Brain Benefits

#95

Post by aham_34 »

feanaro wrote: post #91
aham_34 wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not exaggeration. These things require serious commitment.

Why?

If you are not ready and still somehow do it, you can pretty much know the results immediately. There will a turmoil within generally due to heartburn leading to sleeplessness and fever.

For this reason, it's really better to find a guru who will guide the practitioner.

Re: Breathing Through the Nose May Offer Unique Brain Benefits

#96

Post by kaycebasques »

yayana wrote: post #93
protomok wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same problem here - deviated septum is such an annoyance. I find I often have to breathe out of my mouth as breathing out of my nose is sometimes not possible as one or both nostrils are frequently unusable. Curious how others work around this ? I understand there is a surgery that can correct a deviated septum , but surgery is always a last resort in my view.

I tried the Buteyko method about 10 years back.. I wouldn't believe any of the theories of action, but the method worked to nose breathe and have tolerable sinuses. One observation from Buteyko materials that sounds right (and would be easy to verify) is that only one nostril should be active when you aren't exercising, and there is a ~3? hour cycle where they swap dilation repeatedly through the day and night. When…

> One observation from Buteyko materials that sounds right (and would be easy to verify) is that only one nostril should be active when you aren't exercising, and there is a ~3? hour cycle where they swap dilation repeatedly through the day and night.

It’s called the nasal cycle.

Re: Breathing Through the Nose May Offer Unique Brain Benefits

#97

Post by nradov »

abledon wrote: post #83
nradov wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The notion that a normal mentally stable person could be driven mad by these practices is absurd. Citation needed.

Ugh the mindset that everything in the universe needs a previous citation in a scientific journal for it to be possible. barf

Never mind a journal citation, I'd settle for a clear hypothesis with a plausible method of action. All I've seen so far is woo.

Re: Breathing Through the Nose May Offer Unique Brain Benefits

#98

Post by sAbakumoff »

bitexploder wrote: post #25
skilled wrote: post #2

It's interesting to see these modernization attempts for ancient wellness 'technology' that dates back thousands of years. I am, of course, talking about yoga, and more specifically -- pranayama. Otherwise known as the 'science of breath'. You don't have to believe in anything to practice different breathing techniques, and the results are absolutely there. I have met freedivers who build up their lung capacity stric…

One breathing technique and why I think the some of the Yoga works is pretty simple. I am not sure if Yoga would reset the fight/flight response further. 4x4 breathing. It mimics deep sleep and presses the reset button on the sympathetic nervous system. This helps with anxiety a lot. The technique is simple. Breath in for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds , breath out for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds. I notice I do tend…

I just wanted to say great thanks for sharing this technique. I tried it yesterday when I played live poker tournament and it was amazingly helpful in being focused and calm down emotions. I also noticed that it simply could be used for meditation because it keeps the brain so focused on counting numbers that it simply does not go anywhere else.

Re: Breathing Through the Nose May Offer Unique Brain Benefits

#99

Post by ramblerman »

skilled wrote: post #2

It's interesting to see these modernization attempts for ancient wellness 'technology' that dates back thousands of years. I am, of course, talking about yoga, and more specifically -- pranayama. Otherwise known as the 'science of breath'. You don't have to believe in anything to practice different breathing techniques, and the results are absolutely there. I have met freedivers who build up their lung capacity stric…

Perhaps, but did you read the article.

It merely tested that people recalled smells better when they didn't have a clipper put on their nose. The title is highly spurious.

Re: Breathing Through the Nose May Offer Unique Brain Benefits

#100

Post by graeme »

erikpukinskis wrote: post #77
graeme wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think so. Release could well be what happened. Basically before the anxierty happened liked this: 1. Minor negative stimulus appears. I could feel the body react. 2. When I inhaled, and not before, my neck would feel some tension. This would persist a bit. I had ried breath holding before, but that just delayed the stress feeling. Instead, I: 1. Held breath and counted to 4 2. Exhaled sharply 3. Inhaled a bit, and…

Love the algorithmic reduction here

Oh that's just how I think haha. Hadn't even noticed. What is it, breaking it down to steps?
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