Live data from Hacker News

What happens to our breath when we type, tap, scroll

npr.org

11–20 of 137 posts

Re: What happens to our breath when we type, tap, scroll

#13
post #5

One of the things you quickly discover when you start meditating is how deeply your breath is connected to your mind and body. You can literally detect a thought forming before it does simply by sensing subtle changes in your breathing. You'll also notice how the most trivial thoughts also have a physical manifestation in your body, e.g., mild tension in your eyelids, or a tingling in your abdomen, etc.

A lot of people in my life who love to meditate teel me that meditation indeed offers a unique perspective on the connection between the mind, body and breath.

So learn it. It is one of life’s greatest secrets.

What the original commenter said is correct, meditation helps you see how thoughts arise in the moment, and with practice you can get to a point where there is very little noise and instead you have a broader view of ideas and your life in general.

It is also calming, for your entire system. Learning to monitor and control your breathing consciously is a serious mental workout. If you have never sat down to practice it, you might surprise yourself as to how much is going on in your own mind and how the wheels and cogs just keep turning.

Re: What happens to our breath when we type, tap, scroll

#14
post #6

Are there any reliable breathing monitors? Apple Watch/Oura ring have some respiratory metrics but only while sleeping (afaict). A quick google search showed me Oxa [0] but I have no clue if it's reliable, much less while sitting/working. [0] https://www.oxalife.com/ Edit: maybe a pulse ox ear clip would work. Bonus points if it could shock me into breathing again when it detects low values.

This kind of Biofeedback is also useful in monitoring one's meditation practice.

Definitely would want recommendations on something like this.

Re: What happens to our breath when we type, tap, scroll

#15
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of people in my life who love to meditate teel me that meditation indeed offers a unique perspective on the connection between the mind, body and breath.

So learn it. It is one of life’s greatest secrets. What the original commenter said is correct, meditation helps you see how thoughts arise in the moment , and with practice you can get to a point where there is very little noise and instead you have a broader view of ideas and your life in general. It is also calming, for your entire system. Learning to monitor and control your breathing consciously is a serious men…

Do you feel like your professional life is also impacted/improved by it? I know the question is broad but I mean things like level of anxiety, success, financial, etc. Or does it improve your "personal life only"?

Re: What happens to our breath when we type, tap, scroll

#16
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of people in my life who love to meditate teel me that meditation indeed offers a unique perspective on the connection between the mind, body and breath.

So learn it. It is one of life’s greatest secrets. What the original commenter said is correct, meditation helps you see how thoughts arise in the moment , and with practice you can get to a point where there is very little noise and instead you have a broader view of ideas and your life in general. It is also calming, for your entire system. Learning to monitor and control your breathing consciously is a serious men…

Part of me is resisting because people like you push others to do it. I’m somewhat allergic to that kind of evangelism.

Imagine I told you to go to the gym 3x a week or wake up daily at 4:30am. How would you react?

It’s a shame since I might even enjoy mediating. Maybe I try it one day.

Re: What happens to our breath when we type, tap, scroll

#17
Computers are like these magic devices to get us into potentially a fight or flight response with zero physical danger. People’s heart rates rise when they get an email from work. I can’t imagine its good for the health, mating these mental responses that are designed to go along with a physical response with just sedentary behavior instead. And doing it every day all your working life no less. What does this mean in terms of the underlying chemistry, are there neuortransmitters or hormones perhaps that aren’t getting processed or turned over by the physical response when they ought to? Maybe we should experiment running to the hills when we get an email from the boss and see if that changes things.

Re: What happens to our breath when we type, tap, scroll

#18
post #16
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So learn it. It is one of life’s greatest secrets. What the original commenter said is correct, meditation helps you see how thoughts arise in the moment , and with practice you can get to a point where there is very little noise and instead you have a broader view of ideas and your life in general. It is also calming, for your entire system. Learning to monitor and control your breathing consciously is a serious men…

Part of me is resisting because people like you push others to do it. I’m somewhat allergic to that kind of evangelism. Imagine I told you to go to the gym 3x a week or wake up daily at 4:30am. How would you react? It’s a shame since I might even enjoy mediating. Maybe I try it one day.

That’s a very different suggestion than “try paying attention to your breath for 5-10 mins whenever it’s convenient for you”

Re: What happens to our breath when we type, tap, scroll

#20
post #16
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So learn it. It is one of life’s greatest secrets. What the original commenter said is correct, meditation helps you see how thoughts arise in the moment , and with practice you can get to a point where there is very little noise and instead you have a broader view of ideas and your life in general. It is also calming, for your entire system. Learning to monitor and control your breathing consciously is a serious men…

Part of me is resisting because people like you push others to do it. I’m somewhat allergic to that kind of evangelism. Imagine I told you to go to the gym 3x a week or wake up daily at 4:30am. How would you react? It’s a shame since I might even enjoy mediating. Maybe I try it one day.

I totally get it, I have that same contrarian instinct.

I have to reframe someone telling me "you should do X healthy thing" as "you should look into X healthy thing and see if it interests you/if there's really a good reason to do it", and then if I do my own research/reasoning, sometimes I can get my brain on board.

Basically, I have to trick myself into thinking it's my own idea. Very silly, but hey, it's how I started eating more vegetables and drinking more water, at least.

Post reply on HN