Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art

Chapter 4 focuses on the power of exhaling. Nestor begins with a discussion of the importance of lung capacity and describes Tibetan exercises that expand the lungs to improve physical fitness, mental health, and life longevity. Scientific studies also show that the most accurate indicator of life span is lung capacity. Surprisingly, though, very few of these studies recognize that lungs are malleable. As Nestor writes, “we can change them at nearly anytime” (56), and he devotes the rest of the chapter to describing the flexibility of lung capacity.

Pulmonauts like Katharina Schroth and Carl Stough defy medical expectations and use breathing therapy to heal seemingly incurable diseases. In the early 1900s, German doctors diagnosed Schroth with scoliosis, a disease that left her bedridden. Rather than accept this prognosis, Schroth used orthopedic breathing techniques to expand her lung capacity and breathe “her spine straight again” (57). The medical establishment later awarded Schroth the Federal Cross of Merit, an honor that recognized her contributions to therapeutic medicines (58).

Carl Stough’s methods of expelling air optimized lung capacity. Stough trained singers and musicians, significantly improving their performance by having them strengthen their respiratory muscles and enlarge their lungs through strong exhalations. He later applied these techniques to emphysema patients, recognizing that they “were suffering not because they couldn’t get fresh air into their lungs but because they couldn’t get enough stale air out” (61). Finally, Stough worked with elite runners, teaching them to not hold their breath but to breathe deeply and to exhale fully to run faster, longer, and to recover more quickly. Yet, while Stough made important contributions to respiratory science, his techniques have been forgotten or dismissed, because his methods—jiggling, rocking, massaging, twisting, and babbling numbers—were “just too weird” for most people (68).

Nestor and Olsson measure their biodata: Their vital signs have improved greatly since the removal of their nasal plugs. Nestor discusses Olsson’s theories about breathing, particularly about the importance of carbon dioxide. Most people think of carbon dioxide as a “metabolic waste product” that, in excess, kills (70), but Olsson argues the opposite—that too much oxygen is harmful to health, while carbon dioxide is beneficial.

At first skeptical, Nestor visits Olsson in Sweden to learn more about his self-taught research and the research of other respiratory physiologists. Nestor describes, in detail, the biochemical “process of respiration and the role of carbon dioxide in gas exchange” (74). Physiologists like Christian Bohr and Yandell Henderson, who experiment on animals, have discovered the relationship between carbon dioxide and oxygen. Bohr’s research leads him to conclude that carbon dioxide has “a profound dilatory effect on blood vessels, opening these pathways so they [can] carry more oxygen-rich blood to hungry cells. Breathing less allow[s] animals to produce more energy, more efficiently” (76). Yandell Henderson argues that too much oxygen kills animals, while breathing less allows carbon dioxide to accumulate and restores their health (78).

Nestor put to the test the main insight to Chapter 4—that slowing down the intake of oxygen is beneficial to health. Exercising on a stationary bike, Nestor inhales and exhales slowly. He immediately feels starved for oxygen, but when he looks at his pulse oximeter, his oxygen levels have risen.

Nestor ends Chapter 4 by discussing the power of prayer as a highly efficient breathing technique. Cross-cultural examples show a common pattern. Typically, prayers and chants take 5.5 seconds to vocalize and another 5.5 seconds to inhale. This works out to approximately 5.5 breaths a minute. The calming, meditative effects of prayers and chants are well documented as “resonant breathing” or “Coherent Breathing” (84).

Chapter 6 begins with the premise that Americans are a society of over-breathers. Nestor differentiates breathing slowly from breathing less by noting that even slow breathing can result in too much air intake. As he explains, “The key to optimum breathing, and all the health, endurance, and longevity benefits that come with it, is to practice fewer inhales and exhales in a smaller volume. To breathe, but to breathe less” (86).

Many techniques of breathing less are based on the mid-20th century work of Konstantin Pavlovich Buteyko, a well renowned doctor and pulmonaut. Suffering from severe hypertension, Buteyko learned to relax by breathing less, a method he terms “Voluntary Elimination of Deep Breathing” (93). Buteyko used this method to help asthma patients, significantly improving their symptoms and quality of life by training them to breathe less to prevent asthma attacks. Eventually Buteyko started a research clinic, observing and treating people of all ages and abilities. His research showed that individuals suffering from ailments like asthma and hypertension were chronic over breathers while the healthiest participants breathed much less. Once the participants adapted their breathing to their metabolic needs, “which almost always meant taking in less air” (93), Buteyko noticed a significant improvement in health and fitness.

Nestor devotes the rest of the chapter to discussing the improvements to fitness that occur when athletes take in less air. He describes techniques like “hypoventilation” training, which Olympic runners and swimmers have popularized. These techniques, while intense, are extremely accessible, with noticeable gains accumulating after just a few weeks of use: “The training significantly increased endurance, reduced more ‘trunk fat,’ improved cardiovascular function, and boosted muscle mass compared to normal-breathing exercises” (96). As the name suggests, hypoventilation training is not a pleasant experience, and Nestor details the grueling workout he endures while attempting to breathe less when running with Olsson.

Chapter 7 focuses on the benefits of hard chewing and proper oral posture for respiratory health. Nestor devotes a substantial portion of the chapter to human evolutionary trends. As agriculture became a primary food source, humans developed smaller mouths, flatter faces, crooked teeth, and plugged sinuses. The industrialization of farm foods in the early 18th century led to even more physical changes that adversely affected human respiratory health, making it increasingly difficult to breathe easily.

While Nestor draws on evolutionary history, he also takes an experimental approach and travels to Paris to explore ancient catacombs. A group of cataphiles—people who investigate catacombs—show Nestor an ossuary filled with skeletons from a cholera epidemic that occurred in Paris in 1832. To Nestor’s eye, the skulls reveal the degradations of a diet consisting of highly processed, refined foods. “Their skulls all appeared lopsided, too short, their arches V-shaped, and stunted in some way” (113). Some of these defects are a result of vitamin deficiencies, but Nestor also notes that vitamin deficiencies alone do not account for “the sudden and extreme shrinking of the mouth and blocking of airways” (116). For Nestor, the answer resides with a more physical cause—humans chewing less and eating softer foods overall.

To support these insights, Nestor draws on the research of many different medical professionals and pulmonauts. Nestor describes the phenomenon of “empty nose syndrome” (119), which occurs when too much tissue and turbinates are removed from the nose. As a result, patients inhale an excess of oxygen and feel like they are suffocating. Nestor also visits dentists who describe obstacles in their patients’ airways and their strategies for improving blockages. Extracting teeth, a common procedure, actually shrinks the mouth, making it more difficult to breathe. Retainer devices, meanwhile, expand the mouth, improving airflow. Nestor discusses other novel therapies adopted from the work of Dr. John Mew, including good oral posture, mouth exercises like “mewing,” and chewing vigorously. In each case, Nestor adopts these methods to improve his breathing and, after a year, discovers that he gained new bone in his face. This supports one of his main arguments that the human body is adaptable, even at older ages.