How to Breathe Correctly for Optimal Health, Mood, Learning & Performance

A Huberman Lab Resource

The respiratory system is unique among brain and bodily functions in that it interfaces between our conscious and our subconscious. Breathing does not require that we pay attention to it or that we are even aware of it (it’s an automatic function like digestion or heartbeat). But, at any moment, we can consciously take control of how we breathe. And, by changing your pattern of breathing, you can very quickly change what your brain is capable of doing.

Carbon Dioxide: You need to be able to offload or remove carbon dioxide and bring in oxygen in the correct ratios. alveoli of the lungs, those little sacs, oxygen can move from the air, into them, then from those into the capillaries, the veins, and the arteries of the body. That oxygen gets bound up by proteins in the blood, in particular hemoglobin. And hemoglobin then delivers oxygen to the various cells and tissues of the body. Hemoglobin is shaped as a sort of cage around oxygen molecules. And when it’s in that cage shape, the oxygen can’t be liberated. So, you’ve got oxygen and hemoglobin bound to one another moving through your bloodstream. But if a tissue needs oxygen, there needs to be carbon dioxide present to open that cage. And that’s what carbon dioxide does. *(480 million alveoli in adult lungs, over 1000 sq ft surface area)

Box Breathing to optimize oxygen/carbon dioxide balance

First, test to see how long you’re capable of breathing/holding (work up to 8-10 if possible). You don’t want the box breathing to be too strained where you’re really challenged to get around the whole box. You want it to be relatively easy because, remember, you’re trying to translate this pattern to your normal pattern of breathing, that is, your pattern of breathing when you’re not consciously thinking about breathing. What you’re translating is the ability to pause between breaths and yet take full mechanically driven breaths that involve the phrenic nerve and diaphragm. You’re encouraging, especially if you use nasal breathing when you do the box breathing– you’re encouraging phrenic control over the diaphragm.

(Focusing on box breathing is also a good way to reduce anxiety in the moment.)

Physiological Sigh for fast calming

To calm yourself down most quickly by doing what’s called a physiological sigh–it’s a big inhale through the nose, then a short inhale through the nose immediately after that in order to maximally inflate the lungs, and then a long (extended) exhale through the mouth until your lungs are empty. That second inhale causes those alveoli of the lungs, which may have collapsed– and, indeed, in between breaths and often even just through the course of the day and especially if we get stressed. [This] lowers your levels of so-called autonomic arousal (amygdala) very fast in real time. And it works better than any other known approach. It’s not a hack. This is actually something that your body has specific neural circuits to do. It will allow you to use that relationship between the phrenic nerve, the diaphragm, the size of the heart, the heart volume, and all that stuff to really take control of heart rate quickly. Inhales increase your heart rate, and your exhales decrease.

If practiced for five minutes a day, regardless of the time of day, it reduces stress, not just during the practice but around the 24-hour cycle, improves sleep, and lower resting heart rate at all times of the day.

Phrenic Nerve

There’s a specialized nerve called the phrenic nerve, P-H-R-E-N-I-C, phrenic nerve, that comes out of the neck. Little wires that we call axons down and out of the neck. They go close to the heart and a little bit behind it. [we get hiccups at all because of a spasm of the phrenic nerve] They go down, and they form synapses, that is, they form connections with the diaphragm. And when those neurons release neurotransmitters, which are little chemicals, the diaphragm contracts, and moves down. So, we say that the phrenic nerve is a motor nerve. [But there are] not just motor nerves in there, neurons that control the contraction of muscles. It also can sense things and has sensory neurons. Those sensory neurons dive deep into the diaphragm. And then they go back up to the brain, and they allow you to sense where the diaphragm is. So, they’re giving information about where the diaphragm is in your body. Most people are not aware of this phrenic nerve pathway in the diaphragm. And you are greatly increasing your mechanical control over this pathway through the process we call neuroplasticity. When you deliberately focus on an aspect of your nervous system control and particular nervous system control over musculature that normally is subconscious and you’re not paying attention to and when you actively take control of that, it requires that your brain adjust and rewire.

Cyclic Hyperventilation, “Wim Hof Method”

Remember, Inhales increase your heart rate, and your exhales decrease.

(Practice not more than 2x a week)

Cyclic hyperventilation is 10 -25 breaths inhaling deeply through the nose and then passively exhaling through the mouth. This increases levels of autonomic arousal. In fact, it’s known to deploy adrenaline from the adrenals. It also triggers the release of epinephrine, which is the same as adrenaline, from a little brain area called locus coeruleus, which makes you feel more alert. It’s a form of self-induced stress inoculation, allowing people to be able to lean into the stressful aspects of life. It is a time in which you can explore how to remain mentally calm. Some people even choose to do math problems or think of things in a kind of structured way while they have a lot of these hormone neurotransmitters circulating at high levels in their system, in other words, as a way to learn to manage your mind and body under conditions of stress.

OR this method:

Expel all air, hold your breath for 15 to 30 (up to 60) seconds, and then repeat for a period of five minutes.

Sleep Apnea

Not everyone needs a CPAP. to shift deliberately to nasal breathing during sleep because of the additional resistance of nasal breathing and because of the fact that there’s far less tendency if any, to snore when nasal breathing. Taping the mouth shut using medical is one way that people can learn to nasal breathe during sleep and can greatly offset a lot of sleep apnea. You can train your system to become a better nasal breather during the daytime through these deliberate actions of taping the mouth shut or just being conscious of keeping your mouth shut. And that, in addition to having a number of positive health and aesthetic effects during the daytime, is known to also transfer to nighttime breathing patterns.

For more info click here for the Huberman Lab Podcast