The Breathing Expert: Breathing Through Your Mouth Can Cause ADHD, Diabetes & Child Sickness! (Must Listen): James Nestor
James Nestor, international bestselling author, discusses how modern life has led to widespread dysfunctional breathing, impacting health, sleep, and cognition. He shares insights from his research and personal experiments, offering actionable strategies like nasal breathing, diaphragmatic techniques, and improving indoor air quality to restore optimal breathing.
Deep Dive Analysis
17 Topic Outline
James Nestor's Personal Journey into Breathing
Free Diving and the Limits of Human Breathing
Breathing as a Fundamental Pillar of Health
Modern Environment's Impact on Breathing Habits
The Mouth Breathing Experiment and Its Effects
Ancestral Breathing Habits and Facial Development
Diaphragmatic Breathing and Posture
Benefits of Nose Breathing and Nitric Oxide
Indoor Carbon Dioxide Levels and Cognitive Function
Breathing's Link to ADHD and Childhood Health Issues
Lung Capacity and Lifespan Correlation
Breathing Techniques for Stress and Anxiety
Debunking Mask Myths and CO2 Misconceptions
The Breath Hold (BOLT) Score Diagnostic
Reversing Asthma Through Breathing
The Perfect Breathing Rhythm and Customization
Vigorous Breathwork for Stress Release and Trauma
7 Key Concepts
Diaphragm
The diaphragm is an umbrella-shaped muscle located underneath the lungs. It facilitates breathing by descending to create a vacuum that draws air into the lungs and ascending to push air out. Beyond respiration, it plays a crucial role in pumping blood into the heart and circulating lymph fluid throughout the body.
Nitric Oxide
Nitric oxide is a molecule produced in the nose that is essential for vasodilation (widening of blood vessels), improving circulation, and acting as an antimicrobial agent against viruses and bacteria. Breathing through the nose significantly enhances its production compared to mouth breathing.
Sympathetic State
This refers to the 'fight or flight' response of the nervous system, which prepares the body for action in response to perceived threats. While beneficial for short bursts, chronic activation of the sympathetic state due to constant stress can lead to various health problems, including autoimmune issues.
Parasympathetic State
The parasympathetic state is the 'rest and digest' mode of the nervous system, responsible for promoting relaxation, recovery, and restoration of bodily functions. Conscious control over breathing can be used to activate this state, counteracting the effects of stress.
Email Apnea (Partial Attention Syndrome)
A modern phenomenon where individuals unconsciously hold their breath or breathe shallowly due to constant stress and over-sensitization to non-life-threatening 'threats' in the work environment, such as emails. This dysfunctional breathing pattern can lead to long-term health damage.
Retronathic Facial Development
This describes a facial structure that has grown backward, resulting in smaller airways. This developmental issue is linked to modern industrialized diets that require less chewing, which in turn impacts the proper development of skeletal and muscular structures in the face.
Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA)
RSA is the natural variation in heart rate that correlates with the breathing cycle: heart rate increases during inhalation and decreases during exhalation. This physiological phenomenon is used to calculate heart rate variability (HRV), which reflects the balance and health of the nervous system.
9 Questions Answered
Breathing is fundamental because if you are not breathing correctly, even with proper diet, exercise, and sleep, your body will always be sick due to the profound impact breathing has on all physiological systems.
The modern environment, including sedentary lifestyles, processed foods requiring less chewing, and constant stress, has led to changes in facial structure and breathing habits that inhibit proper respiratory function.
Poor breathing habits, especially mouth breathing at night, are linked to diabetes, metabolic issues, autoimmune problems, anxiety, ADHD, asthma, and sleep disorders like snoring and sleep apnea.
The nose filters, warms, and humidifies air, captures 40% more moisture, and produces nitric oxide, a molecule essential for vasodilation, circulation, and fighting viruses and bacteria. The mouth lacks these functions and is primarily a backup system.
High indoor CO2 levels, often found in poorly ventilated spaces, indicate recycled air and can significantly impair cognitive function, leading to a decline in test results, eye irritation, sore throats, and potentially long-term issues like bone demineralization and chronic inflammation.
Yes, numerous studies, including the Framingham study, have found that healthier and larger lungs are the greatest indicator of a longer lifespan, with lung function naturally declining after age 30, but this can be staved off with proper breathing and exercise.
Conscious breathing, such as double inhales followed by a long exhale, can quickly hack into the nervous system, shifting the body from a sympathetic 'fight or flight' state to a parasympathetic 'rest and digest' state, thereby reducing acute stress and anxiety.
While some people are predisposed to asthma, it is not necessarily a life sentence. Many individuals have reduced or eliminated asthma symptoms by adopting healthy breathing habits and retraining their respiratory system, addressing the underlying dysfunction rather than just managing symptoms with drugs.
Exhaling slows the heart rate, which is part of the body's natural respiratory sinus arrhythmia. By consciously extending the exhale, you signal to the nervous system that the body is in a safe place and can relax, activating the parasympathetic response.
12 Actionable Insights
1. Prioritize Nasal Breathing
Consistently breathe through your nose, as it’s the organ designed for respiration, filtering air, capturing moisture, and producing nitric oxide, which is crucial for circulation and immunity. This simple habit can prevent numerous health issues and improve overall health.
2. Master Diaphragmatic Breathing
Focus on breathing deeply into your lower abdomen, allowing your diaphragm to descend and your hands to move laterally, rather than just breathing into your chest. This ensures proper gas exchange, aids blood and lymph circulation, and supports heart health by reducing its workload.
3. Optimize Posture for Breath
Maintain a straight yet relaxed spine, especially when sitting, to allow your diaphragm to move freely and facilitate deeper breaths. Poor posture, such as slouching, inhibits proper diaphragmatic movement, leading to shallow chest breathing and reduced oxygen intake.
4. Monitor Children’s Breathing
Actively observe how children breathe, especially at night; audible breathing or mouth breathing are red flags for potential health issues like asthma, allergies, ADHD, and sleep-disordered breathing. Early intervention to correct these habits can prevent long-term problems.
5. Increase Chewing for Jaw Health
Encourage children to eat foods that require significant chewing, as this helps develop proper facial structure and larger airways, counteracting the negative effects of soft, industrialized foods on breathing and dental health.
6. Reset Stress with Double Inhale
When experiencing acute stress or anxiety, perform a double inhale (two quick inhales) followed by a long, slow exhale to quickly reset your respiratory system and calm your nervous system. This technique can be done subtly anywhere to regain composure.
7. Lengthen Exhales to Calm
To activate the parasympathetic nervous system and reduce stress, practice breathing patterns with an extended exhale, such as inhaling for four seconds and exhaling for six seconds. This slows your heart rate and promotes relaxation by sending signals to the vagus nerve.
8. Monitor Indoor CO2 Levels
Be aware of indoor carbon dioxide levels, as concentrations above 800-1000 ppm can impair cognitive function, cause physical discomfort, and lead to health issues. Prioritize ventilation by opening windows or ensuring fresh air intake, especially in sealed environments.
9. Track Breath Hold Capacity
Regularly perform a ‘control pause’ or BOLT score test by exhaling gently to a neutral point and timing how long you can comfortably hold your breath before the first urge to inhale. Aim for 40 seconds or more, as this indicates good respiratory health and CO2 tolerance.
10. Hum for Nitric Oxide Boost
Humming can increase nitric oxide production in the nose by up to 15-fold, which helps with vasodilation, circulation, and defense against viruses and bacteria. It also stimulates the vagus nerve, promoting calmness and reducing rhinitis symptoms.
11. Tape Mouth for Sleep
Consider using mouth tape at night to ensure nasal breathing during sleep, which can significantly improve sleep quality, reduce snoring, lower heart rate, and increase sleep efficiency by providing a consistent, fluid breathing signal to the brain.
12. Exercise to Maintain Lung Function
Engage in regular cardiovascular exercise, combined with proper nasal breathing, to maintain and improve lung capacity. This helps stave off the natural decline in lung function that occurs with age and is a strong indicator of overall health and longevity.
6 Key Quotes
You can exercise all you want, eat all the right food, sleep eight hours a night. If you are not breathing right, you will always be sick.
James Nestor
Your body is not doing this correctly by default. What has changed is this modern environment is conspiring to make us sick.
James Nestor
Show me a list of the top diseases. And they're all related to it. Even diabetes. Who would have thought that the onset of diabetes could be triggered by poor breathing habits at night?
James Nestor
We get more energy from breath than we do from food and drink, right? We take 30 pounds of air in and out of our lungs every single day.
James Nestor
Your breathing is the quickest way of taking control of acute stress. So pills work. Other modalities work, but in that moment is when you need the most help and your breathing is the thing that can get you there.
James Nestor
Ignorance is bliss, like if I hadn't done this, we'd both feel energized and ready to roll. But I'm the type of person that would rather be empowered by information. I like when people turn the lights on because we go through our lives misdiagnosing the problems we're dealing with.
James Nestor
4 Protocols
Proper Biomechanical Breathing Assessment and Practice
James Nestor- Place hands above your sit bones, breathe in very low (into your belly/diaphragm area), and feel your hands move out laterally. This indicates proper diaphragmatic descent.
- Place four fingers on your collarbone with your middle finger lightly touching it. Breathe deep into your lower abdomen, then move the breath up into your chest, feeling your fingers naturally separate as your chest expands outwards, without moving your shoulders.
- Place your hands around your neck and perform the belly-to-chest breath. Ensure there is zero tension in your neck; it should feel soft and supple.
Breathing to Reset Respiratory System and Reduce Acute Stress
James Nestor- Breathe in for two counts.
- Pause briefly.
- Breathe in again for a short, subtle second inhale.
- Exhale slowly and completely.
- Repeat a few rounds, then return to a very simple, slow, low, and rhythmic breathing pattern (e.g., 5 seconds in, 5 seconds out).
Breathing for Relaxation and Parasympathetic Activation
James Nestor- Breathe in slowly and lightly for four seconds.
- Breathe out slowly and completely for six seconds.
- Repeat this pattern, ensuring breaths are subtle, relaxed, and not exaggerated.
Body Oxygen Level Test (BOLT Score) Diagnostic
James Nestor- Take a calm, normal breath in, then let the air out naturally until it stops at a neutral point (do not push the air out).
- Start a timer immediately at this neutral point.
- Hold your breath until you feel the very first palpable discomfort or resistance (e.g., a swallow, gentle diaphragm convulsion, or pressure buildup at the back of the throat). Be honest with yourself; this is not a maximum breath hold.
- Stop the timer at this first sign of discomfort.
- Return to normal, calm breathing without gasping or making an effort. If you gasp, you pushed it too far.