A r o u n d  1 5 0 0  BCE :  Bryan Gandevia, “The Breath of Life: An Essay on the Earliest History of
Respiration: Part I,” Australian Journal of Physiotherapy  16, no. 1 (Mar . 1970): 5–11,
https://www .sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0004951414610850 ; Gandevia, “The Breath
of Life: An Essay on the Earliest History of Respiration: Part II,” Australian Journal of
Physiotherapy  16, no. 2 (June 1970): 57–69,
https://www .sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0004951414610898?via%3Dihub . a  p o r t r a i t  p a i n t e r :  The following details, quotes, and descriptions about Geor ge Catlin are taken from
the following books and writings: Geor ge Catlin, North American Indians , ed. Peter
Matthiessen (New Y ork: Penguin, 2004); Catlin, The Br eath of Life,  4th ed., retitled Shut Y our
Mouth and Save Y our Life  (London: N. T ruebner , 1870). The 1870 edition of Shut Y our Mouthmay be read and downloaded for free at https://buteykoclinic.com/wp-
content/uploads/2019/04/Shut-your -mouth-Catlin.pdf . “ I  a m  t r a v e l i n g ” :  Catlin, Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North
American Indians  (New Y ork: W iley and Putnam, 1841), vol. 1, 206. “ t h e  f i r s t ,  l a s t ,  a n d  o n l y ” :  Peter Matthiessen, introduction to Catlin, North American Indians , vi. a l l  5 0  t r i b e s :  Later , anthropologist Richard Steckel confirmed Catlin’ s descriptions, claiming that the
Plains tribes in the late 1800s were the tallest people on Earth at the time. Devon Abbot
Mihesuah, Recovering Our Ancestors’ Gar dens  (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2005),
47.
t e e t h  t h a t  w e r e  p e r f e c t l y  s t r a i g h t :  Shut Y our Mouth , 2, 18, 27, 41, 43, 51. The Breath of Life :  Reviewed in Littell’ s Living Age  72 (Jan.–Mar . 1862): 334–35. t o  b e  7 6 :  By the 1900s, Catlin was all but for gotten. His mentors, the great Plains Indians, were all but
destroyed: killed of f by smallpox, shot, raped, or enslaved. The few left often turned to alcohol. The silver -haired Mandan, the broad-shouldered Pawnee, the gentle Minatree—all gone. And
with them, so vanished their knowledge of the art and science of breathing. b r e a t h e  t h r o u g h  t h e  n o s e :  Decades after Catlin’ s treatise on all things mouth and nasal breathing, the
physician-in-char ge at Mount Regis Sanatorium in Salem, V ir ginia, a man named E. E. W atson,
announced at the annual meeting of the Medical Society of V ir ginia that mouthbreathing was
the primary culprit in the spread of tuberculosis. “T o say that seventy-five per cent of our
unquestioned tuberculous larynx cases have occurred in mouth-breathers would be no
exaggeration,” announced W atson. Respiratory disease didn’ t af flict populations randomly , and
they weren’ t genetic. What W atson was saying, essentially , was that some diseases were a
choice. And health or sickness was determined in lar ge part by whether his patients breathed
from the mouth or from the nose. E. E. W atson, “Mouth-Breathing,” V ir ginia Medical Monthly
47, no. 9 (Dec. 1920): 407–8. w r i t t e n  a  b o o k :  Mark Burhenne, The 8-Hour Sleep Paradox: How W e Ar e Sleeping Our W ay to Fatigue,
Disease and Unhappiness  (Sunnyvale, CA: Ask the Dentist, 2015). m o u t h b r e a t h i n g  c o n t r i b u t e d :  J. E. Choi et al., “Intraoral pH and T emperature during Sleep with and
without Mouth Breathing,” Journal of Oral Rehabilitation  43, no. 5 (Dec. 2015): 356–63;
Shirley Gutkowski, “Mouth Breathing for Dummies,” RDH Magazine , Feb. 13, 2015,
https://www .rdhmag.com/patient-care/article/16405394/mouth-breathing-for -dummies . f o r  a  h u n d r e d  y e a r s :  “Breathing through the Mouth a Cause of Decay of the T eeth,” American Journal
of Dental Science 24, no. 3 (July 1890): 142–43,
https://www .ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6063589/?page=1 . c o n t r i b u t o r  t o  s n o r i n g :  M. F . Fitzpatrick et al., “Ef fect of Nasal or Oral Breathing Route on Upper
Airway Resistance During Sleep,” Eur opean Respiratory Journal 22, no. 5 (Nov . 2003): 827–
32.
a  h u g e  b o o s t :  T o many researchers, nitric oxide is as essential to the body as oxygen and carbon
dioxide. Catharine Paddock, “Study Shows Blood Cells Need Nitric Oxide to Deliver Oxygen,”
Medical News T oday , Apr . 13, 2015, https://www .medicalnewstoday .com/articles/292292.php ;
J. Lundber g and E. W eitzber g, “Nasal Nitric Oxide in Man,” Thorax 54, no. 10 (Oct. 1999):
947–52. 1 8  p e r c e n t  m o r e  o x y g e n :  J. Lundber g, “Nasal and Oral Contribution to Inhaled and Exhaled Nitric Oxide:
A Study in T racheotomized Patients,” Eur opean Respiratory Journal  19, no. 5 (2002): 859–64;
Mark Burhenne, “Mouth T aping: End Mouth Breathing for Better Sleep and a Healthier
Mouth,” Ask the Dentist (includes several study references), https://askthedentist.com/mouth-
tape-better -sleep/ . Additionally , the increased air resistance through nasal breathing increases
the vacuum in the lungs, and helps us draw in 20 percent more oxygen than through the mouth. Caroline W illiams, “How to Breathe Y our W ay to Better Memory and Sleep,” New Scientist ,
Jan. 8, 2020.m y  o w n  e x p e r i m e n t s :  Sleep tape has its critics. A Guar dian  newspaper story from July 2019 claimed that
sleep taping was dangerous because “if you started vomiting there would be a good chance you
would choke.” This claim, Burhenne and Kearney told me, is as ridiculous as it is unfounded
and under -researched. “Buteyko: The Dangerous T ruth about the New Celebrity Breathing
Sensation,” The Guar dian ,
https://www .theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2019/jul/15/buteyko-the-dangerous-truth-
about-the-new-celebrity-breathing-sensation . Chapter Four: Exhale
k n o w n  a s  a  l o v e r :  Publisher ’ s introduction to Peter Kelder , Ancient Secr et of the Fountain of Y outh ,
Book 2 (New Y ork: Doubleday , 1998), xvi. l u n g - e x p a n d i n g  s t r e t c h e s :  The directions I followed were on W ikipedia, “Five T ibetan Rites.”
Cardiologist Joel Kahn suggests performing each rite for 21 rounds, as the ancient T ibetans did. For beginners, ten minutes a day for all the exercises is a good starting point. e x t e n d  l i f e :  A half century later , Kelder ’ s booklet was rereleased as Ancient Secr et of the Fountain of
Y outh. It became an international sensation, selling more than two million copies. A review of
some of the cardiopulmonary benefits of practicing the Five T ibetan Rites can be found in an
article by Dr . Joel Kahn, “A Cardiologist’ s Favorite Y oga Sequence for Boosting Heart
Health,” MindBodyGreen, Sept. 10, 2019.
a c c o r d i n g  t o  t h e  r e s e a r c h e r s :  W . B. Kannel et al., “V ital Capacity as a Predictor of Cardiovascular
Disease: The Framingham Study ,” American Heart Journal  105, no. 2 (Feb. 1983): 311–15;
W illiam B. Kannel and Helen Hubert, “V ital Capacity as a Biomarker of Aging,” in Biological
Markers of Aging , ed. Mitchell E. Ref f and Edward L. Schneider , NIH Publication no. 82-2221,
Apr . 1982, 145–60. c o m p a r i n g  l u n g  c a p a c i t y :  Holgar Shunemann, the researcher who headed the Buf falo follow-up study ,
reported: “It is important to note that the risk of death was increased for participants with
moderately impaired lung function, not merely those in the lowest quintile. This suggests that
the increased risk isn’ t confined to a small fraction of the population with severely impaired
lung function.” Lois Baker , “Lung Function May Predict Long Life or Early Death,” University
at Buf falo News Center , Sept. 12, 2000,
http://www .buf falo.edu/news/releases/2000/09/4857.html . r e s u l t s  w e r e  t h e  s a m e :  The lung-size metric extended to those with lung transplants. In 2013, Johns
Hopkins researchers compared several thousand patients who had had lung transplants and
found that those who received oversized lungs had a 30 percent increased chance of survival a
year after the operation. “For lung transplant, researchers surprised to learn bigger appears to
be better ,” ScienceDaily , Aug. 1, 2013,
https://www .sciencedaily .com/releases/2013/08/130801095507.htm ; Michael Eberlein et al.,
“Lung Size Mismatch and Survival After Single and Bilateral Lung T ransplantation,” Annals of
Thoracic Sur gery  96, no. 2 (Aug. 2013): 457–63. 1 4  l i t e r s :  Brian Palmer , “How Long Can Y ou Hold Y our Breath?,” Slate , Nov . 18, 2013,
https://slate.com/technology/2013/1 1/nicholas-mevoli-freediving-death-what-happens-to-
people-who-practice -holding-their -breath.html ;
https://www .sciencedaily .com/releases/2013/08/130801095507.htm ; “Natural Lung Function
Decline vs. Lung Function Decline with COPD,” Exhale , the of ficial blog of the Lung Institute,
Apr . 27, 2016, https://lunginstitute.com/blog/natural-lung-function-decline-vs-lung-function-
decline-with-copd/ . 1 5  p e r c e n t :  I’ve been asked by more than one musician over the past few years if playing wind
instruments boosts lung capacity . Some studies conflict, but the consensus is that, no, wind
instruments do not increase lung capacity in a significant way . Further , the constant pressurized
air within the lungs appears to increase the risk of chronic upper airway symptoms and evenlung cancer . Evangelos Bouros et al., “Respiratory Function in W ind Instrument Players,”
Mater Sociomedica  30, no. 3 (Oct. 2018): 204–8; E. Zuskin et al., “Respiratory Function in
W ind Instrument Players,” La Medicina del Lavor o , Mar . 2009; 100(2); 133–141; A. Ruano-
Ravina et al., “Musicians Playing W ind Instruments and Risk of Lung Cancer: Is There an
Association?,” Occupational and Envir onmental Medicine  60, no. 2 (Feb. 2003); “How to
Increase Lung Capacity in 5 Easy Steps,” Exhale , July 27, 2016. K a t h a r i n a  S c h r o t h :  Descriptions and details about Schroth and her work were adapted from Hans-
Rudolf W eiss, “The Method of Katharina Schroth—History , Principles and Current
Development,” Scoliosis and Spinal Disor ders 6, no. 1 (Aug. 2011): 17.
b e c a m e  s o  r e n o w n e d :  Descriptions, quotes, and other information regarding Carl Stough and his methods
were taken from his 1970 autobiography , coauthored with Reece Stough: Dr . Br eath: The Story
of Br eathing Coor dination  (New Y ork: W illiam Morrow , 1970), 17, 19, 38, 42, 66, 71, 83, 86,
93, 101, 111, 117, 113, 156, 173; a short bio, “Carl Stough,” at
www .breathingcoordination.ch/en/method/carl-stough ; and the documentary film written by
Laurence A. Caso, Br eathing: The Sour ce of Life , Stough Institute, 1997.
m a k i n g  t h e  c o n d i t i o n  w o r s e :  This was the same “chest” breathing Stough would see in schizophrenics and
others with behavioral disorders. They all shared the same tight chest and rib cage, and were
unable to move freely or breathe any way but in several hasty breaths. As a result, all the
“stale” carbon-dioxide-rich air would sit stagnant in their lungs, creating “dead space.”
c o u l d n ’ t  g e t  e n o u g h  s t a l e  a i r  o u t :  In each exhale, we expel about 3,500 compounds. Much of this is or ganic
(water vapor , carbon dioxide, and other gases), but we also exhale pollutants: pesticides,
chemicals, and engine exhaust. When we don’ t breathe out completely , these toxins sit in the
lungs and fester , causing infections and other problems. T odor A. Popov , “Human Exhaled
Breath Analysis,” Annals of Aller gy , Asthma & Immunology 106, no. 6 (June 2011): 451–56;
Joachim D. Pleil, “Breath Biomarkers in T oxicology ,” Ar chives of T oxicology  90, no. 11 (Nov . 2016): 2669–82; Jamie Eske, “Natural W ays to Cleanse Y our Lungs,” Medical News T oday ,
Feb. 18, 2019, https://www .medicalnewstoday .com/articles/324483.php . o n c e  a  m i n u t e :  “How Quickly Does a Blood Cell Circulate?,” The Naked Scientists, Apr . 29, 2012,
https://www .thenakedscientists.com/articles/questions/how-quickly-does-blood-cell-circulate . 2 , 0 0 0  g a l l o n s  o f  b l o o d : “How the Lungs Get the Job Done,” American Lung Association, July 20, 2017,
https://www .lung.or g/about-us/blog/2017/07/how-your -lungs-work.html . “ t h e  s e c o n d  h e a r t ” :  An overview of Stephen Elliott’ s theories and observations on the thoracic pump can
be found at Stephen Elliot, “Diaphragm Mediates Action of Autonomic and Enteric Nervous
Systems,” BMED Reports , Jan. 8, 2010, https://www .bmedreport.com/archives/8309 ; also see
“Principles of Breathing Coordination” summarized at Breathing Coordination,
http://www .breathingcoordination.com/Principles.html . s a i d  D r . R o b e r t  N i m s :  Caso, Br eathing: The Sour ce of Life , 17:12.
a s t h m a ,  a n d  o t h e r  r e s p i r a t o r y  p r o b l e m s :  And the risk of asthma, which in turn af fects cardiovascular health. “Adults Who Develop Asthma May Have Higher Risk of Heart Disease, Stroke,” American
Heart Association News , Aug. 24, 2016, https://newsarchive.heart.or g/adults-who-develop-
asthma-may-have-higher -risk-of-heart-disease-stroke ; A. Chaouat et al., “Pulmonary
Hypertension in COPD,” Eur opean Respiratory Journal 32, no. 5 (Nov . 2008): 1371–85. w a s  r e l a t i v e l y  e a s y :  When muscles in the body get strained, other muscles in the area step in to lighten
the load. Should we strain our left ankle, we’ll place more weight on the right. But the
diaphragm doesn’ t have that option. No other muscle does what it does. It just keeps laboring
on at whatever cost, because if it doesn’ t, we’ll quickly run out of air and die. Over time, the
body learns to do what it can to compensate and engages “accessory” respiratory muscles in the
chest to help air get in and out of the lungs. This chest-centered breathing becomes a habit. s a i d  L e e  E v a n s :  Caso, Br eathing: The Sour ce of Life , 11:18.g r e a t e s t  p e r f o r m a n c e s :  Bob Burns, The T rack in the For est: The Cr eation of a Legendary 1968 US
Olympic T eam  (Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2018); Richard Rothschild, “Focus Falls
Again on ’68 Olympic T rack T eam,” Chicago T ribune , June 19, 1998.
p o w e r  o f  h a r n e s s i n g :  Along my journey researching this book, I visited Dr . J. T od Olin, a pulmonologist
at National Jewish Health, a leading respiratory hospital and research center in Denver ,
Colorado. Olin had specialized for the past several years in a condition called exercise-induced
laryngeal obstruction (EILO), in which the vocal cords and surrounding structures obstruct the
airway during high-intensity exercise. Five to 10 percent of the adolescent population shares
this condition, and it is most often misdiagnosed as asthma and treated as such without success. Olin’ s techniques, which he unimaginatively named Olin EILOBI (Exercise-Induced Laryngeal
Obstruction Biphasic Inspiration T echniques), involved restricted and pursed-lip breathing
exercises developed by Konstantin Buteyko 60 years earlier , and to a lesser extent, Stough. The
only dif ference was that Olin’ s techniques were focused through the mouth, because, he said,
athletes couldn’ t inhale fast enough through their noses during high-intensity exercises. One
wonders how any of them would have fared if they could. Sarah Graham et al., “The Fortuitous
Discovery of the Olin EILOBI Breathing T echniques: A Case Study ,” Journal of V oice 32, no. 6 (Nov . 2018): 695–97. n e a r l y  4  m i l l i o n  A m e r i c a n s :  “Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD),” Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, National Health Interview Survey , 2018,
https://www .cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/copd.htm ; “Emphysema: Diagnosis and T reatment,” Mayo
Clinic, Apr . 28, 2017, https://www .mayoclinic.or g/diseases-conditions/emphysema/diagnosis-
treatment/drc-20355561 . Chapter Five: Slow
1 0 0  t i m e s  m o r e :  John N. Maina, “Comparative Respiratory Physiology: The Fundamental Mechanisms
and the Functional Designs of the Gas Exchangers,” Open Access Animal Physiology  2014, no. 6 (Dec. 2014): 53–66, https://www .dovepress.com/comparative-respiratory-physiology-the-
fundamental-mechanisms-and-the--peer -reviewed-fulltext-article-OAAP . “ U n t i l  t h e  s e v e n t e e n t h  c e n t u r y ” :  Richard Petersham; Campbell, The Respiratory Muscles and the
Mechanics of Br eathing . m o r e  t h a n  1 , 5 0 0  m i l e s :  “How Y our Lungs Get the Job Done,” American Lung Association, July 2017,
https://www .lung.or g/about-us/blog/2017/07/how-your -lungs-work.html . b e g i n  a  r e t u r n  j o u r n e y :  Each blood cell of floads only about 25 percent of the oxygen; the remaining 75
percent stays on board and goes back to the lungs. The oxygen that doesn’ t get of f is
considered a reserve mechanism, but if the hemoglobin doesn’ t pick up new oxygen in the
lungs, it will be essentially totally empty after about three circulations, which takes about three
minutes. a p p e a r a n c e  o f  b l o o d :  “Why Do Many Think Human Blood Is Sometimes Blue?,” NPR, Feb. 3, 2017,
https://www .npr .or g/sections/13.7/2017/02/03/513003105/why-do-many-think-human-blood-
is-sometimes-blue . t h e  b o d y  l o s e s  w e i g h t :  Ruben Meerman and Andrew J. Brown, “When Somebody Loses W eight, Where
Does the Fat Go?,” British Medical Journal 349  (Dec. 2014): g7257; Rachel Feltman and
Sarah Kaplan, “Dear Science: When Y ou Lose W eight, Where Does It Actually Go?,” The
W ashington Post,  June 6, 2016. B y  h i s  e a r l y  3 0 s ,  B o h r :  If that last name sounds familiar , it should. Christian Bohr was the father of the
famed quantum physicist and Nobel laureate Niels Bohr . B o h r  g a t h e r e d  c h i c k e n s :  L. I. Irzhak, “Christian Bohr (On the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary of His
Birth),” Human Physiology  31, no. 3 (May 2005): 366–68; Paulo Almeida, Pr oteins: Concepts
in Biochemistry  (New Y ork: Garland Science, 2016), 289.t o  s e p a r a t e  o x y g e n :  Albert Gjedde, “Dif fusive Insights: On the Disagreement of Christian Bohr and
August Krogh at the Centennial of the Seven Little Devils,” Advances in Physiology Education
34, no. 4 (Dec. 2010): 174–85. T h i s  d i s c o v e r y  e x p l a i n e d :  And, of course, the shift in the oxyhemoglobin disassociation curve, the graph
which described the relation between partial pressure of oxygen and oxygen saturation of
hemoglobin. B o h r  p u b l i s h e d  a  p a p e r :  An HTML version is available at
https://www1.udel.edu/chem/white/C342/Bohr(1904).html . Y a n d e l l  H e n d e r s o n :  John B. W est, “Y andell Henderson,” in Biographical Memoirs , vol. 74 (W ashington,
DC: National Academies Press, 1998), 144–59, https://www .nap.edu/read/6201/chapter/9 . “ A l t h o u g h  c l i n i c i a n s ” :  Y andell Henderson, “Carbon Dioxide,” Cyclopedia of Medicine , vol. 3
(Philadelphia: F . A. Davis, 1940). (Several sources list the date as both 1940 and 1934; it’ s
likely the article appeared in both editions.) Lewis S. Coleman, “Four For gotten Giants of
Anesthesia History ,” Journal of Anesthesia and Sur gery 3, no. 2 (Jan. 2016): 1–17; Henderson,
“Physiological Regulation of the Acid-Base Balance of the Blood and Some Related
Functions,” Physiological Reviews 5, no. 2 (Apr . 1925): 131–60. o f  n o  b e n e f i t :  This post sums it up nicely with several quotations from researchers in the field: John A.
Daller , MD, “Oxygen Bars: Is a Breath of Fresh Air W orth It?,” On Health , June 22, 2017,
https://www .onhealth.com/content/1/oxygen_bars_-_is_a_breath_of_fresh_air_worth_it . Additional context can be found in this heavy tome: Nick Lane, Oxygen: The Molecule That
Made the W orld  (New Y ork: Oxford University Press), 11.
a w f u l  e x p e r i m e n t s :  Y andell Henderson, “Acapnia and Shock. I. Carbon-Dioxid [ sic ] as a Factor in the
Regulation of the Heart-Rate,” American Journal of Physiology  21, no. 1 (Feb. 1908): 126–56. “ o f  t h e  w o r d  fitness ” :  John Douillard, Body , Mind, and Sport: The Mind-Body Guide to Lifelong Health,
Fitness, and Y our Personal Best , rev . ed. (New Y ork: Three Rivers Press, 2001), 153, 156, 211. O n  t h e  s e c o n d  d a y :  I should note that on the first day I switched from mouthbreathing to these slow ,
nasal breaths, my performance suf fered: a .44-mile drop in distance compared to my best
mouthbreathing performance a week before. This was to be expected. Conditioning the body to
constant, slower nasal breathing takes time. Douillard warned his athletes that they should be
prepared for a 50 percent decrease in performance after they first switched to nasal breathing. Some athletes had to wait several months to see gains, which is one reason so many of them,
and other non-athletes, give up and just return to mouthbreathing. It’ s also important to note
that these kinds of long inhales and exhales aren’ t beneficial, or even possible, for very high
intensity exercise. Running 400 meters, for instance, would require much more oxygen to keep
up with metabolic needs. Some elite athletes can breathe 200 liters of breath per minute during
moments of extreme stress—that’ s up to 20 times what’ s considered a normal resting volume. But for steady , medium-level exercise like bike riding or jogging, long breaths are far more
ef ficient. J a p a n e s e ,  A f r i c a n ,  H a w a i i a n :  Meryl Davids Landau, “This Breathing Exercise Can Calm Y ou Down in a
Few Minutes,” V ice, Mar . 16, 2018; Christophe André, “Proper Breathing Brings Better
Health,” Scientific American , Jan. 15, 2019. A v e  M a r i a :  Luciano Bernardi et al., “Ef fect of Rosary Prayer and Y oga Mantras on Autonomic
Cardiovascular Rhythms: Comparative Study ,” British Medical Journal 323, no. 7327 (Dec.
2001): 144649; T . M. Srinivasan, “Entrainment and Coherence in Biology ,” International
Journal of Y oga 8, no. 1 (June 2015): 1–2. a  s t a t e  o f  c o h e r e n c e :  Coherence is the measurement of the harmony of two signals. Whenever two
signals increase and decrease in phase, they are in coherence, a state of peak ef ficiency . Much
more about coherence and the benefits of breathing 5.5 times a minute with 5.5-second inhales
and exhales can be found in the following: Stephen B. Elliott, The New Science of Br eath
(Coherence, 2005); Stephen Elliott and Dee Edmonson, Coher ent Br eathing: The DefinitiveMethod  (Coherence, 2008); I. M. Lin, L. Y . T ai, and S. Y . Fan, “Breathing at a Rate of 5.5
Breaths per Minute with Equal Inhalation-to-Exhalation Ratio Increases Heart Rate
V ariability ,” International Journal of Psychophysiolology  91 (2014): 206–11. p e a k  e f f i c i e n c y :  A good, doctor -reviewed overview of this type of paced “coherent” breathing: Arlin
Cuncic, “An Overview of Coherent Breathing,” V eryW ellMind, June 25, 2019,
https://www .verywellmind.com/an-overview-of-coherent-breathing-4178943 . 5 . 5 - s e c o n d  i n h a l e s :  5.4545 breaths a minute, to be exact. r e s u l t s  w e r e  p r o f o u n d :  Richard P . Brown and Patricia L. Gerbar g, The Healing Power of the Br eath:
Simple T echniques to Reduce Str ess and Anxiety , Enhance Concentration, and Balance Y our
Emotions  (Boston: Shambhala, 2012), Kindle locations 244–47, 1091–96; Lesley Alderman,
“Breathe. Exhale. Repeat: The Benefits of Controlled Breathing,” The New Y ork T imes , Nov . 9,
2016.
r e q u i r e d  n o  r e a l  e f f o r t :  In 2012, Italian researchers found that breathing at six breaths a minute had
powerful ef fects at high altitudes of 17,000 feet. The technique not only significantly reduced
blood pressure but also boosted oxygen saturation in the blood. Grzegorz Bilo et al., “Ef fects of
Slow Deep Breathing at High Altitude on Oxygen Saturation, Pulmonary and Systemic
Hemodynamics,” PLoS One 7, no. 11 (Nov . 2012): e49074. “ N o b o d y  k n o w s  y o u ’ r e  d o i n g  i t ” :  Landau, “This Breathing Exercise Can Calm Y ou Down.”
w e r e  i n  t h e  r a n g e  o f  5 . 5 :  Marc A. Russo et al., “The Physiological Ef fects of Slow Breathing in the
Healthy Human,” Br eathe 13, no. 4 (Dec. 2017): 298–309. Chapter Six: Less
F r o m  a r o u n d  1 8 5 0  t o  1 9 6 0 :  “Obesity and Overweight,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
https://www .cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/obesity-overweight.htm ; “Obesity Increase,” Health &
Medicine , Mar . 18, 2013; “Calculate Y our Body Mass Index,” National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute, https://www .nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm? source=quickfitnesssolutions . o f f e r s  a  t r o u b l i n g  p i c t u r e :  The breathing rate for an average male, according to a study in the 1930s, used
to be about 13 times a minute for a total of 5.25 liters of air . By the 1940s, the rate of breathing
hovered a bit over 10 breaths a minute for a total of 8 liters. By the 1980s and 1990s, several
studies placed the mean breathing rate at closer to 10 to 12 breaths per minute, with a total
volume, in some cases, that rose to 9 liters and higher . I discussed this with Dr . Don Storey , a
prominent pulmonologist who’d worked in the field for more than 40 years (and who is my
father -in-law). He told me that when he was first starting out, the normal respiratory rate was
about 8 to 12 breaths a minute. The high end of that rate is nearly doubled today . Beyond the
anecdotes, dozens of studies suggest we could indeed be breathing more than we used to. Most
studies compare subjects with respiratory illnesses against healthy controls. It’ s the data from
the healthy controls that was used for this assessment. Several studies were discovered in
Artour Rakhimov’ s book Br eathing Slower and Less: The Gr eatest Health Discovery Ever
(self-published, 2014). Those studies that could be independently verified were included. I will
continue to gather research in this area and post on my website— mrjamesnestor .com/breath . In
the meantime, here are several studies: N. W . Shock and M. H. Soley , “A verage V alues for
Basal Respiratory Functions in Adolescents and Adults,” Journal of Nutrition  18 (1939): 143–
53; Harl W . Matheson and John S. Gray , “V entilatory Function T ests. III. Resting V entilation,
Metabolism, and Derived Measures,” Journal of Clinical Inves tigation 29, no. 6 (1950): 688–
92; John Kassabian et al., “Respiratory Center Output and V entilatory T iming in Patients with
Acute Airway (Asthma) and Alveolar (Pneumonia) Disease,” Chest  81, no. 5 (May 1982):
536–43; J. E. Clague et al., “Respiratory Ef fort Perception at Rest and during Carbon Dioxide
Rebreathing in Patients with Dystrophia Myotonica,” Thorax 49, no. 3 (Mar . 1994): 240–44; A.
Dahan et al., “Halothane Af fects V entilatory after Dischar ge in Humans,” British Journal ofAnaesthesia 74, no. 5 (May 1995): 544–48; N. E. L. Meessen et al., “Breathing Pattern during
Bronchial Challenge in Humans,” Eur opean Respiratory Journal 10, no. 5 (May 1997): 1059–
63.
q u a r t e r  o f  t h e  m o d e r n  p o p u l a t i o n :  Mary Birch, Br eathe : The 4-W eek Br eathing Retraining Plan to Relieve
Str ess, Anxiety and Panic  (Sydney: Hachette Australia, 2019), Kindle locations 228–31. An
overview of how poorly we’re breathing can be found here: Richard Boulding et al.,
“Dysfunctional Breathing: A Review of the Literature and Proposal for Classification,”
Eur opean Respiratory Review 25, no. 141 (Sept. 2016): 287–94. C h i n e s e  d o c t o r s :  Bryan Gandevia, “The Breath of Life: An Essay on the Earliest History of Respiration:
Part I,” Australian Journal of Physiotherapy 16, no. 1 (Mar . 1970): 5–11. n i n e  a n d  a  h a l f  b r e a t h s  p e r  m i n u t e :  It’ s worth mentioning that early Hindus calculated a normal respiratory
rate at a much higher rate of 22,636 breaths a day . “ s t a r t  e x t e n d i n g  y o u r  e x h a l e s ” :  This kind of long inhale and exhale isn’ t possible for very high intensity
exercise. Running 400 meters, for instance, would require much more oxygen to keep up with
metabolic needs. (Endurance athletes can breathe 200 liters of breath per minute during
moments of extreme stress—that’ s up to 20 times what’ s considered a normal resting volume.) But for steady , medium-level exercise like this, long breaths are far more ef ficient. Maurizio
Bussotti et al., “Respiratory Disorders in Endurance Athletes—How Much Do They Really
Have to Endure?,” Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine  2, no. 5 (Apr . 2014): 49.
i n c r e a s e s  V O2  m a x :  Using “slow and less” breathing techniques, subjects in an experiment conducted at
the Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta, Faculty of Health Science in Indonesia, and
presented at the 3rd International Conference on Science, T echnology , and Humanity (ISETH)
in December 2017, showed a significant VO2  max increase over a control group. Dani Fahrizal
and T otok Budi Santoso, “The Ef fect of Buteyko Breathing T echnique in Improving
Cardiorespiratory Endurance,” 2017 ISETH Pr oceeding Book  (UMS publications),
https://pdfs.semanticscholar .or g/c2ee/b2d1c0230a76fccdad94e7d97b1 1b882d217.pdf ; Several
more study summaries are available at Patrick McKeown, “Oxygen Advantage,”
https://oxygenadvantage.com/improved-swimming-coordination . “ d i a g n o s e d  m a c h i n e  d i s o r d e r s ” :  K. P . Buteyko, ed., Buteyko Method: Its Application in Medical Practice
(Odessa, Ukraine: T itul, 1991). s h o t  t o  2 1 2 :  Details from this biography were taken from several sources. “The Life of Konstantin
Pavlovich Buteyko,” Buteyko Clinic, https://buteykoclinic.com/about-dr -buteyko ; “Doctor
Konstantin Buteyko,” Buteyko.com,
http://www .buteyko.com/method/buteyko/index_buteyko.html ; “The History of Professor K. P . Buteyko,” LearnButeyko.or g, http://www .learnbuteyko.or g/the-history-of-professor -kp-
buteyko ; Ser gey Altukhov , Doctor  Buteyko’ s Discovery  (TheBreathingMan, 2009), Kindle
locations 570, 572, 617; Buteyko interview , 1988, Y ouT ube, https://www .youtube.com/watch  ? v=yv5unZd7okw . h e a d e d  t o  A k a d e m g o r o d o k :  “The Original Silicon V alley ,” The Guar dian , Jan. 5, 2016,
https://www .theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2016/jan/05/akademgorodok-academy-
town-siberia-science-russia-in-pictures . L a b o r a t o r y  o f  F u n c t i o n a l  D i a g n o s t i c s :  See an amazing photo of the lab here:
https://images.app.goo.gl/gAHupjGqjBtEiKab9 . 6 . 5  t o  7 . 5  p e r c e n t  c a r b o n  d i o x i d e :  A copy of Buteyko’ s carbon dioxide chart can be found here:
https://tinyurl.com/yy3fvrh7 . B u t e y k o  d e v e l o p e d  a  p r o t o c o l :  Buteyko’ s papers and musings can be downloaded for free on Patrick
McKeown’ s website: https://tinyurl.com/y3lbfhx2 . Z á t o p e k  d e v e l o p e d :  More about hypoventilation training is available on Dr . Xavier W oorons’ s website:
http://www .hypoventilation-training.com/index.html ; “Emil Zatopek Biography ,” Biography
Online, May 1, 2010, https://www .biographyonline.net/sport/athletics/emile-zatopek.html ;Adam B. Ellick, “Emil Zatopek,” Runner ’ s W orld , Mar . 1, 2001,
https://www .runnersworld.com/ad  vanced/a20841849/emil-zatopek. For what it’ s worth,
Zátopek’ s height is something of a mystery; some references state he was six feet tall but
others, such as ESPN, have him as five-six. The consensus, according to Runner ’ s W orld , is
that he was about five-eight. w i d e l y  d e r i d e d :  T imothy Noakes, Lor e of Running , 4th ed. (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2002),
382.
w o u l d  l a t e r  b e  n a m e d :  “Emil Zátopek,” Running Past, http://www .runningpast.com/emil_zatopek.htm ;
Frank Litsky , “Emil Zatopek, 78, Ungainly Running Star , Dies,” The New Y ork T imes , Nov . 23,
2000, https://www .nytimes.com/2000/1 1/23/sports/emil-zatopek-78-ungainly-running-star -
dies.html . “ h u r t ,  p a i n ,  a n d  a g o n y ” :  Joe Hunsaker , “Doc Counsilman: As I Knew Him,” SwimSwam , Jan. 12, 2015,
https://swimswam.com/doc-counsilman-knew/ . s w i m  f a s t e r :  Some interesting context on the possible dangers of Counsilman’ s approach in training for
younger athletes by swim coach Mike Lewellyn: https://swimisca.or g/coach-mike-lewellyn-on-
breath-holding-shallow-water -blackout/ . An alternative view by Dr . Rob Orr can be found at
“Hypoxic W ork in the Pool,” PT ontheNet, Feb. 14, 2006,
https://www .ptonthenet.com/articles/Hypoxic-W ork-in-the-Pool-2577 . What I’ve surmised
from these and several other posts is that hypoxia training works, but it should not be employed
as one-size-fits-all training regimen. Physiological, psychological, and numerous anatomical
factors must all be considered, as with most any other , training technique. And like any other
underwater training, hypoxic training must always be under the close supervision of
professionals. C o u n s i l m a n  u s e d  i t :  “ISHOF Honorees,” International Swimming Hall of Fame, https://ishof.or g/dr .-
james-e.--doc--counsilman-(usa).html ; “A Short History: From Zátopek to Now ,”
Hypoventilation T raining.com, http://www .hypoventilation-training.com/historical.html . U . S . O l y m p i c  s w i m  t e a m :  Braden Keith, “Which W as the Greatest US Men’ s Olympic T eam Ever?,”
SwimSwam , Sept. 7, 2010, https://swimswam.com/which-was-the-greatest-us-mens-olympic-
team-ever ; Jean-Claude Chatard, ed., Biomechanics and Medicine in Swimming IX  (Saint-
Étienne, France: University of Saint-Étienne Publications, 2003). b o o s t  i n  r e d  b l o o d  c e l l s :  T o be clear , W oorons’ s research is directed at elite athletes looking to get an edge
on the competition. Nobody knows the long-term ef fects of consistently pushing the body into
a highly anaerobic state, and several researchers suggest such constant anaerobic workouts may
break down the body and cause damaging oxidative stress. Meanwhile, with just a few weeks
of Olsson’ s lighter , milder training, several of his clients registered significant gains in red
blood cell counts. More blood means more oxygen delivered to more tissues. Lance
Armstrong, the disgraced cyclist, didn’ t get busted for taking adrenaline or steroids but for
injecting himself with his own blood and increasing his red blood cell count, which would
allow him to carry more oxygen. What Armstrong was essentially doing was a instant fix of
breath restriction training. B r e a t h i n g  way less :  Xavier W oorons et al., “Prolonged Expiration down to Residual V olume Leads to
Severe Arterial Hypoxemia in Athletes during Submaximal Exercise,” Respiratory Physiology
& Neur obiology 158, no. 1 (Aug. 2007): 75–82; Alex Hutchinson, “Holding Y our Breath
during T raining Can Improve Performance,” The Globe and Mail , Feb. 23, 2018,
https://www .theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/fitness/holding-your -breath-during-
training-can-improve-performance/article38089753/ . J u s t  a  f e w  w e e k s :  E. Dudnik et al., “Intermittent Hypoxia-Hyperoxia Conditioning Improves
Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Older Comorbid Cardiac Outpatients without Hematological
Changes: A Randomized Controlled T rial,” High Altitude Medical Biology  19, no. 4 (Dec.
2018): 339–43. And much more. A British study of 30 rugby players showed those trained in“normobaric” levels of 13 percent oxygen (equivalent of an altitude of 12,000 feet) had
“twofold greater improvements” over controls training in normal sea-level air after just four
weeks. A European study of 86 obese women showed hypoxia training led to a “significant
decrease in waist circumference” and significant reduction in fat over controls. (More available
oxygen in the cells meant that more fat could be burned more ef ficiently .) And even diabetes! T wenty-eight adults suf fering from type 1 diabetes showed that hypoxia training reduced
glucose concentrations, keeping the subjects more in line with normal levels over controls. The
simple method, the researchers wrote, “may induce significant prevention of diabetes
cardiovascular complications.” See references for all these studies, and more, at
mrjamesnestor .com/breath . T h i s  l i s t  g o e s  o n :  See a photo of Sanya Richards-Ross competing here: https://tinyurl.com/yyf8tj7m . o u r  l u n g s  r o u g h l y  h a l f  f u l l :  Throughout our jogging, Olsson and I used a Relaxator , a device Olsson
designed to restrict airflow during exhalations and increase the positive pressure on the lungs,
which helps them expand and increase space for gas exchange. Breath resistance devices like
the Relaxator can help monitor a consistent flow of air and measure the amount of resistance,
but they are optional. The most ef fective technique in hypoventilation training is to extend
exhales and then hold the breath with lungs half-full as long as possible and do it all over again. This can happen anywhere, at any time. The more “air hunger” you create, the more EPO will
release from the kidneys, the more red blood cells will release from bone marrow , the more
oxygen will upload into your body , the more resilient the body will become, the farther and
faster and higher it will go. In the 1990s, Dr . Alison McConnell, a London physiologist and a
leading expert on breath training, had cyclists use a resistance device that forced pressure on
the inhale. She found that the athletes gained a shocking 33 percent increase in endurance
performance after just four weeks. Just five minutes of this training can lower blood pressure
by 12 points, about twice what aerobic exercise delivers. Alison McConnell, Br eathe Str ong,
Perform Better  (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2011), 59, 61; Lisa Marshall, “Novel 5-
Minute W orkout Improves Blood Pressure, May Boost Brain Function,” Medical Xpress, Apr . 8, 2019, https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-04-minute-workout-blood-pressure-boost.html ;
Sarah Sloat, “A New W ay of W orking Out T akes 5 Minutes and Is as Easy as Breathing,”
Inverse, Apr . 9, 2019, https://www .inverse.com/article/54740-imst-training-blood-pressure-
health . 5 0  s c i e n t i f i c  p a p e r s :  An exhaustive list of Buteyko’ s studies and other research, in both English and
Russian, are available at the following links provided by Breathe W ell Clinic (Dublin, Ireland)
and Buteyko Clinic International: http://breathing.ie/clinical-studies-in-russian/ ;
http://breathing.ie/clinical-evidence-for -buteyko/ ; https://buteykoclinic.com/wp-
content/uploads/2019/04/Dr -Buteykos-Book.pdf . 2 5  m i l l i o n  A m e r i c a n s :  Stephen C. Redd, “Asthma in the United States: Burden and Current Theories,”
Envir onmental Health Perspectives  110, suppl. 4 (Aug. 2002): 557–60; “Asthma Facts and
Figures,” Asthma and Aller gy Foundation of America, https://www .aafa.or g/asthma-facts ;
“Childhood Asthma,” Mayo Clinic, https://www .mayoclinic.or g/diseases-conditions/childhood-
asthma/symptoms-causes/syc-20351507 . f o u r f o l d  i n c r e a s e :  Paul Hannaway , What to Do When the Doctor Says It’ s Asthma  (Gloucester , MA: Fair
W inds, 2004). P o l l u t a n t s ,  d u s t ,  v i r a l  i n f e c t i o n s ,  c o l d  a i r :  “Childhood Asthma,” Mayo Clinic,
https://www .mayoclinic.or g/diseases-conditions/childhood-asthma/symptoms-causes/syc-
20351507 . a s t h m a  c a n  b e  b r o u g h t  o n :  Duncan Keeley and Liesl Osman, “Dysfunctional Breathing and Asthma,”
British Medical Journal  322 (May 2001): 1075; “Exercise-Induced Asthma,” Mayo Clinic,
https://www .mayoclinic.or g/diseases-conditions/exercise-induced-asthma/symptoms-
causes/syc-20372300 .e x e r c i s e - i n d u c e d  a s t h m a :  R. Khajotia, “Exercise-Induced Asthma: Fresh Insights and an Overview ,”
Malaysian Family Physician 3, no. 2 (Apr . 2008): 21–24. w o r l d w i d e  a n n u a l  m a r k e t :  “Distribution of Global Respiratory Therapy Market by Condition in 2017–
2018 (in Billion U.S. Dollars),” Statista, https://www .statista.com/statistics/312329/worldwide-
res  piratory-therapy-market-by-condition/. w o r s e n e d  a s t h m a  s y m p t o m s :  When a group of medical doctors, professors, and statisticians wanted to
know how medicine and procedures actually af fected patients, they didn’ t look up reviews in
W ebMD. They noticed that the numbers in many studies were funded by private drug
companies and the outcomes were either fudged or grossly misleading. So these researchers
gathered studies from dozens of dif ferent treatments and reanalyzed the data to of fer an
accurate measurement of the impact of a medicine or therapy . T o give a real-life view into how
ef fective drugs and treatments are, the researchers’ outcomes estimated the number of patients
who need to be treated to have an impact on one person. They called their or ganization The
NNT , a simple statistical concept: “Number Needed to T reat.” Since starting in 2010, NNT
( https://www .thennt.com ) has surveyed more than 275 drugs and therapies in fields ranging
from cardiology to endocrinology to dermatology . They rated each of these drugs and therapies
on a color scale: green (the therapy or drug has clear benefits); yellow (it is unclear if it has any
benefits); red (no benefits); and black (the treatment is more harmful to patients than helpful). They reviewed 48 trials, including tens of thousands of subjects, of a standard asthma
treatment: long-acting beta-agonists (LABA) with corticosteroids, an inhaled combination drug
treatment with trade names Advair and Symbicort, designed to keep smooth muscles in the
airways constantly relaxed. Of the 48 trials represented, 44 were sponsored by the
pharmaceutical maker of long-acting beta-agonists, one of the two drugs in combination. This
drug was not only approved, but used by likely millions of asthmatics every year . NNT
crunched the numbers and found that combination LABAs and steroid inhalers were not only
totally inef fective but harmful. Only 1 in 73 asthmatic patients who used the drug reduced their
chances of mild to moderate asthma attack. Meanwhile, the drug provoked a severe asthma
attack in 1 in 140 people. According to NNT , the drug “seems to have caused an asthma-related
death” for 1 in every 1,400 asthmatics. LABAs were equally inef fective for children. More
context on this subject: V assilis V assilious and Christos S. Zipitis, “Long-Acting
Bronchodilators: T ime for a Re-think,” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine  99, no. 8
(Aug. 2006): 382–83. D a v i d  W i e b e :  Jane E. Brody , “A Breathing T echnique Of fers Help for People with Asthma,” The New
Y ork T imes , Nov . 2, 2009, https://www .nytimes.com/2009/1 1/03/health/03brod.html ; “Almost
As If I No Longer Have Asthma After Natural Solution,” Breathing Center , Apr . 2009,
https://www .breathingcenter .com/now-living-almost-as-if-i-no-longer -have-asthma . a s t h m a  a n d  o v e r a l l  h e a l t h :  Sasha Y akovleva, K. Buteyko, et al., Br eathe to Heal: Br eak Fr ee fr om
Asthma (Br eathing Normalization)  (Breathing Center , 2016), 246; “Buteyko Breathing for
Improved Athletic Performance,” Buteyko T oronto, http://www .buteykotoronto.com/buteyko-
and-fitness . S a n y a  R i c h a r d s - R o s s :  “Buteyko and Fitness,” Buteyko T oronto,
http://www .buteykotoronto.com/buteyko-and-fitness . T h e y  a l l  b r e a t h e d  b e t t e r :  Thomas Ritz et al., “Controlling Asthma by T raining of Capnometry-Assisted
Hypoventilation (CA TCH) V ersus Slow Breathing: A Randomized Controlled T rial,” Chest
146, no. 5 (Aug. 2014): 1237–47. “ v e r y  s t r a n g e  h a p p e n i n g ” :  “Asthma Patients Reduce Symptoms, Improve Lung Function with Shallow
Breaths, More Carbon Dioxide,” ScienceDaily , Nov . 4, 2014,
https://www .sciencedaily .com/releases/2014/1 1/141 1041 1 1631.htm . A  h a l f - d o z e n  o t h e r  c l i n i c a l  t r i a l s :  “Ef fectiveness of a Buteyko-Based Breathing T echnique for Asthma
Patients,” ARCIM Institute—Academic Research in Complementary and Integrative Medicine,2017, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03098849 . r e a l  d a m a g e  f r o m  o v e r b r e a t h i n g :  It’ s worth noting that overbreathing can also cause calcium levels to drop
in your blood, which can result in numbness and tingling, muscle spasms, cramps, and
twitching. W e e k s ,  m o n t h s ,  o r  y e a r s :  If the body is forced to constantly compensate by excreting bicarbonate, levels
of this chemical will begin to taper of f, and the pH will waver from its optimum functioning at
7.4. John G. Laf fey and Brian P . Kavanagh, “Hypocapnia,” New England Journal of Medicine
347 (July 2002): 46; G. M. W oerlee, “The Magic of Hyperventilation,” Anesthesia Problems &
Answers, http://www .anesthesiaweb.or g/hyperventilation.php . b e c o m e s  e v e n  m o r e  d i f f i c u l t :  Jacob Green and Charles R. Kleeman, “Role of Bone in Regulation of
Systemic Acid-Base Balance,” Kidney International  39, no. 1 (Jan. 1991): 9–26. s t a v e  o f f  f u r t h e r  a t t a c k s : “Magnesium Supplements May Benefit People with Asthma,” NIH National
Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, Feb. 1, 2010,
https://nccih.nih.gov/research/results/spotlight/021 1 10.htm [inactive]
“ T h e  y o g i ’ s  l i f e  i s  n o t  m e a s u r e d ” :  Andrew Holecek, Pr eparing to Die: Practical Advice and Spiritual
W isdom fr om the T ibetan Buddhist T radition  (Boston: Snow Lion, 2013). Animal metrics were
taken from these studies: “Animal Heartbeats,” Every Second, https://everysecond.io/animal-
heartbeats ; “The Heart Project,” Public Science Lab, http://robdunnlab.com/projects/beats-per -
life/ ; Y ogi Cameron Alborzian ,  “Breathe Less, Live Longer ,” The Huffington Post , Jan. 14,
2010, https://www .huf fpost.com/entry/breathe-less-live-longer_b_422923 ; Mike McRae, “Do
W e Really Only Get a Certain Number of Heartbeats in a Lifetime? Here’ s What Science
Says,” ScienceAlert, Apr . 14, 2018, https://www .sciencealert.com/relationship-between-heart-
beat-and-life-expectancy . Chapter Seven: Chew
T w e l v e  t h o u s a n d  y e a r s  a g o :  “Malocclusion and Dental Crowding Arose 12,000 Y ears Ago with Earliest
Farmers, Study Shows,” University College Dublin News,
http://www .ucd.ie/news/2015/02FEB15/050215-Malocclusion-and-dental-crowding-arose-
12000-years-ago-with-earliest-farmers-study-shows.html ; Ron Pinhasi et al., “Incongruity
between Af finity Patterns Based on Mandibular and Lower Dental Dimensions following the
T ransition to Agriculture in the Near East, Anatolia and Europe,” PLoS One 10, no. 2  ( Feb.
2015): e01 17301.
f i r s t  w i d e s p r e a d  i n s t a n c e s  o f  c r o o k e d  t e e t h :  Jared Diamond, “The W orst Mistake in the History of the
Human Race,” Discover , May 1987, http://discovermagazine.com/1987/may/02-the-worst-
mistake-in-the-history-of-the-human-race ; Jared Diamond, The Thir d Chimpanzee: The
Evolution and Futur e of the Human Animal  (New Y ork: HarperCollins, 1992). T h e  d e a d  w e r e  d o w n s t a i r s :  Natasha Geiling, “Beneath Paris’ s City Streets, There’ s an Empire of Death
W aiting for T ourists,” Smithsonian.com, Mar . 28, 2014,
https://www .smithsonianmag.com/travel/paris-catacombs-180950160 ; “Catacombes de Paris,”
Atlas Obscura, https://www .atlasobscura.com/places/catacombes-de-paris . l a r g e s t  g r a v e y a r d s  o n  E a r t h :  The lar gest being W adi-us-Salaam in Iraq, which contains tens of millions of
bodies. t h e  a v e r a g e  B r i t o n :  Gregori Galofré-V ilà, et al., “Heights across the Last 2000 Y ears in England,”
University of Oxford, Discussion Papers in Economic and Social History , no. 151, Jan. 2017,
32, https://www .economics.ox.ac.uk/materials/working_papers/2830/151-final.pdf . C.W ., “Did
Living Standards Improve during the Industrial Revolution?,” The Economist ,
https://www .economist.com/free-exchange/2013/09/13/did-living-standards-improve-during-
the-industrial-revolution . t e e t h  r e m o v e d  a l t o g e t h e r :  According to a civil servant at the National Health Service, up to the mid-
1990s it was common for women to be given vouchers to have all their teeth removed beforetheir 16th or 18th birthday in areas around the northeast of England. Letters, London Review of
Books  39, no. 14 (July 2017), https://www .lrb.co.uk/v39/n14/letters . V i c t o r i a n  d e n t i s t  o b s e r v e d :  Review of J. Sim W allace, The Physiology of Oral Hygiene and Recent
Resear ch, with Special Refer ence to Accessory Food Factors and the Incidence of Dental
Caries (London: Ballière, T indall and Cox, 1929), in Journal of the American Medical
Association  95, no. 11 (Sept. 1930): 819. I n  t h e  1 8 0 0 s :  I’m talking about Edward Mellanby , a British researcher who would be knighted for his
work and would blame our shrinking faces on deficiencies of vitamin D in the modern diet. An
American dentist named Percy Howe thought crooked teeth were caused by lack of vitamin C.
“ S i n c e  w e  h a v e  k n o w n ” :  Earnest A. Hooton, foreword to W eston A. Price, Nutrition and Physical
Degeneration  (New Y ork: Paul B. Hoeber , 1939). “Let us cease pretending that toothbrushes
and toothpaste are any more important than shoe brushes and shoe polish. It is store food that
has given us store teeth,” Hooton wrote in his own book, Apes, Men, and Mor ons  (New Y ork:
G. P . Putnam’ s Sons, 1937). P r i c e  f o u n d  c o m m u n i t i e s :  When Price later examined samples of the bread and cheese from the village of
Loetschental in his laboratory in Cleveland, he found that it contained 10 times the amount of
vitamins A and D of all the foods in a typical modern American diet at the time. Price
researched the dead as well. In Peru, he painstakingly analyzed 1,276 skulls that ranged from a
few hundred to a few thousand years old. Not a single skull had any deformity in its dental
arches, not one face was deformed or misshaped. W eston A. Price, Nutrition and Physical
Degeneration,  8th ed. (Lemon Grove, CA: Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation, 2009). f o o d  w a s  w i l d  a n i m a l s :  The Native Americans whom Price visited in northern Canada had no access to
fruits or vegetables during the long winters, and thus no vitamin C. Price noted that they should
have all been sick or dead from scurvy , yet they appeared to be in vigorous health. An elder
chief described to Price how the tribe would occasionally kill a moose, cut open its back, and
pull out two small balls of fat just above the kidneys. They’d cut up these balls and distribute
them among the family . Price later discovered that these balls were the adrenal glands, the
richest source of vitamin C in all animal and plant tissues. B u t  s o m e  c o m p l a i n e d :  “Nutrition and Physical Degeneration: A Comparison of Primitive and Modern
Diets and Their Ef fects,” Journal of the American Medical Association 114, no. 26 (June
1940): 2589, https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/1 160631?redirect=true . B a l l o o n  s i n u p l a s t y :  Nayak was careful to point out that these patients were a highly selected cohort and
that patients needed no other procedural treatments over an additional one-year period. He told
me that balloon sinuplasty worked for these patients, but wouldn’ t work for everyone. t h e  C o t t l e ’ s  m a n e u v e r :  Jukka T ikanto and T apio Pirilä, “Ef fects of the Cottle’ s Maneuver on the Nasal
V alve as Assessed by Acoustic Rhinometry ,” American Journal of Rhinology 21, no. 4 (July
2007): 456–59. h a v e  a  d e v i a t e d  s e p t u m :  Shawn Bishop, “If Symptoms Aren’ t Bothersome, Deviated Septum Usually
Doesn’ t Require T reatment,” Mayo Clinic News Network, July 8, 2011,
https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.or g/discussion/if-symptoms-arent-bothersome-deviated-
septum-usually-doesnt-require-treatment/ . 5 0  p e r c e n t  o f  u s  h a v e :  Sanford M. Archer and Arlen D. Meyers, “T urbinate Dysfunction,” Medscape,
Feb. 13, 2019. 7 5  p e r c e n t  o f  h i s  t u r b i n a t e s  r e m o v e d :  Peter ’ s story was particularly heart-wrenching. After his sur geries
doctors prescribed antidepressants and told him he just suf fered from age-related problems. He
spent the next three years learning to construct an elaborate three-dimensional model from X-
rays that he would then use to measure something called “Computational Fluid Dynamics.”
These before-and-after models and the data allowed him to determine the exact changes to
airflow velocity , distribution, temperature, pressure, resistance, and humidity levels that were
af fected by his previous turbinate sur geries. Overall, his nasal cavity was four times lar ger thanwhat is considered normal or healthy . His nose had lost the ability to properly heat air , and air
was moving through it twice as fast as it should. And still, Peter says, a lar ge proportion of the
medical community ar gues that empty nose syndrome is a psychological problem, not a
physical one. Read more about Peter ’ s research: http://emptynosesyndromeaerodynamics.com . c o n t e m p l a t e d  s u i c i d e :  The medical community at lar ge viewed empty nose syndrome as a problem of the
mind, not the nose. One doctor went so far as to refer to empty nose syndrome in the Los
Angeles T imes  as “empty head syndrome”; Aaron Zitner , “Snif fing at Empty Nose Idea,” Los
Angeles T imes , May 10, 2001; Cedric Lemogne et al., “T reating Empty Nose Syndrome as a
Somatic Symptom Disorder ,” General Hospital Psychiatry 37, no. 3 (May–June 2015):
273.e9–e10; Joel Oliphint, “Is Empty Nose Syndrome Real? And If Not, Why Are People
Killing Themselves Over It?,” BuzzFeed, Apr . 14, 2016; Y in Lu, “Kill the Doctors,” Global
T imes , Nov . 26, 2013, http://www .globaltimes.cn/content/827820.shtml . “ a  s t r u g g l e ,  e v e r y  b r e a t h ” :  I caught up with Alla in 2019, and she told me in an email that she had
registered improvement. Her nose hadn’ t changed; she was still struggling to breathe properly . Rather , the improvement was mental and psychological, facilitated by a conscious and
intentional shift of attitude, perceptions, belief systems, and more. “My life, plans and
aspirations I was working hard for were ruined,” she wrote in an email. “Having ended up
disabled, you are forced to rebuild your life from the scratch. Y ou have to learn to be strong
and persevere every day making the best of what you have in every present moment. It is not
easy . Such situations make you re-evaluate your entire life.”
u p  t o  2 0  p e r c e n t :  Oliphint, “Is Empty Nose Syndrome Real?”
l i n k e d  t o  o b s t r u c t i o n :  Michael L. Gelb, “Airway Centric TMJ Philosophy ,” CDA Journal  42, no. 8 (Aug.
2014): 551–62,
https://pdfs.semanticscholar .or g/8bc1/8887d39960f9cce328f5c61ee356e1 1d0c09.pdf . r i s k  o f  a i r w a y  o b s t r u c t i o n :  Felix Liao, Six-Foot T iger , Thr ee-Foot Cage: T ake Char ge of Y our Health by
T aking Char ge of Y our Mouth  (Carlsbad, CA: Crescendo, 2017), 59. F r i e d m a n  t o n g u e  p o s i t i o n  s c a l e :  Rebecca Harvey et al., “Friedman T ongue Position and Cone Beam
Computed T omography in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea,” Laryngoscope Investigative
Otolaryngology  2, no. 5 (Aug. 2017): 320–24; Pippa W ysong, “T reating OSA? Don’ t For get
the T ongue,” ENTtoday , Jan. 1, 2008, https://www .enttoday .or g/article/treating-osa-dont-for get-
the-tongue/ . c l o g  t h e  t h r o a t :  An overview of this dilemma can be found on Dr . Eric Kezirian’ s website: https://sleep-
doctor .com/blog/new-research-treating-the-lar ge-tongue-in-sleep-apnea-sur gery . m o r e  t h a n  1 7  i n c h e s :  Liza T orbor g, “Neck Size One Risk Factor for Obstructive Sleep Apnea,” Mayo
Clinic, June 20, 2015, https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.or g/discussion/mayo-clinic-q-and-a-
neck-size-one-risk-factor -for -obstructive-sleep-apnea/ . N i n e t y  p e r c e n t  o f  t h e  o b s t r u c t i o n :  Gelb, “Airway Centric TMJ Philosophy”; Luqui Chi et al.,
“Identification of Craniofacial Risk Factors for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Using Three-
Dimensional MRI,” Eur opean Respiratory Journal  38, no. 2 (Aug. 2011): 348–58. e s p e c i a l l y  e f f e c t i v e  f o r  c h i l d r e n :  Babies who have breathing issues at six months have a 40 percent greater
chance of having behavioral issues (including ADHD) starting around age four , according to
Gelb. Michael Gelb and Howard Hindin, Gasp! Airway Health—The Hidden Path to W ellness
(self-published, 2016), Kindle location 850.
k i d s  w i t h  A D H D :  Chai W oodham, “Does Y our Child Really Have ADHD?,” U.S. News , June 20, 2012,
https://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2012/06/20/does-your -child-really-have-adhd . p r o b l e m s  t h a t  c o m e  w i t h  i t :  More on this very expansive and very depressing subject: “Kids Behave and
Sleep Better after T onsillectomy , Study Finds,” press release, University of Michigan Health
System, Apr . 3, 2006, https://www .eurekalert.or g/pub_releases/2006-04/uomh-kba032806.php ;
Susan L. Garetz, “Adenotonsillectomy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Children,” UptoDate,
Oct. 2019, https://www .uptodate.com/contents/adenotonsillectomy-for -obstructive-sleep-apnea-in-children . It’ s worth noting, as well, that according to several studies, most
mouthbreathing children are also sleep-deprived, and lack of sleep will have a direct impact on
growth. Y osh Jef ferson, “Mouth Breathing: Adverse Ef fects on Facial Growth, Health,
Academics, and Behavior ,” General Dentistry  58, no. 1 (Jan.–Feb. 2010): 18–25; Carlos T orre
and Christian Guilleminault, “Establishment of Nasal Breathing Should Be the Ultimate Goal
to Secure Adequate Craniofacial and Airway Development in Children,” Jornal de Pediatria
94, no. 2 (Mar .–Apr . 2018): 101–3. A study that followed 1,900 children for 15 years found
that children with severe snoring, sleep apnea, and other sleep-disordered breathing were twice
as likely to become obese compared to children who didn’ t snore. Those children who had the
worst symptoms had a 60 to 100 percent increased risk of obesity . “Short Sleep Duration and
Sleep-Related Breathing Problems Increase Obesity Risk in Kids,” press release, Albert
Einstein College of Medicine, Dec. 11, 2014. N o r m a n  K i n g s l e y :  Sheldon Peck, “Dentist, Artist, Pioneer: Orthodontic Innovator Norman Kingsley and
His Rembrandt Portraits,” Journal of the American Dental Association 143, no. 4 (Apr . 2012):
393–97. P i e r r e  R o b i n :  Ib Leth Nielsen, “Guiding Occlusal Development with Functional Appliances,”
Australian Orthodontic Journal 14, no. 3 (Oct. 1996): 133–42; “Functional Appliances,”
British Orthodontic Society; John C. Bennett, Orthodontic Management of Uncr owded Class II
Division 1 Malocclusion in Childr en  (St. Louis: Mosby/Elsevier , 2006); “Isolated Pierre Robin
sequence,” Genetics Home Reference, https://ghr .nlm.nih.gov/condition/isolated-pierre-robin-
sequence . r e t r a c t i v e  o r t h o d o n t i c s :  Edward Angle, considered the “father of American orthodontics,” was opposed
to extracting teeth; meanwhile, his student, Charles H. T weed, would go on to champion
extractions. In the end, T weed’ s approach won. Sheldon Peck, “Extractions, Retention and
Stability: The Search for Orthodontic T ruth,” Eur opean Journal of Orthodontics  39, no. 2 (Apr . 2017): 109–15. D r . J o h n  M e w :  Mew had spent three years as a facial sur geon at Queen V ictoria Hospital in W est
Sussex studying how the mouth worked. He knew that the 14 jigsaw-puzzle bones that made
up the face needed to develop together in just the right way; any disruption of any of these
bones could af fect the function and growth of the entire mouth and face. w h o ’ d  g o t t e n  e x t r a c t i o n s :  That tooth extractions cause a flattening of the face is not widely accepted in
the orthodontics industry . Several studies have claimed that extractions cause retrognathic
facial growth, while others show little or no change in the face. Still others say results will vary
and can only be determined by first considering the width of the palate. Antônio Carlos de
Oliveira Ruellas et al., “T ooth Extraction in Orthodontics: An Evaluation of Diagnostic
Elements,” Dental Pr ess Journal of Orthodontics 15, no. 3 (May–June 2010): 134–57; Anita
Bhavnani Rathod et al., “Extraction vs No T reatment: Long-T erm Facial Profile Changes,”
American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics 147, no. 5 (May 2015): 596–
603; Abdol-Hamid Zafarmand and Mohamad-Mahdi Zafarmand, “Premolar Extraction in
Orthodontics: Does It Have Any Ef fect on Patient’ s Facial Height?,” Journal of the
International Society of Pr eventive & Community Dentistry 5, no. 1 (Jan. 2015): 64–68. B r o t h e r s  a n d  s i s t e r s  m e a s u r e d :  John Mew , The Cause and Cur e of Malocclusion  (John Mew
Orthotropics), https://johnmeworthotropics.co.uk/the-cause-and-cure-of-malocclusion-book/
[inactive]; V icki Cheeseman, interview with Kevin Boyd, “Understanding Modern Systemic
Diseases through a Study of Anthropology ,” Dentistry IQ , June 27, 2012. S e v e r a l  o t h e r  d e n t i s t s :  More than two dozen scientific studies dating back to the 1930s are available at
www .mrjamesnestor .com/breath . “ q u a c k , ”  “ s c a m m e r ” :  The half century of resistance from the orthodontics industry against John Mew ,
I’d learned, likely had less to do with Mew’ s data than with his take-no-prisoners approach to
disseminating it. Even one of Mew’ s most ardent and vocal detractors, a British orthodontistnamed Roy Abrahams, admitted to me in an email exchange that it wasn’ t Mew’ s theories that
were necessarily the problem, but that Mew had never proven his theories when given a chance
and instead constantly “rubbish[es] traditional orthodontics and orthodontists to further his
claims.”
f a m e d  e v o l u t i o n a r y  b i o l o g i s t :  Sandra Kahn and Paul R. Ehrlich, Jaws: The Story of a Hidden Epidemic
(Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2018). i n  h i s  l a t e  7 0 s :  Mew told me that most of his foes use the castle as an example of how he’d profited
from orthotropics. The total cost of the castle was about 300,000 pounds, he said, about a third
of the cost of a dilapidated two-bedroom modern condo up the road. A  2 0 0 6  p e e r - r e v i e w e d  s t u d y :  G. Dave Singh et al., “Evaluation of the Posterior Airway Space Following
Biobloc Therapy: Geometric Morphometrics,” Cranio: The Journal of Craniomandibular &
Sleep Practice 25, no. 2 (Apr . 2007): 84–89, https://facefocused.com/articles-and-
lectures/bioblocs-impact-on-the-airway/ . n e c k  e x t e n d e d  o u t w a r d :  Assuming this open-mouthed posture throughout childhood can directly
influence the growth and development of the jaws, airway , and even the alignment of the teeth. Joy L. Moeller et al., “T reating Patients with Mouth Breathing Habits: The Emer ging Field of
Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy ,” Journal of the American Orthodontic Society  12, no. 2
(Mar .–Apr . 2012): 10–12. “ t h a t ’ s  w h a t  w e ’ v e  b e c o m e ” :  Modern humans could be the first Homo  species to suf fer from this malady . Even our Neanderthal cousins were not the knuckle-dragging, stooped-over beasts they’d been
depicted as for the past hundred years. Their posture was upright, perhaps even better than our
own. Martin Haeusler et al., “Morphology , Pathology , and the V ertebral Posture of the La
Chapelle-aux-Saints Neandertal,” Pr oceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the
United States of America 116, no. 11 (Mar . 2019): 4923–27. “ c r a n i a l  d y s t r o p h y ” :  M. Mew , “Craniofacial Dystrophy . A Possible Syndrome?,” British Dental Journal
216, no. 10 (May 2014): 555–58. “ a  n e w  h e a l t h  c r a z e ” :  Elena Cresci, “Mewing Is the Fringe Orthodontic T echnique T aking Over
Y ouT ube,” V ice , Mar . 11, 2019, https://www .vice.com/en_us/article/d3medj/mewing-is-the-
fringe-orthodontic-technique-taking-over -youtube . v i e w e d  a  m i l l i o n  t i m e s :  “Doing Mewing,” Y ouT ube, https://www .youtube.com/watch?v=Hmf-pR7EryY . s u r v i v a l  o f  t h e  f i t t e s t :  Quentin Wheeler , Antonio G. V aldecasas, and Cristina Cânovas, “Evolution
Doesn’ t Proceed in a Straight Line—So Why Draw It That W ay?” The Conversation, Sept. 3,
2019, https://theconversation.com/evolution-doesnt-proceed-in-a-straight-line-so-why-draw-it-
that-way-109401/ . W o m e n  w i l l  s u f f e r :  “Anatomy & Physiology ,” Open Stax, Rice University , June 19, 2013,
https://openstax.or g/books/anatomy-and-physiology/pages/6-6-exercise-nutrition-hormones-
and-bone-tissue . m o s t  a p p a r e n t :  “Our Face Bones Change Shape As W e Age,” Live Science, May 30, 2013,
https://www .livescience.com/35332-face-bones-aging-1 10104.html . l e a d  t o  a i r w a y  o b s t r u c t i o n :  Y agana Shah, “Why Y ou Snore More As Y ou Get Older and What Y ou Can
Do About It,” The Huffington Post , June 7, 2015,
https://www .huf fingtonpost.in/2015/07/06/how-to-stop-snoring_n_7687906.html?ri18n=true . p o w e r  o f  t h e  m a s s e t e r :  “What Is the Strongest Muscle in the Human Body?,” Everyday Mysteries: Fun
Science Facts from the Library of Congress,
https://www .loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/muscles.html .
_OceanofPDF.com_Breath_-_James_Nestor.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        A r o u n d  1 5 0 0  BCE :  Bryan Gandevia, “The Breath of Life: An Essay on the Earliest History of
Respiration: Part I,” Australian Journal of Physiotherapy  16, no. 1 (Mar. 1970): 5–11,
https://www. sciencedirect. com/science/article/pii/S0004951414610850 ; Gandevia, “The Breath
of Life: An Essay on the Earliest History of Respiration: Part II,” Australian Journal of
Physiotherapy  16, no. 2 (June 1970): 57–69,
https://www.
Geor ge Catlin
Who wrote the book "Shut Your Mouth and Save Your Life"?
Mouth-breathing
According to the text, what is the primary culprit in the spread of tuberculosis?
Not mentioned in the text
What is the name of the device used by E. E. Watson to restrict airflow during exercise?
Mark Burhenne
Who is the author of the book "The 8-Hour Sleep Paradox"?
5.5 breaths per minute
According to the text, what is the recommended breathing rate for athletes?
Devon Abbot Mihesuah
Who is the author of the book "Recovering Our Ancestors' Gardens"?