This is a preview of the Shortform book summary of Breath by James Nestor.
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1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Breath

As we try to lead healthier lives, we often focus on eating better, getting more exercise, and tending to our mental well-being. One vital aspect we rarely even think of is how well we breathe. Modern medicine treats breathing problems with medications and surgical options, but little attention is ever given to teaching people how to breathe well. In fact, how we breathe has just as much bearing on our quality of life as any other factor.

(Shortform note: The physical act of breathing plays multiple roles in the body. The most basic, of course, is that it provides our cells with oxygen, the most vital component to unlocking our body’s energy. Beyond that, breathing regulates the nervous system and can be used to reduce overall stress. The American Lung Association recommends some basic exercises to improve how you breathe. We’ll cover several more in this guide.)

Today, a staggering number of people suffer from chronic congestion, infections, weakness in the lungs, and health conditions caused by an inability to properly breathe. Advances brought about by the evolution of our brains and how we live in the industrialized world have had a negative impact on...

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Breath Summary Breathing Poorly

Before we can discuss how to breathe correctly, it’s important to understand how we’re doing it wrong. Nestor asserts that through no fault of our own, the advances we’ve made biologically and technologically over the past two million years have caused the human race to develop the most poorly designed breathing organs in the animal kingdom. The breathing problems experienced by millions of people today can be traced to how our sinuses and throats evolved over the ages, resulting in a tendency to breathe with our mouths and take in too much oxygen at once, throwing our body’s systems into imbalance.

(Shortform note: The Global Burden of Disease Study in 2017 showed that 550 million people suffer from some form of chronic breathing problem. In the US in 2016, breathing problems resulted in 85 million medical visits. One contributing factor that Nestor doesn’t mention is damage caused by smoking, which accounts for 90% of lung cancer deaths...

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Breath Summary How to Breathe Well

Now that we’ve established how we’re breathing wrong, the question becomes, “How should we breathe?” Luckily, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Nestor provides a selection of breathing techniques that have been known and practiced for ages, but not necessarily in Western medicine. However, the science behind them is suggestive of their value. By regulating your breath so that you breathe through your nose, slow your respiration, and use your diaphragm and mouth correctly, you can create a positive feedback loop that will strengthen your sinuses, stretch your lungs, and restore your body’s equilibrium.

(Shortform note: While Nestor is correct to point out that breathing is central to many belief systems and meditative practices, he understates the amount of research that modern medicine has invested in the scientific aspects of breath control. A review of medical literature reveals a wide scope of studies on the mental and physical benefits of controlled breathing.)

Breathe Through Your Nose

The first and most important step Nestor advises is to...

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Breath Summary Extreme Breathing Techniques

While researching the intricacies of how breathing works and how we can train ourselves to do it better, Nestor came across many unusual breathing practices and techniques. He doesn’t explicitly recommend readers try them, certainly not without expert supervision, but he presents them as examples of the power of the breath to affect the body and mind.

From Tibetan monks to athletes and psychologists, there are those who have found ways to use controlled breathing to alter mental states and perform seemingly miraculous feats of physical endurance. Nestor writes about several such practices—the art of using the breath to control body temperature, the use of carbon dioxide to reset the brain’s chemoreceptors, and ancient yogic practices that can affect the autonomic systems of the body.

But how is this possible? The simplest explanation is that breathing is the one bodily function in which our conscious and unconscious systems overlap. Just as your heart regulates blood flow, your stomach digests food, and your immune system fights off infection, your respiratory system needs no conscious control. However, unlike our body’s other autonomic systems, we can purposefully alter our...

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Shortform Exercise: Evaluate Your Breathing

Nestor argues that due to a combination of genetics, soft foods, and self-reinforcing cycles of congestion, most of us have developed poor breathing habits. It may be that while reading this guide, you’ve been self-conscious about how you’ve been breathing. Take a few moments to think about how you breathe on a regular basis.


Take a few deep breaths through your nose, letting your stomach expand as you do so. Exhale slowly as you breathe out, letting your stomach naturally contract. After several repetitions of this cycle, what effect (if any) has it had on your mood? Do you feel calm, or more agitated? How much of a difference did breathing slowly make?

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