Issue #136: Sighing More Powerful Than Meditating
Good morning. It’s Monday, February 27th.
Today’s Quick Win
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*For details on how to do "cyclic sighing" check out video and directions in From the Lab
Did you miss any of our issues on SCIENCE last week? Catch up on Issues #131 - #135 here.
This week we're switching gears and talking about MINDSET, specifically breathing.
From the Lab: Cyclic Sighing
Speed Read: The Pursuit of Fun Experiences
Monday Metabolic: Jump, Push & Tap
Monday Q: Focusing on the Breath
“Breathing allows us to hack into our own nervous system, control our immune response, and restore our health. Yes, changing how we breathe will help us live longer.”
The total length of your airways running through your lungs (that's longer than driving from New York to Key West, FL). The surface area of our lungs would cover a tennis court - so yea, we've got some breathing capacity when we do it right! (Source).
From the Lab
How many times do you tell yourself (or your kid) - “just take a deep breath”?
It’s amazing how well this works to calm yourself (or kid) down. I mean it’s instantaneous - you immediately move out of fight or flight mode, your shoulders drop a bit, and you’re much more calm to tackle whatever problem is in front of you.
But we don’t really stop and think about the crazy power this has on our biology and mindset. How quickly and how deep we breathe not only changes our mood and mental state, but even alters our heart rate and blood pressure.
New science shows it might be even more powerful than we thought…
The right breathing technique (cyclic sighing) is even more effective than mindfulness meditation at giving us a positive mental boost - and the gap gets larger the more you do it.
How does this work?
Breathing influences our central autonomic network (CAN) - thus altering our mood. There are also theories that voluntary breathing exercises increase our sense of control over how we feel. (This is similar to how beating the cold plunge makes us stronger to manage real-world stress - Issue #132).
So what is cyclic sighing? (not quite just sighing over and over)
Breathe in through your nose until lungs feel full
Take another inhale through nose to expand lungs even further
Exhale through mouth until all the air is gone (should be at least 2x longer than inhale)
Repeat for up to 5 minutes
PRO TIP: Make sure you are sitting down and in a safe environment as you might get a little light-headed the first time you do this. Also, don't worry about doing it for full 5 min to start.
So does this mean that Max should stop his daily meditation?
Not at all! There are still plenty of benefits of meditation. But for some people meditating can be:
Intimidating
Time-consuming
Take weeks/months before we see benefits
This is simply an alternative that anyone can do.
(BTW - let’s give it up for Max who successfully hit his New Year’s Resolution of 56 consecutive days of meditating - Issue #94)!
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Speed Read
Health & Longevity in the News
Whoo(m)p There It Is: With hardware fitness companies struggling to grow users (i.e. Peloton), Whoop is lowering its pricing (CEO’s message on Twitter). But you're now on the hook with a 12-month subscription (previously it offered 6 months) - guess that makes sense since the device is free with the cost included in membership. (The Verge)
The Fun Habit: Add it to the reading list - which I'm sure already includes bookmarked Issues #106-110. Psychologist Mike Rucker argues the pursuit of fun experiences is more valuable than the abstract goal of happiness. (NPR)
Avoid Chemicals on Your Body: It's hard to keep track of everything we put on our skin & hair - soaps, lotions, deodorants, hair products, cosmetics, etc. Most of this stuff has crap that can really damage our health - check out EWG’s skin deep database to see what's safe and check out this article. This is finally being covered by mainstream media. (NYTimes)
Monday Metabolic
Got a combo exercise with the jump lunge and lateral raise, followed by a classic push-up and then shoulder tap to burn out the chest, core & shoulders. Let's go Monday!
Click HERE to view the workout on our YouTube channel.
Workout and video courtesy of Connor J. Obrochta. Check out all of Connor's workouts on Playbook!
Monday Q
How do you use your breath to reduce stress and make you feel better?
Product Recs
Impossible - trouble sleeping? This is a combination of magnesium and l-theanine powder (with no junk) to help you get and stay asleep. Click HERE. 😴
TMAC Fitness - 20-min home workouts with no equipment that finishes with a quick meditation, what's easier than that? Try TMAC for 10 Days Free. 🧘
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The information in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and may not be appropriate or applicable based on your individual circumstances. Thrive25 Labs LLC does not provide medical, professional, or licensed advice. Please connect with your healthcare professional for medical advice specific to your health needs.