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Lewis HowesThis BREATHING TECHNIQUE Will Transform Your BODY & MIND! | James Nestor & Lewis Howes
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Chapter summaries
Nose vs. Mouth Breathing
Lewis Howes asks how many people breathe through their mouths and what that does compared to nasal breathing. James Nestor shows a skull cross-section to explain how the nose humidifies, pressurizes and filters air, and says the science on this is long settled.
- •Nestor cites estimates that 25 to 50% of people habitually mouth breathe
- •The nose humidifies, pressurizes and filters air before it reaches the lungs
- •Mouth breathing is a backup system and not meant for all-day use
- •Mouth breathing in youth can change facial structure
- •More than 50 years of Stanford research is indisputable, yet mouth breathing is everywhere
Crooked Teeth, Small Jaws and Shrinking Airways
Lewis shares his own history of tooth extractions and Invisalign and asks whether mouth breathing crooked his teeth. Nestor explains that ancestors had broad jaws and straight teeth, and that Western extraction-based orthodontics shrinks mouths and airways.
- •Oral posture plays a huge role in tooth alignment
- •Ancient skulls show wide jaws and perfectly straight teeth
- •About 90% of people have retrognathic growth, meaning faces growing backwards
- •Extractions and braces make already small mouths smaller, and many orthodontists expect a reckoning
- •Lewis's and Nestor's stories are common ones
Why Nasal Breathing Delivers More Oxygen
Lewis asks why we focus on food and exercise but not breathing. Nestor says ancestors didn't need instruction, explains that nasal breathing gives 20% more oxygen, and covers the role of nitric oxide and the link between breath and arousal.
- •Ancestors lived in a different world and didn't need to think about breathing
- •Nasal breathing is slower and pressurizes air for better absorption
- •Nasal breathing gives 20% more oxygen than equivalent mouth breaths
- •Nitric oxide released in the sinuses plays a role
- •Slow breaths calm us parasympathetically while faster breaths arouse
Over-Breathing, Slow Breathing and Hypoventilation Training
Asked for his biggest findings, Nestor says most people breathe too much, which reduces circulation rather than adding oxygen. He covers breathing techniques used by monks in the cold and hypoventilation training that can mimic altitude training.
- •Taking big breaths causes lightness in the head, tingling and cooler extremities
- •Slow breathing can improve circulation and oxygen delivery
- •Monks in a Harvard study dried wet sheets using breathing techniques
- •Hypoventilation training can mimic altitude training and boost red blood cells
- •Lewis connects this to his experience with Wim Hof
Breathing for Athletic Performance and the Role of CO2
Lewis asks whether slowing the breath makes sense during hard exercise. Nestor says to breathe within your metabolic need, describes marathon and Stanford bike findings on nasal breathing, and explains that carbon dioxide, not oxygen, drives the urge to breathe.
- •Never work out harder than you can breathe correctly
- •Nasal breathing kept one marathoner's heart rate steady for 26 miles
- •Slower, deeper breaths can be about 35% more efficient than shallow ones
- •The need to breathe is driven by CO2, which helps oxygen release from red blood cells
- •Healthy people benefit from higher CO2, while those with emphysema or COVID do not
Breathwork Methods and a Simple Daily Foundation
Nestor praises Wim Hof-style breathwork and its ancient counterparts, then gives a foundation for anyone with little time: nasal breathing, slow breathing, and full exhales. He then discusses why modern people breathe poorly, from changed faces to corsets, pollution and stress.
- •Wim Hof, Sudarshan Kriya and pranayama share cycles of breathing and breath holds
- •Breathe through your nose all the time and clear congestion if needed
- •Breathe in for a count of five or six and out for the same count, extending the exhale to relax more
- •Anatomical changes and environmental factors have degraded breathing
- •Snoring and sleep apnea are common but not normal
Sleep Apnea, Myofunctional Therapy and Nostril Cycles
Nestor explains how soft diets leave throat tissues flabby and how myofunctional and oropharyngeal exercises can help with mild to moderate sleep apnea. The conversation moves to alternate nostril breathing and the natural nostril cycle, including a study on moon phases.
- •Soft foods let throat tissues go flabby, and exercises can strengthen them
- •Nestor himself had respiratory problems like pneumonia and bronchitis despite a healthy lifestyle
- •Left-nostril breathing lowers heart rate and blood pressure, while right-nostril breathing stimulates
- •Nostrils naturally alternate every 30 minutes to a few hours
- •One study found nasal cycles synchronized at full and new moons
Asthma, Congestion and Panic: Practical Breathing Tools
Nestor discusses people who improved asthma through changed breathing, with a clear caveat that he is not a doctor. He shares a breath-hold trick for congestion and describes a study in which slowing breathing helped people with panic.
- •Nestor cites a New York Times story of a violin maker who cut steroid and bronchodilator use
- •He stresses that people shouldn't ditch medication based on his advice
- •A breath-hold with head movement raises CO2 to help open the nose
- •Patrick McKeown offers free tutorials on this
- •A panic study found about 96% of participants improved after slowing their breathing and raising CO2
Breath, Brain and the Diaphragm
Nestor explains that the mind and breath influence each other, but breath is easier to control and most messages travel from body to brain. He explains the diaphragm as a pump, Navy SEAL box breathing, chest versus deep breathing, and how to check you're using the diaphragm.
- •About 80% of messages travel from the body to the brain
- •Box breathing is a technique Navy SEALs use to stay calm and focused
- •The diaphragm is a main pump that moves lymph and massages organs
- •Chest breathing is tied to the sympathetic fight-or-flight response
- •Breathing should be light, slow and deep, felt laterally above the hip bones
Lung Capacity, Aging and Moderation
Nestor says lungs lose capacity with age as the ribs stiffen, but yoga and breathing exercises can maintain or increase it. He explains the benefits of larger lungs, and both men talk about enjoying treats while keeping healthy habits as the foundation.
- •People lose roughly 15 to 16% of lung capacity between ages 30 and 50
- •Yoga and breathing work can maintain or increase lung capacity
- •Larger lungs mean fewer breaths and less strain on the heart
- •Wellness shouldn't mean misery, as long as habitual breathing is healthy
- •Talking while nasal breathing is awkward, so focus on habitual breathing
Nitric Oxide, Humming and Immunity
Nestor explains how nasal breathing supports immunity and inflammation control, citing nitric oxide's effects on viruses. He covers humming's boost to nitric oxide, the need to breathe nasally continuously, and the shared breathing rates in prayers and chants across cultures.
- •Breathing affects inflammation, which Nestor says underlies most top killers
- •Nitric oxide interacts with viruses, and trials are testing it against COVID
- •Humming increases nitric oxide 15-fold
- •Nitric oxide lasts only seconds, so nasal breathing must be constant
- •Prayers across cultures share a roughly six-second breathing rate that produces coherence
Expanding the Airway and Tongue Exercises
Nestor describes using a palate-expanding device that increased his airway by 15 to 20% in a year. He demonstrates tongue posture and oropharyngeal exercises, and the two joke about rolling Rs and tongue size.
- •Nestor wore a retainer-like device at night to widen his upper palate
- •A CAT scan showed airway gains of 15 to 20%
- •Keep the tongue on the roof of the mouth with lips closed
- •The 'cave' exercise and a back-to-front tongue push strengthen soft tissues
- •Teeth imprints on the tongue can signal a mouth too small for it
Masks, Longevity and Diaphragm Flexibility
Nestor says mask discomfort comes from CO2 buildup, not low oxygen, and suggests using the chance to slow breathing. He cites research linking lung size to lifespan, then explains rib flexibility and how to check diaphragm engagement.
- •Mask anxiety is a reaction to CO2, and a pulse oximeter shows oxygen is fine
- •Lung size is an accurate marker for lifespan, unlike genetics, which can't be changed
- •Breathing works alongside diet and exercise rather than replacing them
- •Free divers have large, flexible rib cages
- •The diaphragm is the most important muscle in the body
Three Truths, Greatness and Closing
Lewis promotes Nestor's book and websites, then asks his closing questions. Nestor gives his three truths and defines greatness as flexibility, and Lewis thanks him for popularizing this work.
- •Nestor's book is Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art
- •Never underestimate the capabilities of your body
- •If someone says something is impossible, go prove it's not
- •Ambition is the last refuge of failure, so just do it
- •Nestor defines greatness as flexibility
