Breathe to Flow
the science
All of our work is evidence-based and has solid studies behind it and we do our best to keep up with new studies on the science of breathing.
This section presents a carefully curated selection books, articles and studies that we find inspiration in and which we base our own methodology on.
Books
Breath - The New Science of a Lost Art
James Nestor (2020, Penguin Books)
A must-read if you want to dive deeper into breathing. Very well-researched book that gives an overview of the history of breathing.
Drawing on thousands of years of medical texts and recent cutting-edge studies in pulmonology, psychology, biochemistry, and human physiology, Breath turns the conventional wisdom of what we thought we knew about our most basic biological function on its head.
The Oxygen Advantage
by Patrick McKeown (2015, Piatkus)
A highly recommended book for those interested in how breathing applies to sports and movement in general. Very solid scientific background from one of the world's leading experts in breathing.
McKeown introduces readers to the "Oxygen Advantage," an innovative but complex breathing technique that purportedly improves overall health... McKeown's confident attitude should help his book appeal to a wide audience.
-Publishers Weekly
studies
The list below includes research that support our method with scientific background and studies. It's important to keep in mind that science is always in development and that no study holds the final truth. With that in mind, we try to only include well-documented science and to always be critical with the studies we base our work on.
This document includes references to many of the relevant studies I’ve found for breathing. With research, it's important to know that *lots* of published studies are overturned and found to be lacking or even wrong. Science is a work-in-progress forever - as is this document.
The Effect of Diaphragmatic Breathing on Attention, Negative Affect and Stress in Healthy Adults
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5455070/#B13
The Neurological Link Between Mind and Breath:
Breathing above the brain stem: volitional control and attentional modulation in humans
https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/jn.00551.2017
The Vagus Nerve & Diaphragmatic breathing
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6189422/
Nitric oxide and the paranasal sinuses
https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.20782
Buteyko Breathing & Asthma
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14752538
Meditation & Longevity
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3057175/
Humming sound and nitric oxide
https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/rccm.200202-138BC#.V17Y-GZubzA
6 Breaths per minute (Resonant / Coherent Breath) & HRV
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5575449/
The Bohr Effect
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohr_effect
Yoga Breathing / Respiratory Health & Capacity
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5496990/
Slow Breathing for Anxiety
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00467/full
The Nasal Cycle
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/609283/
Right vs Left nostril
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3978938/
Synchronized Breathing for running
https://www.outsideonline.com/2416993/synchronized-breathing-running-study
Breathing to Decrease pain (Breath holding)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25930190/
The potential of nitric oxide releasing therapies (...)
articles
This is a list of the most interesting and enlightening articles we've come across. None of them contain outlandish claims or parabole about what breathing can do to cure diseases or in other ways be a miracle cure. The articles are meant to give you more inspiration and input for learning more about the topics you find most interesting. Enjoy!
The Ultimate Guide to Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
Part 1 - Measurement setup, best practices, and metrics.
https://medium.com/@marco_alt/the-ultimate-guide-to-heart-rate-variability-hrv-part-1-70a0a392fff4
Cleveland Clinic: Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/21773-heart-rate-variability-hrv
Proper Breathing Brings Better Health
Stress reduction, insomnia prevention, emotion control, improved attention—certain breathing techniques can make life better. But where do you start?
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/proper-breathing-brings-better-health/
What Is “Email Apnea” and How It Is Slowly Killing Us
https://jromeroachon.medium.com/what-is-email-apnea-and-how-it-is-slowly-killing-us-ca5a8cbe3710
What Is Languishing, and What Can We Do About It?
https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-is-languishing-5181172
American Lung Association:
Five Ways You Might Be Breathing Wrong
https://www.lung.org/blog/you-might-be-breathing-wrong
The Air You Breahte Is Full of Surprises. A fun thought... each day you're breathing in the last exhale of Julius Caesar
Twenty-five sextillion molecules: Simon Worrall, “The Air You Breathe Is Full of Surprises,” National Geographic, Aug.13, 2012.
Respiratory Rhythm, Autonomic Modulation, and the Spectrum of Emotions: The Future of Emotion Recognition and Modulation
A really thorough and deep article about how breathing and emotions are connected. "... could greatly improve public mental health by providing at-home biofeedback for greater understanding of one’s mental state and for mind–body affective treatments such as breathing exercises."
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01980/full