Hacker News Reader

Comment by chubot | Hacker News Reader

I got a pulse oximeter a couple years ago too, and it was eye opening (before COVID, and I didn't get COVID).

The realtime feedback is useful and actionable. Breathing more slowly, exhaling more than inhaling (counterintuitive), pausing, and breathing through the nose definitely make a difference for me.

But everyone is a little different so you have to experiment. Breathing is very multidimensional and hard to explain. The Nestor book is a good intro, and I've mentioned it on HN a few times before.

I'm a big believer now. It is almost laughably simple, and I have to cite the fact the fact that no company profits if you breathe better, sleep better, etc. It's a trite saying but true ...

View on HN

You should get a sleep study as well. It's amazing how little oxygen you can get when you sleep. Cpap sucks to wear at night, but it forces you to take the same breathing techniques. Just avoid philips products and go resmed.

This is why I enjoyed the "tape over mouth" tip by nestor. I was a mouth breather and would not feel very rested because of it. When breathing through nose only, I felt so refreshed as if I got more oxygen.

Was it Nestor that buys into the "acid diet" idea that has been debunked?

If your oxygen level is varying significantly while at rest, you are very out of shape aerobically, and you should be getting more exercise, not obsessing about your breathing patterns.

Is this true? I run ~15 miles a week, play pickup basketball 2x a week, and lift weights 3x a week. My oxygen levels can vary 2-5% depending on circadian rhythm at rest. When doing these breathing exercises, I can stabilize it at higher levels. That's at least my experience with it.

While it's clear exercise is good for everyone, this statement is not well informed.

For example, oxygen saturation monitoring revealed my at-rest breathing reflex is completely broken due to a known genetic flaw. You know the memes about 'your breathing is now under conscious control'? Mine actually is.

That led to a sleep study-- and, yup, I don't breathe when I'm asleep. I wake every two or three minutes, all night, take a few breaths, and go back to sleep. And have all my life. The mystery of why I'm 'such a light sleeper' also revealed.

Doc I saw about it remarked the mutation is probably more widespread then we know because 'no one is looking for it'. It also completely freaked out a few anesthesiologists.

[There are other reflexes around breathing, and no, I can't just hold me breath as long as I want. The physiological reminders to breathe are pretty strong! But I routinely see my SP02 at rest drop below 70.]

What became your solution to this situation?

What is this mutation and how do I test for it?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com