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Comment by balaji1 | Hacker News Reader

Breath by James Nestor. Great book.

Fantastic book. Immediately applicable insights. The single thing that improved my running distance is a few rules I made after reading this:

- never open your mouth while running,

- breathe in for 2 steps, out for longer, like 5 or 7 steps. Odd out steps ensure the cycle starts with foot falls from alternate feet, ensuring you don’t over-strain one side.

- don’t run so fast that you have to open your mouth

I also feel the same way about the book, very easy to implement some of the suggestions in the book.

And your comment is also easily applicable, haha. I implemented the same strategy while running after the book. One of my favorite books.

Yeah, to expand on the parent comment James Nestor talked extensively about mouth breathing vs nasal breathing in his book. He even volunteered to plug up his nose for a study on the affects of mouth breathing. TLDR: he felt awful when only breathing through his mouth for a few weeks and his performance on various tasks was objectively worse.

It was that book that made me get a deviated septum / nasal blockage surgery which helped a lot.

I had my inferior turbinates reduced a week ago. Already I am breathing a lot better, and I can feel I'm not fully healed yet (gets better every day). Should have had it done years ago. Something (not sure what) caused the turbinates to become larger some time ago, giving me breathing trouble. It's incredibly liberating to be able to nasally breathe freely again. I might even go so far as to say (utterly unscientifically) that I feel that I'm thinking more clearly now too!

Doesn't the book specifically worn about the dangers and possible horrible outcomes of this procedure? I'm glad it worked for you and you found a trustworthy doctor to do it right.

Yeah, I asked my ENT about "empty nose" which Nestor mentions in the book and he told me he's never had anyone complain from all the procedures he did. That was good enough for me. I had the surgery and no issues.

What was your experience with the surgery? I’ve got a deviated septum and frequently struggle to breathe through my nose even through very light exercise.

I think it really depends on the severity of the deviation and blockage. Before I I had the surgery, the difference between nostrils was significant. Left side was normal and the right was like breathing through a very small diameter straw. Post surgery, I sleep much better and rarely snore. I feel more comfortable when running or biking long distances while only breathing through my nose. Do yourself a favor and get an evaluation if you have a blockage or deviated septum!

After the deviated septum and turbinate (?) reduction my breath improved noticeably, my sleep got better, my headaches were significantly reduced, and anecdotally I felt a lot less anxious. The ENT doctor told me "things were pretty deranged back there" after the surgery so it makes sense this would help.

That said, I still do the neti pot every day since I wouldn't say my breathing is "completely" clear.

One of my friends had this issue for years and he said that it did wonders for his sleep quality and general clarity of mind. The recovery period was apparently terrible -two weeks of not being able to breathe through your nose at all while experiencing significant sinus pressure/headaches- but it must be worth it because he said he would do it again.

Thanks for expanding. I am a big fan of the book. Some of Nestor's podcast appearances after the book are also great - similar content as the book in podcast format, some hosted by docs and other experts.

curious to hear what the outcomes were for you on deviated septum? I got a CPAP machine which helps a lot with night sleep but then realize that even during the day I'm congested so I'm not optimally breathing.

the other suggestion from the ENT doctor was that I removed both my tonsils and get my uvula chopped off. so I'm deciding between the septum operation and/or tonsil operation

After the deviated septum and turbinate (?) reduction surgery my breath improved noticeably, my sleep got better, my headaches were significantly reduced, and anecdotally I felt a lot less anxious. The ENT doctor told me "things were pretty deranged back there" after the surgery so it makes sense this would help.

That said, I still do the neti pot every day since I wouldn't say my breathing is "completely" clear.

Getting my nose fixed after 25 years made me wish I had it fixed 24.5 years before. There is no question about it for me that it is one of the best things I've ever done. All the sinus and ear infections I got because my nose couldn't drain are behind me now.

Also had my turbinates reduced at the same time.

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