A Breath Hold A Day Keeps the Doctor Away
It's a little tounge-in-cheek but there is a bunch of scientific evidence that supports my claim
For the last five years, I’ve been practising a pranayama exercise called nisshesha rechaka pranayama.
Every day, I sit down and complete two rounds of rhythmical breathing followed by a breath hold.
Before that, I used to suffer from anxiety, an inflamed gut, brain fog, and a lack of confidence.
I went to see all kinds of doctors, nutritionists, and other healthcare specialists without much progress. Then I started holding my breath on occasion and haven’t looked back since.
I don’t accredit all of my healing to this technique — I’ve drastically changed my diet too — but I do see it as a key part of my recovery. And for that, I’m forever grateful.
Next, I’ll share five things that happen to the mind and body during a breath hold and some of the benefits that they can bring, starting with one that supports brain health. I’ll then outline how to perform the technique yourself before linking to a free online masterclass if you want to dive deeper.
Here goes.
1# Breath Holds Aid the Flow of Cerebrospinal Fluid
Cerebrospinal fluid is a clear, colourless body fluid that’s found within the tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord of all vertebrates.
Its main functions are:
Buoyancy: The actual mass of the human brain is about 1400–1500 grams but when suspended in CSF it reduces to a mass of 25–50 grams. This helps it to exist in neutral buoyancy so it can maintain its density without being impaired by its own weight.
If CSF was not present, its own weight would cut off the blood supply and kill neurons in the lower sections of the brain.Protection: CSF protects brain tissue from light to medium injury/impacts. It does this by providing a fluid buffer that acts as a shock absorber.
Homeostasis: CSF regulates the body’s temperature, blood pressure, and pH levels by carrying important messages up and down the spine and between brain cells all day long.
Clearing waste: CSF allows for the removal of waste products from the brain and is critical in the brain’s lymphatic system (or glymphatic system). The brain and spinal cord are constantly cleansed by the rapid creation and absorption of cerebrospinal fluid as it removes toxins and impurities as it goes.
Metabolic waste products (urea, uric acid, creatinine, carbon dioxide, etc…) diffuse into CSF and are removed into the bloodstream as CSF is absorbed. If this ever goes awry, CSF can become toxic. This is particularly important as we age because the pressure of CSF can decrease over time which means it can collect impurities and proteins related to neurodegenerative diseases. This can result in impaired brain function such as fatigue, depression, and anxiety, and later to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and motor neuron diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Cool fact: The entire volume of CSF is replaced 3–4x a day!
The way breath holds improve the flow of cerebrospinal fluid is somewhat paradoxical. CSF is constantly moving up and down the spine and in and around the brain all day long but while holding the breath, it begins to slow down. (Imagine a pipe that gets squeezed shut.)
However, upon inhalation, a surge of CSF flows up to the brain again and this not only feels great but is great.
“It has been established that deep breathing increases the influx of cerebrospinal fluid into the brain and that subsequently holding your breath increases cerebral blood volume” — Mauro Zappaterra, MD
For these reasons, nisshesha rechaka pranayama is a great way to boost CSF because it does both — it encourages deep breathing and breath holds.
#2 Breath Holds Increase Oxygen Uptake In the Blood
“It has been estimated that approximately one third of people don’t breathe well enough to sustain normal health. These people do not get enough oxygenation of their cells, tissues and organs.” — Lenus
To understand this properly, it’s important to look at the relationship between oxygen and carbon dioxide and a sticky protein called haemoglobin.
As oxygen enters the bloodstream it attaches to haemoglobin and they both get pumped around the body by the heart. Without the presence of carbon dioxide, however, oxygen will stay bound to haemoglobin and it won’t be able to reach the tissue cells in the body that need it to function.
This is important in terms of strengthening the lungs because the first impulse to breathe comes from a need to expel carbon dioxide and not because we need more oxygen. That comes shortly after. So by extending the urge to breathe out fewer breaths are needed to be breathed in.
Another way of putting it is that if we build up a tolerance to carbon dioxide, we become more oxygen-efficient because we’re breathing less.
Nisshesha rechaka pranayama is a fantastic way to do just that.
When an individual over breathes (typically through the mouth), too much carbon dioxide is lost from the blood and this results in reduced oxygenation of tissues and organs. In contrast, when breathing volume is reduced towards normal, through nose breathing, higher carbon dioxide in the blood decreases the affinity between oxygen and haemoglobin, resulting in greater oxygenation of tissues and organs.” — Lenus
#3 Breath Holds Help the Nervous System Come Into Homeostasis
The breath, like the autonomic nervous system, is made up of two parts. The inhale/sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) and the exhale/parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest).
Every breath acts a bit like a pendulum. The sympathetic nervous system gets activated when we inhale, the parasympathetic nervous system gets activated when we exhale. When we hold our breath, we disrupt this rhythm which initially, makes our sympathetic nervous system turn on because a primal fear arises. When the breath stops, the body wastes no time in alerting the heart and brain of its absence.
However, regular breath holds, like exercise, have a deeply relaxing effect on the nervous system once completed because the balance shifts from alertness to relaxation, or from sympathetic nervous system activity to parasympathetic nervous system activity.
This flip-flopping between high stress one minute and deep relaxation the next is one of the reasons why this technique works so well.
#4 Breath Holds Strengthen Our Fear Response
The nagging need to breathe comes from a cluster of neurons located at the base of the brainstem called central chemoreceptors. When we’re breathing too shallow and our carbon dioxide levels rise, these chemoreceptors send signals up to the brain that inform it to breathe faster and/or deeper. When we’re breathing too quickly, the same chemoreceptors direct the body to breathe slower to increase our carbon dioxide levels.
“This is how our bodies determine how fast and often we breathe. Not by the amount of oxygen, but by the amount of carbon dioxide.” — James Nestor
Strengthening these chemoreceptors lowers our baseline of stress because it calms a deep part of the brain called the amygdala. The amygdala’s main concern is survival. So, when it’s calm, we tend to feel safe and relaxed. When we feel relaxed, we tend to breathe slower and smoother which further soothes the amygdala. So, it’s a win-win from all angles.
Studies on the effects of carbon dioxide began with physicians experimenting in the early 20th century. Their goal was to reset oversensitive chemoreceptors by raising their patient’s carbon dioxide levels in a controlled setting.
Patients were made to breathe a mixture of 70% oxygen and 30% carbon dioxide, which initially provoked a feeling of suffocation even though their bodies were being supplied with more than enough oxygen to survive.
This is where it gets interesting, though, because repeated exposure to high levels of CO2 was found to alleviate symptoms of anxiety and other mental health conditions.
Some patients even awoke from catatonic states.
Techniques like nisshesha rechaka pranayama create high carbon dioxide levels in a safe environment. And over time, if practiced regularly, we can experience similar, if not the same, results.
#5 Breath Holds Increase Lung Volume and Lung Capacity
Scientists have discovered that around the age of 30–35 years old, our lung capacity starts to decrease and it only goes downhill from there. This is due to the muscles in the diaphragm becoming weaker, our lung tissue losing some of its elasticity, which means our airways become smaller, and our rib cage bones change shape which leaves less room for them to expand into.
Our lungs are like every other muscle in the body in that regard. If they’re used often and efficiently, they can begin to gain strength, elasticity, and volume, even as we age. However, if they’re not, everything in and around them (tendons, ligaments, muscle tissue, bone density, etc…) will naturally start to weaken. So, even though our lungs do shrink over time — up to 40% by the time we reach 80 years old — they can also expand.
No one has proven this more than freedivers.
Freediving is the art of diving deep under the surface of water on a single breath of air and those who dive regularly report they have increased their lung capacity by 30%!
While this might sound possible for only a few elite athletes in extreme sports, it’s a process of building strength up over time in much the same way a regular muscle builds up in the gym. And anyone can do it.
Nisshesha rechaka pranayama is a fantastic technique to increase lung volume and lung capacity while creating a breathing practice that can support you in daily life.
Putting it into practice
Here is nisshesha rechaka pranayama for you to practice in your own time.
Find a nice comfortable position lying down
Relax your hands and feet, allowing your soles and palms to face up toward the sky
Breathe in smoothly, deeply, and fully through your nose
Exhale fully through your mouth, completely emptying out all the air from your lungs
Continue for 40 more breaths
On your last breath, exhale deeply and then hold your breath for as long as possible (if you have a pulse oximeter now is your time to grab it)
When you can’t hold your breath any longer inhale fully and hold for 10–20 seconds
Then repeat twice more if it feels good to do so (total of 3 rounds)
When you feel complete, relax and meditate, noticing if there are any changes or shifts in your physical and mental state.
If You’ve Been Inspired and Want to Learn More…
If you want to dive deeper into this wonderful technique, you can sign up for a free online masterclass here. It’s with my favourite breathwork organisation - Soma Breath - and I couldn’t recommend them more :)