Author | James Nestor |
---|---|
Audio read by | James Nestor |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Subject | Breathing |
Publisher | Riverhead Books |
Publication date | May 26, 2020 |
Media type | Print (hardcover) |
Pages | 304 |
ISBN | 978-0-7352-1361-6 |
OCLC | 1138996691 |
613/.192 | |
LC Class | RA782 .N47 2020 |
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art is a 2020 popular science book by science journalist James Nestor. The book provides a historical, scientific and personal examination of breathing, with a specific interest in contrasting the differences between mouth breathing and nasal breathing. The book became an international bestseller, selling over two million copies worldwide.
The book examines the history, science, and culture of breathing and its impacts on human health. It investigates the history of how humans shifted from the natural state of nasal breathing to chronic mouth breathing. Nestor explores research that argues that this shift (due to the increased consumption of processed foods) has led to a rise in snoring, sleep apnea, asthma, autoimmune disease, and allergies. It includes Nestor's first-person experiences with breathing. He also worked with scientists at Stanford University whose research suggests that returning to a state of nasal breathing will improve an individual's health. [1] [2] [3] Nestor wrote the book after ten years of researching the subject. [4]
Breath was published by Riverhead Books on May 26, 2020. [5] Nestor promoted the book with appearances on The Joe Rogan Experience [6] and CBS This Morning . [7]
The book debuted at number seven on The New York Times nonfiction best-seller list for the week ending May 30, 2020. [8] It spent 18 weeks on The New York Times nonfiction best-seller list in the first year of publication [9] and was a bestseller in Germany, Spain, Croatia, Italy, and the UK. [10] By February 2022, the book had sold over a million copies. [11] As of April 2023, Breath has sold over a two million copies worldwide and has translated into more than 35 languages in 2022. [12]
Breath won the award for Best General Nonfiction Book of 2020 by the American Society of Journalists and Authors [13] and was a finalist for the Royal Society Science Book Prize of 2021. [14]
Breath received favorable reviews, with a cumulative "Positive" rating at the review aggregator website Book Marks. [15] Kirkus Reviews called it a "welcome, invigorating user's manual for the respiratory system." [16] Publishers Weekly called it a "fascinating treatise" on breathing. [17] Stuart Miller of The Boston Globe wrote that Nestor succeeded at "explaining both the basics" and the "more complicated aspects of breathing properly." [18] Writing for The Wall Street Journal , Sam Kean praised the book's "good foundation" but criticized Nestor for not exercising enough skepticism and investigating the placebo effect further. Kean also felt the book contained "dicey" evidence which reminded him of Linus Pauling's vitamin C advocacy. Kean expressed a "similar skepticism" about Nestor's claims regarding the benefits of ancient breathing exercises. [19] In her review for the Evening Standard , Katie Law compared Breath to the "potentially life-changing books" including Matthew Walker's Why We Sleep , Shane O'Mara's In Praise of Walking, and Norman Doidge's The Brain's Way of Healing. [4] Breath also received a favorable review by Library Journal . [20]
The book was also perceived as being unexpectedly resonant due to its publication occurring amid the COVID-19 pandemic. [18] [19]
Snoring is the vibration of respiratory structures and the resulting sound due to obstructed air movement during breathing while sleeping. The sound may be soft or loud and unpleasant. Snoring during sleep may be a sign, or first alarm, of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Research suggests that snoring is one of the factors of sleep deprivation.
George Catlin was an American lawyer, painter, author, and traveler, who specialized in portraits of Native Americans in the American frontier.
Freediving, free-diving, free diving, breath-hold diving, or skin diving, is a mode of underwater diving that relies on breath-holding until resurfacing rather than the use of breathing apparatus such as scuba gear.
Inhalation is the process of drawing air or other gases into the respiratory tract, primarily for the purpose of breathing and oxygen exchange within the body. It is a fundamental physiological function in humans and many other organisms, essential for sustaining life. Inhalation is the first phase of respiration, allowing the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the body and the environment, vital for the body's metabolic processes. This article delves into the mechanics of inhalation, its significance in various contexts, and its potential impact on health.
Nasal congestion is the partial or complete blockage of nasal passages, leading to impaired nasal breathing, usually due to membranes lining the nose becoming swollen from inflammation of blood vessels.
Mouth breathing, medically known as chronic oral ventilation, is long-term breathing through the mouth. It often is caused by an obstruction to breathing through the nose, the innate breathing organ in the human body. Chronic mouth breathing may be associated with illness. The term "mouth-breather" has developed a pejorative slang meaning.
Breathwork is a term for various breathing practices in which the conscious control of breathing is said to influence a person's mental, emotional, or physical state, with a therapeutic effect.
Oral myology is the field of study that involves the evaluation and treatment of the oral and facial musculature, including the muscles of the tongue, lips, cheeks, and jaw.
A breath is the act of inhaling and exhaling.
Daniel H. Pink is an American author. He has written seven New York Times bestsellers. He was a host and a co-executive producer of the National Geographic Channel social science TV series Crowd Control. From 1995 to 1997, he was the chief speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore.
Breathing is the process of moving air into and from the lungs to facilitate gas exchange with the internal environment, mostly to flush out carbon dioxide and bring in oxygen.
Orofacial myofunctional disorders (OMD) are muscle disorders of the face, mouth, lips, or jaw due to chronic mouth breathing.
Obligate nasal breathing describes a physiological instinct to breathe through the nose as opposed to breathing through the mouth.
Sy Montgomery is an American naturalist, author and scriptwriter who writes for children as well as adults.
James Nestor is an author and journalist who has written for Outside, Scientific American, Dwell, National Public Radio, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Men's Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, and others. His 2020 nonfiction book, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, was an international bestseller, debuting on the Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times bestseller lists and spending 18 weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers in its first year of release. Breath won the award for Best General Nonfiction Book of 2020 by the American Society of Journalists and Authors and was a finalist for the Royal Society Science Book Prize. Breath was translated into more than 35 languages in 2022.
Bret Samuel Weinstein is an American podcaster, author, and former professor of evolutionary biology. He served on the faculty of Evergreen State College from 2002 until 2017, when he resigned in the aftermath of a series of campus protests about racial equity at Evergreen, which brought Weinstein to national attention. Like his brother Eric Weinstein, he is considered part of the intellectual dark web. Weinstein has been criticized for making false statements about COVID-19 treatments and vaccines, and for spreading misinformation about HIV/AIDS.
James Stephen Lindsay, known professionally as James A. Lindsay, is an American author. He is known for the grievance studies affair, in which he, Peter Boghossian and Helen Pluckrose submitted hoax articles to academic journals in 2017 and 2018 to test scholarship and rigor in several academic fields. Lindsay has written several books including Cynical Theories (2020), which he co-authored with Pluckrose. He is also known for promoting right-wing conspiracy theories such as Cultural Marxism and LGBT grooming conspiracy theories.
The Anthropocene Reviewed is the shared name for a podcast and 2021 nonfiction book by John Green. The podcast started in January 2018, with each episode featuring Green reviewing "different facets of the human-centered planet on a five-star scale". The name comes from the Anthropocene, the proposed geological epoch that includes significant human impact on the environment. Episodes typically contain Green reviewing two topics, accompanied by stories on how they have affected his life. These topics included intangible concepts like humanity's capacity for wonder, artificial products like Diet Dr. Pepper, natural species that have had their fates altered by human influence like the Canada goose, and phenomena that primarily influence humanity such as Halley's Comet.
Crying in H Mart: A Memoir is a 2021 memoir by Michelle Zauner, singer and guitarist of the musical project Japanese Breakfast. It is her debut book, published on April 20, 2021, by Alfred A. Knopf. It is an expansion of Zauner's essay of the same name which was published in The New Yorker on August 20, 2018. The title mentions H Mart, a North-American supermarket chain that specializes in Korean and Asian products.
Mouth taping is the practice of sleeping with one's lips held shut by a strip of surgical tape, which prevents mouth breathing during sleep. This supposed life hack gained popularity through social media in the 2020s. Those who advise in favor of it attribute a variety of health benefits to it, although these claims have not been scientifically verified.