#829: James Nestor — Breathing Protocols to Reboot Your Health, Fix Your Sleep, and Boost Performance

James Nestor is a science journalist and the author of the international bestseller Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, with more than three million copies sold in 44 languages.

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 Start.

00:01:37 Why I waited years to interview James about Breath.

00:02:35 Maurice Daubard: The mysterious 90-year-old who preceded Wim Hof.

00:05:01 Tummo breathing: Ancient Bon Buddhist heat generation.

00:08:13 James’ personal breathwork practice and the Wim Hof method (with warnings).

00:09:25 How breathwork cured James’ chronic respiratory issues.

00:11:46 Sudarshan Kriya: The weekend workshop that changed everything.

00:16:56 My nine-minute breath hold experiment (hyperbaric chamber edition).

00:18:57 Post-book revelations and angry doctors’ offices.

00:20:41 The ADHD-breathing connection: A controversial Venn diagram.

00:22:00 DIY breathing assessments for kids.

00:25:55 Mouth tape: From hostage situations to sleep optimization.

00:28:48 James’ seven-year mouth taping commitment.

00:31:14 CO2 levels: Your LEED-certified hotel is suffocating you.

00:36:50 Monitoring CO2 with the Aranet4 and building a CO2 database.

00:39:51 James’ travel kit: Red lights, granny packs, and a Soviet-era PEMF device.

00:51:59 In Weirdville, eyes sing The Body Electric.

00:52:58 The supplements included in David’s granny packs.

00:54:16 Natto vs. nattokinase.

00:56:18 Athletes and breathing: The BOLT score explained.

01:03:25 LeBron James’ alternate nostril breathing and diaphragmatic dysfunction.

01:04:47 Inspiratory muscle training and the back soreness warning.

01:08:47 The Relaxator: An adult breathing pacifier for focus.

01:12:54 San Francisco Writers Grotto and the trustafarian invasion.

01:16:10 Writer’s block: A convenient excuse for hobbyists.

01:19:04 Cutting the corporate cord: James’ visceral “I quit” moment.

01:23:25 The freediving story that launched a book deal.

01:25:41 Deep‘s disappointing launch and publisher betrayal.

01:28:10 Breath: From 290,000 words to 85,000 in a house in the woods.

01:31:51 Finding the skeleton: The Stanford experiment as through-line.

01:35:44 Prayer and coherent breathing: The 5.5-second secret.

01:38:44 James’ critique of breathwork culture and barriers to entry.

01:41:07 Sleep optimization: SnoreLab, side sleeping, and incline bed therapy.

01:44:56 Parting thoughts and where to find James and free breathing protocols.

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