Author: cellpedition

Analysis: A breathing technique to rid of brain fog, improves overall health and hack into the flow state?

The claims of the ancient breathing technique

Recently, I was suggested an ancient breathing technique, introduced by Wilson Meloncelli, that is being used by elite athletes to catapult their performance levels by 300% – 500%. Claiming to also boost testosterone levels, brain function, improving recovery time, curing anxiety, fatigue, sleep problems, respiratory problems and even weight gain issues. Is it really real? Well, here I will do my best to analyse its front end and also note my learning and discoveries.

Complications of mouth breathing

Just a side note, indeed there are many bad effects that comes from persistently breathing through the mouth. Mainly there is a structural change to your whole face, as well as a whole spew of other problems from over breathing. Whereas breathing through the nose has the added benefit of stimulating the production of nitric oxide, which mouth breathers don’t get. We’ll get back to that in a second, for now, let’s talk about the problems of over breathing.

Hypocapnia (CO2 deficiency) caused from hyperventilation

Over breathing or hyperventilation eliminates CO2 from our bodies faster than our bodies can produce them. However, other than dizziness and anxiety which stand out, in the short term there doesn’t seem to be a problem at all. But Wilson claims that about 90% of us actually unknowingly suffering from hypocapnia, which is slowly causing a whole plethora of problems including low testosterone levels, sleep problems, and depression. Now Wilson didn’t go deep into why, but I went and looked for an explanation. And it does make sense.

Our CO2 deficiency defense mechanism

One of the most direct effects of hyperventilation is respiratory alkalosis. Without going too deep into the mechanisms of it, basically the CO2 deficiency will cause the system to tap into a natural pH buffer to get more CO2, and as a result the pH levels of our blood will be more alkaline. But once our blood becomes too alkaline that it might kill our cells, our brain will do anything else to prevent this process from continuing. And there are two mechanisms to stop that(1).
The first mechanism, is the constriction of smooth muscles and spasm of tubes to narrow down the airways and reduce CO2 expiration. However, constriction of smooth muscles apply indiscriminately to all tubes, including blood circulatory system, urinary system and digestive system. For example, in the circulatory system, constriction of blood vessels causes high blood pressure, and reduces blood flow and therefore the delivery of oxygen to organs, muscles and tissues (ischemia). And now you can probably imagine why sometimes all problems come together.
The second mechanism, is a signal to the diaphragm to stop the breathing, allowing the CO2 levels to rise and restores blood pH levels to normal. Breathing is then recommenced with a snort or gasp to start the cycle all over again. This commonly occurs during sleep, and is also known as sleep apnea. This idea does explain unexplained root causes of sleep apnea as well as why high blood pressure is very common in people with sleep apnea.
One thing Wilson stresses a lot was snoring being a sign of breathing problems. This is congruent with the theory of over breathing causing CO2 deficiency.

Training your CO2 tolerance?

A case study used was how people who does altitude training stimulates their release of EPO. EPO is a hormone that promotes the formation of red blood cells and increases their oxygen carrying capacity(increased haemoglobin). So you can imagine the exact same amount of blood of a person living in high altitudes will be carrying more oxygen than someone living in low altitudes. Now, I’m not going to say that all this was due to lower oxygen levels they were breathing in, neither is Wilson claiming that, because it’s not. So don’t go sleeping or training with less oxygen. But Wilson does claim that his teachings will allow you to simulate the effects of altitude training through increasing your CO2 tolerance. So far however, I don’t quite see the link between increase of CO2 tolerance and increase of EPO, even if the increase of CO2 tolerance was possible. This point remains questionable.

Benefits of nitric oxide

The main point that strikes my interest was the idea that high supply of nitric oxide is the very solution to a lot of problems. Nitric oxide, also known as nitrogen oxide, is a naturally produced compound by our body that has a number of benefits. That is true. And Wilson claims that the breathing method he teaches would naturally increase the nitric oxide production levels. The main mechanism of nitric oxide is that it’s a dilator of blood vessels, enhancing the delivery of oxygen to various parts of the body, including that brain, which will improve memory and concentration. Another added benefit is the increased production levels of testosterone, which has many of it’s own benefits. This would definitely be a huge breakthrough.

Hacking into the flow state

Wilson also claims that his breathing teaching will help hack you into the flow state. Flow state is simple being “in the zone”, which usually concludes with a feeling of happiness. One of the major factors related to the flow state is the autonomic nervous system. Indeed research suggests that both branches of the autonomic nervous system is involved. Wilson mentions that through breathe control we can control or affect the automatic nervous system. And this claim does appear to be quite accepted(4). However, the flow state might also cause the autonomic system to behave that way. So all he might be doing is mimicking what the autonomic system would be like during the flow state. More research needs to be done, but we could also try to find out.

In summary

The ancient breathe control techniques will allow you to
– Avoid CO2 deficiency caused from over breathing
– Increase production of nitric oxide
– Help you enter the flow state

If you enjoyed my analysis on Wilson’s hack the flow state as much as I enjoyed writing and researching about it, then leave me a like. If you want to learn even more about Wilson’s breathing teachings then click here.

>>CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE<<


More readings:
(1) What Is The Impact of Over-Breathing?
(2) CO2 (Carbon Dioxide): Health Effects, Uses and Benefits
(3) The relation of flow-experience and physiological arousal under stress — Can u shape it? – Primary research article
(4) The Science of Slow Deep Breathing – How breathing controls our autonomic nervous system


Featured

Why the pleasure you seek determines your life

In the past few days I have made an interesting observation. Everyone on the train was staring at their phones, swiping. Everyone seemed addicted to the instant gratification, everyone appeared happy, but no one appeared truly conscious. This didn’t look any different than drug addiction.

All forms of instant entertainment has a huge team of people behind it.
They try to take your attention, with the goal to earn money.

If you want happiness, you would need to know how to seek pleasure. The thing about seeking pleasure though is that everyone would tell you differently, those who sell you food will tell you to buy something delicious to eat, those who sell you clothes will tell you to buy the latest fashion of clothing, and those who sell you make-up will tell you to buy the hottest lipstick. Actually, everyone knows how to seek pleasure. But why are there people who seek pleasure and rise, yet many others seek pleasure and fall?

It seems the pleasure you seek will determine the direction of your life. If you want to be someone who seeks pleasure and rise, then I think you should at least follow these 3 principles:

1.
Try interests that build you instead of interests that consume you.
Interests that build you might be small, but every time you do them, you will get more and more pleasure out of it, and this pleasure will last you for the whole day. This could be writing, meditating or jogging. Lets take jogging as an example. At the start it could be very hard, but every time you do it, it becomes easier and easier, and yet you get more and more pleasure out of it. Maybe you will lose the belly, then you will get a clearer mind, and then get the sensitivity to the world around you. 
Interests that build you don’t just simply give you a laugh.

2.
Don’t rely too much on your instincts.
The people who live on their instincts, are easy to pleasure, because their threshold to happiness is too low. Often, even just a little pleasure will suck them in. And the people who are more like this, are more inclined to seek pleasure based on their 5 senses. It could be from eating heavily sweetened or salted oily junk food. It could be from looking at pornographic videos. Or it could be the high from an inhale of drugs. Relying on instincts often draws out the beast inside us. The worst part is if the beast is constantly fed full, it would grow so strong that it no longer can be suppressed.

3.
Don’t expect to solve everything with a one time effort.
Happiness = reality – expectation
When the reality is harsh and the expectation is high, it is very easy to feel unhappy. Just like winning the lottery, the higher your expectations, the less happy you are with the prize you get. If you place all your hopes on one interest to alleviate your messed up life, the easier it is to feel disappointed.
So whatever you pursue, don’t give it too high of an expectation.

The happiness you get from exercise can never be given from instant entertainment.

We all seek happiness and pleasure. Call it alleviating stress, calming your nerves, whatever. It isn’t wrong, but ideally with a clear and conscious mind. There has been research in psychology that suggested that children are happier because their every day is different. They are almost always willing to explore the unknown. They continuously expand their comfort zone to seek happiness. But adults are different, they are use to living in their comfort zone, and will live one year like they had only lived one day. So if an adult were to live as happy as they were children, then they would need the courage to live outside their comfort zone, have the determination to take control of their lives, and maybe force themselves to get out of the warm covers of the bed to jog 10 kilometers.

Take matters into your own hands. Don’t rely on others to give you happiness. When you rely on swiping social media to give you happiness, you actually aren’t that far from being worthless.

Cherish your life. Stay away from all mental drugs.