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Breath: Improve your health and wellbeing by discovering the lost art of breathing Kindle Edition
There is nothing more essential to our health and well-being than breathing: take air in, let it out, repeat 25,000 times a day. Yet, as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences.
Journalist James Nestor travels the world to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. The answers aren't found in pulmonology labs, as we might expect, but in the muddy digs of ancient burial sites, secret Soviet facilities, New Jersey choir schools, and the smoggy streets of Sao Paulo. Nestor tracks down men and women exploring the hidden science behind ancient breathing practices like Pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya, and Tummo and teams up with pulmonary tinkerers to scientifically test long-held beliefs about how we breathe.
Modern research is showing us that making even slight adjustments to the way we inhale and exhale can jump-start athletic performance, rejuvenate internal organs, halt snoring, allergies, asthma, and autoimmune disease, and even straighten scoliotic spines. None of this should be possible, and yet it is.
Drawing on thousands of years of medical texts and recent cutting-edge studies in pulmonology, psychology, biochemistry, and human physiology, Breath turns the conventional wisdom of what we thought we knew about our most basic biological function on its head. You will never breathe the same again.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPenguin
- Publication date21 May 2020
- File size1.4 MB

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Review
'This book is awesome. Most people have no idea how to do breathing exercises and how beneficial they are. I learned a lot from James Nestor's book. Over the last few weeks I've been using the methods I learned and I can tell you there are absolutely some real benefits to be had from this' -- Joe Rogan, on Instagram
'An eye-opening, epic journey of human devolution that explains why so many of us are sick and tired. A must-read book that exposes what our health care system doesn't see' -- Dr. Steven Y. Park, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and author of Sleep, Interrupted
'In the past few years, there have been several potentially life-changing books, from Matthew Walker's Why We Sleep and Shane O'Mara's In Praise of Walking, to Norman Doidge's The Brain's Way of Healing. Breath deserves a place alongside such volumes. Read it, and I guarantee you will want to change the way you breathe' -- Evening Standard
'I don't say this often, but when I do I mean it: this book changed my life. Breath is part scientific quest, part historical insight, part Hero's Journey, full of groundbreaking ideas, and a rollicking good read. I had no idea that the simple and intuitive act of inhaling and exhaling has taken such an evolutionary hit. As a result, I figured out why I sleep so badly and why my breathing feels so often out-of-sync. With a few simple tweaks, I fixed my breathing and fixed myself. A transformational book' -- Caroline Paul, author of The Gutsy Girl
'A really, REALLY interesting book' -- Ella Woodward, Deliciously Ella
'I would have thought that breathing was pretty simple and well understood. Then I read this book. Now I know it's a hugely complex and wondrous process which we need to understand much better. Fascinating and provocative stuff' -- Daniel M. Davis, author of The Beautiful Cure
'A transformative book that changes how you think about your body and mind' -- Joshua Foer, author of Moonwalking with Einstein
'I highly recommend this book' -- Wim Hof, on Instagram
It's an incredible book, I absolutely loved it -- Tim Lovejoy
'If you want to read a book about the power of the breath, this is it!' -- Patrick McKeown, author of The Oxygen Advantage
A fascinating scientific, cultural, spiritual and evolutionary history of the way humans breathe - and how we've all been doing it wrong for a long, long time. I already feel calmer and healthier just in the last few days, from making a few simple changes in my breathing, based on what I've read. Our breath is a beautiful, healing, mysterious gift, and so is this book -- Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love
'A wonderful book that reminds and enlightens us about how breath and mind are intertwined' -- Rahul Jandial, author of Life Lessons from a Brain Surgeon
'Breath is an utterly fascinating journey into the ways we are wired. No matter who you are, you'll want to read this' -- Po Bronson, author of What Should I Do with My Life and Nutureshock
'Super interesting' -- Emma Gannon
'James Nestor's fascinating new book is playful and optimistic' -- Spectator
'If you breathe, you need this book. When we undervalue anything, including something so basic as breathing, bad things always happen-and Nestor makes it clear how awful it's gotten. But he also provides a clear airway back to better, deeper, stronger respirations' -- Wallace J. Nichols PhD, author of Blue Mind
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B07Z49Z32V
- Publisher : Penguin
- Accessibility : Learn more
- Publication date : 21 May 2020
- Language : English
- File size : 1.4 MB
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 281 pages
- ISBN-13 : 978-0241289099
- Page Flip : Enabled
- Best Sellers Rank: 7,336 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 1 in General Biology
- 1 in Scuba Diving
- 1 in Extreme Sports (Books)
- Customer reviews:
About the author

James Nestor is an author and journalist who has written for Outside Magazine, The Atlantic, National Public Radio, The New York Times, Scientific American, Dwell Magazine, The San Francisco Chronicle, and more.
Nestor’s book, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, was released through Riverhead/Penguin Random House on May 26, 2020. Breath spent 18 weeks of the New York Times bestseller list in the first year of publication and was an instant bestseller in the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Sunday London Times, and more. Breath was awarded the Best General Nonfiction Book of 2020 by the American Society of Journalists and Authors and was a Finalist for the Royal Society Science Book of the Year. Breath has sold more than two million copies and has been translated into more than 35 languages.
Breath explores how the human species has lost the ability to breathe properly over the past several hundred thousand years and is now suffering from a laundry list of maladies — snoring, sleep apnea, asthma, autoimmune disease — because of it. Nestor travels the world to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. The answers aren’t found in pulmonology labs, as we might expect, but in the muddy digs of ancient burial sites, secret Soviet facilities, New Jersey choir schools, and the smoggy streets of Sao Paulo.
Drawing on thousands of years of medical texts and recent cutting-edge studies in pulmonology, psychology, biochemistry, and human physiology, Breath turns the conventional wisdom of what we thought we knew about our most basic biological function on its head.
Nestor's first narrative nonfiction book, DEEP: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What The Ocean Tells Us about Ourselves (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) was released in the United States and UK in June 2014. DEEP was a BBC Book of the Week, a Finalist for the PEN American Center Best Sports Book of the Year, an Amazon Best Science Book of 2014, BuzzFeed 19 Best Nonfiction Books of 2014, ArtForum Top 10 Book of 2014, New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice, Scientific American Recommended Read, and more. The book has been translated into German, Chinese, Italian, Polish, and more; the audiobook, read by Nestor, was released by Audible in June 2016.
Nestor also wrote a "little, silly booklet" released in 2009, which he described as "a coffee table thing culled from notes on meditation and other ancient/hippy practices discovered in the crawlspace of my uncle’s retro-mod bachelor pad in the Hollywood Hills. The book combined medical science with humor and illustrations and was given a horrid and misleading title by a dishonest editor, which I soon after—and still—very much regret."
Nestor has presented his research at Stanford Medical School, the United Nations, UBS, Global Classroom (World Health Organization+UNICEF), as well as more than 40 radio and television shows, including Fresh Air with Terry Gross, the Joe Rogan Show, BulletProof, ABC’s Nightline, CBS Morning News, and dozens of NPR programs.
More at mrjamesnestor.com.
Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book engaging and well-written, with outstanding research and clearly presented information. The book emphasizes the importance of proper breathing techniques, and customers report improved sleep quality, reduced snoring, and increased relaxation.
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Customers find the book engaging and well-written, with one customer noting it's one of the most readable books on human physiology ever written.
"...Nestor goes well into the science of all this, and his book is absolutely fascinating. But what makes it outstanding for me is that he is a WRITER...." Read more
"...which prevent me from giving five stars, I think this book is a really good read, which serves as an inspirational introduction to an oft neglected..." Read more
"Great book and arrived quickly" Read more
"Incredibly insightful book and so well written...." Read more
Customers find the book informative and life-changing, with clear explanations of research and valuable tips throughout.
"...looking towards trying the various techniques, Nestor gives clear guidance within the book, - and yes, I found Buteyko so much easier to work, from..." Read more
"It teaches me the importance of how you breathe and how to improve it to improve your life." Read more
"...I think this book is a really good read, which serves as an inspirational introduction to an oft neglected topic, and I'm sure that it will motivate..." Read more
"...Amazing insight of things we think we know about our bodies and this content can actually change things for you for the better." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's emphasis on proper breathing techniques, particularly nose-breathing during exercise.
"...I not only had no trouble or discomfort with this, but no longer have a stuffy or runny nose on waking, and am more likely to sleep through the night..." Read more
"It teaches me the importance of how you breathe and how to improve it to improve your life." Read more
"...He spins awe inspiring tales of ancient masters of breathing performing phenomenal feats using just the power of their breath control...." Read more
"...We should be taught to breath correctly from birth, so many ailments would be extinguished if we are taught to breath correctly." Read more
Customers report improved sleep and reduced snoring, with one mentioning less nasal congestion.
"...longer have a stuffy or runny nose on waking, and am more likely to sleep through the night, not needing to wake for a pee – and he explains the..." Read more
"...through the night with the mouth tape now, and have so much less nasal congestion than before...." Read more
"...I definitely snore less now, have less nose congestion and feel better overall...." Read more
"...My sleep pattern is improving as I try different techniques and my mood too. I’d recommend to all." Read more
Customers report feeling more relaxed and better overall after reading the book, with one customer noting they feel less stressed and another mentioning a change in how they hold their face at rest.
"...I definitely snore less now, have less nose congestion and feel better overall...." Read more
"...and depression before reason this, now for the first time in years I feel great just by practicing a couple of the techniques in this book..." Read more
"...I feel more relaxed and focused since making these changes...." Read more
"...read, find yourself become aware of your breathing, found myself more relaxed and thoughtless" Read more
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“A 4,000 percent decrease” - can’t take that Science too seriously
Top reviews from United Kingdom
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- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 September 2020Format: Kindle EditionVerified PurchaseI have a professional, and also a personal, interest in the subject matter. I became an adult onset asthmatic quite some time ago, a category which has dramatically increased in the past 30-40 years, driven by levels of pollution and our love affair with the car. I had no history at all of childhood eczema, asthma or hayfever, or indeed any parental family history of this.
Triggers for me were a combination of enforced passive smoking for some decades, before it got banned in public places, and, finally prolonged exposure to a chemical in the workplace, which had a disastrous respiratory effect on all of us, so exposed
Unwilling initially to take medication I tried to explore various ways to improve lung capacity, some of which have been more or less successful, though I had to surrender eventually to medical management, and am generally well maintained
Covid has of course made us all intensely aware of lung health, and there has been an explosion in awareness of how we breathe, how this activity we might not even think about until we can’t, might impact, positively or negatively, health and wellbeing. Not to mention, how we might best recover long term if the virus takes hold and diminishes lung capacity long term.
Decades ago, before it was more widely known, I had attempted to self-admiinister Buteyko, from a book. And not got on very well with it.
James Nestor, a self-styled ‘aeronaut’ as he calls those who have deeply studied breathwork, and sought to educate and help others to breathe well, explores, clearly, so clearly, a whole range of extraordinary breathing techniques. I should probably rephrase that – they are not necessarily THAT extraordinary, they are representative of more natural, healthful ways of breathing – which almost all of us ‘grew out of’ – posture, diet , environment changes our breathing.
Nestor goes well into the science of all this, and his book is absolutely fascinating. But what makes it outstanding for me is that he is a WRITER. Most of the other books I’ve read, share the passion, share the authors’ own journey and exploration of the field, but those writers don’t have the skill to convey the dryer stuff of the science so engagingly and absorbingly, or the light touch immediacy of writing which is like someone talking to you.
For those who might be looking towards trying the various techniques, Nestor gives clear guidance within the book, - and yes, I found Buteyko so much easier to work, from this. He also promotes and explores several ‘aeronauts’ – Patrick McKeown (very much the approachable Buteyko international voice now) Anders Olsson, Wim Hof and others – and gives details and links to the wealth of video material out there. Indeed Nestor’s own website is full of wonderful, free resources.
I also really like his pragmatic and generous approach. One of the biggest changes I’ve made – with excellent results – since reading this book, is to simply control how I breathe when sleeping. Nose breathing, not mouth breathing, is what we need to be doing, and though I have consciously tried to work with this, over many years, I certainly wasn’t doing this at night. Various complex devices are out on the market for this one – Nestor does talk them through, but also says he himself just uses simple micropore tape, to keep his mouth shut. It certainly looks a bit weird and startling but, I must say, since my first night with a small vertical strip from just above top lip to just below bottom lip, I not only had no trouble or discomfort with this, but no longer have a stuffy or runny nose on waking, and am more likely to sleep through the night, not needing to wake for a pee – and he explains the science behind this, a connection between a neurotransmitter, the autonomic nervous system, and depth of sleep. The nose is a wonderful thing, and the biochemistry of nose breathing and mouth breathing are different. Button that lip!
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 May 2025Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseIt teaches me the importance of how you breathe and how to improve it to improve your life.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 February 2024Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseI bought this book on the basis of a recommendation from a friend. I was very interested in the subject matter as I am a notorious mouth breather (especially at night), and am guilty too of the "over breathing" which is mentioned in the book. I suffer with constant sinus congestion, despite having had surgery (septoplasty and reduction of turbinates) in 2022 due to a deviated septum. With this background, the content of the book was obviously of great personal relevance.
The author himself is not a scientist or doctor. He writes almost like a novelist, describing the characters in his book (i.e., the various doctors and breathing experts he meets along his journey) in quite an engaging way, describing their clothing, their hair, their manner etc. This style gives the book a real flow, with the result that I read through it very quickly indeed (more on this later).
He spins awe inspiring tales of ancient masters of breathing performing phenomenal feats using just the power of their breath control. This reminded me quite a lot of Paul Wade's calisthenics book Convict Conditioning, in which Wade spins various tales of the old school strength masters performing feats that today's bloated bodybuilders could only dream of. The message from both books - that some ancient wisdom and methods were far superior to our modern ways, and that we don't always know as much as we think we do - is clear, and quite feasible too.
I applied a lot of the methods in the book to my day to day life. I started using sleep tape every night to cover the mouth to force nasal breathing (click my profile to see my separate review of the tape I used), managing two hours on the first night, and increasing rather quickly from there. I also bought some of the tough Turkish chewing gum mentioned in the book, and generally became more conscious of and made more effort to improve my breathing. There is a useful appendix at the back which gives instructions on some of the breathing techniques.
Having worked on my breathing as noted above, I have already seen a huge improvement. I am sleeping all through the night with the mouth tape now, and have so much less nasal congestion than before. All in all I am very pleased with the results.
So why not five stars? Well, as I said above, the book is a very quick read indeed. I felt there were missed opportunities to expand on things a bit in places. For example, nasal sprays and douching/rinsing are mentioned briefly, but it isn't clear what the author or his contributors think of these. Certainly, steroid nasal sprays like Fluticasone or Xylometazoline can give some short term relief from congestion, but actually inflame the sinuses and cause more congestion with chronic use. This is barely touched on, which is a shame because the use of nasal sprays in the general population is surely highly prevalent.
I also felt rather doubtful around his assertion that bad breathing can play a role in causing ADHD. I certainly don't dismiss this, but I also think it could have been backed up with better explanation. I would assert that there are a LOT of other factors of modern life in play here. It seemed like a very big claim, which again could have had more exploration.
Other areas of our modern day bad breathing - such as the role of industrialised food production in causing the shapes of our airways to devolve - are explored in more detail, and the book is all the better for it. This section is particularly interesting, and the theories explored here seem highly feasible.
Before I conclude, I just want to also briefly mention the physical book itself, as I did read another review which said that the font size was too small. I did not find this to be the case in my paperback copy, which had a normal sized font and was easily readable with my usual prescription glasses. That reviewer likely needs an eye test!
Despite some minor reservations which prevent me from giving five stars, I think this book is a really good read, which serves as an inspirational introduction to an oft neglected topic, and I'm sure that it will motivate a huge number of people to give some thought to their breathing and take action to improve it. Although I felt there could have been a bit more information in the book on some topics, what there is was certainly enough for me to make some major improvements to my breathing, which makes it well worth buying in my opinion.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 March 2025Format: Kindle EditionVerified PurchaseThis book by James Nestor should be part of the school curriculum. We should be taught to breath correctly from birth, so many ailments would be extinguished if we are taught to breath correctly.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 June 2025Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseGreat book and arrived quickly
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 April 2025Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseHow wrong you were if you thought you knew how to breath properly. Amazing insight of things we think we know about our bodies and this content can actually change things for you for the better.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 March 2025Format: Kindle EditionVerified PurchaseIncredibly insightful book and so well written. Who’d have thought the unconscious process of breathing was so incredibly important to a wide range of health aspects. A boring subject to read about? Not in the slightest!!
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 April 2021Format: Kindle EditionVerified PurchaseI enjoyed reading the book and did read until the end. I found it jumped about a bit though and Left me wondering if I had missed a page.
It starts off giving the impression that breathing correctly can change the shape of the jaw and has other miraculous benefits, but ends leaving the reader feeling that if we breath correctly it will help with snoring and sleep apnea and that’s about it. The book does list in brief a number of breathing techniques at the end but in no way is it a practical book. It left me not knowing if I should breath more or less, if the nose is used for inhale and exhale and many other questions. If you are looking for a book that has a little science and some personal experience then you will probably enjoy this. If you are looking for practical ways to benefit yourself by breathing then I would look for a different book, as I am doing now.
Top reviews from other countries
- IndiraReviewed in Germany on 26 May 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars Great one
This book has to be read by everyone
- Anne SchmidtReviewed in Italy on 6 March 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars As expected- all went well
Everything perfect
- Trevor Baret BDS, PGDipClinOrthReviewed in Australia on 28 October 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, Informative read
So you think you can breathe - just because you have been doing it all your life... The fact is that most of us simply don't know how to breathe properly, and their health suffers as a result.
This well researched and entertainingly written book discusses different types of breathing exercises, as well as describing the healthiest way to breathe for life. And for nearly everyone, it is not what you are doing now. It is also not what most of you think it is...
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, after working in the area of sleep breathing disorders for over three decades. My copy is full of bookmarks showing sections I want to return to and refer to. Despite my long experience in the industry, I am still learning, and that learning becomes much more enjoyable what provided in such a well written and entertaining book.
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Danielle MoraisReviewed in Brazil on 24 December 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente leitura.
Format: HardcoverVerified PurchaseUm dos livros mais incríveis que li em 2020.
- VamsiReviewed in India on 14 June 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent information on breathe and its effect on health
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseVery rare book to be read. Excellent information which couldn't be found anywhere about breathe